Historic Feature: Annexation of Necker Island for the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi

Annexation Party on Necker Island, May 27, 1894. Photo Credit: Bishop Museum

Due to the rugged structure of Mokumanamana (Necker Island) and the difficulty of landing, ownership of the island was unclear into the late 1800's. Captain William Paty, sent to the Leeward Islands to claim them for the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, was unable to land in 1857. In the 1890's the British government tried to lay claim to the island for a cable station proposed to link Australia and Canada. In a race to claim the island, the Hawaiian government dispatched the minister of the Interior, Captain James A. King aboard the steamer Iwalani. On May 27, 1894, after much difficulty, a party landed on the island and raised the flag in the name of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. The Annexation Party is pictured above on Annexation Hill. (Source: "Isles of Refuge: Wildlife and History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands." Mark J. Rauzon, ISBN: 0-8248-2330-3)