Rotary Club of South Hilo enjoyed another riveting session with Hawaiian historian Boyd Bond at their May 15th meeting. Speaking on wrongful blaming of the missionaries for the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in the late 1800’s, Boyd wove an interesting story of how the missionaries brought very positive impact for the citizens of Hawai’i. Besides bringing education and a high level of literacy among Hawaii’s people, they taught the Hawaiians music and also philanthropy.
Boyd Bond’s knowledge of Hawaii’s history stems from his academic studies and from a lifetime spent in Hawaii as a 6th generation descendant of early western settlers in Hawaii. Boyd was raised in Hawaii in a sugar plantation family, living on plantations throughout the state. Of his interest in Hawaiian history, Bond says, “I can’t ever remember a time when I wasn’t immersed in it. Many of the stories of Hawaii’s history are also our family stories.” Bond earned a BA in Hawaiian history from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and went on to earn a masters degree in education.
This was the second visit of three (the third scheduled for June 5th) visits that take a close look at specific periods of Hawaiian history. Bond is a close personal friend of one of our longtime members, John Fitzgerald, who arranged these talks.