 Kaimiloa anchored at Honolulu.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Kingdom of Hawaii | |
| Name | HHMS Kaimiloa |
| Cost | $20,000 |
| Commissioned | 28 March 1887 |
| Decommissioned | 30 August 1887 |
| Fate | Burned in 1910 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Explorer gunboat |
| Tons burthen | 170 tons |
| Length | 127 feet 8 inches (38.91 m) |
| Beam | 25 feet 3 inches (7.70 m) |
| Draft | 11 feet 2 inches (3.40 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) |
| Complement | 67 |
| Armament |
|
HHMS Kaimiloa was the first and only modern warship of the Hawaiian Royal Navy. The ship was formerly the Explorer, a 170-ton schooner, built in England in 1871. Kaimiloa sailed from Hawaii to Samoa and other Pacific islands in 1887 in an effort by King Kalākaua to form a confederation of Polynesian states to counteract European imperialism. The instance nearly resulted in military conflict between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the German Empire, who viewed Samoa as their possession in the Pacific. It was also used as a training ship.
In the Hawaiian language, kaimiloa (from ka ʻimi loa) means "one who seeks afar" which roughly translates 'explorer'.[1][2]
- ^ Mary Kawena Pukui; Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of explorer". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ^ Helen Geracimos Chapin, "Shaping history: the role of newspapers in Hawai'i"