King Kalākaua, Hawaii's penultimate monarch and the author of the song's lyrics.
The words were written in 1874 by King David Kalākaua with music composed by Captain Henri Berger, then the king's royal bandmaster. "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī" is one of the national anthems of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and also was the national anthem of the Republic of Hawaiʻi.
It was adopted as the national anthem in 1876,[1] replacing Liliʻuokalani's composition "He Mele Lāhui Hawaiʻi". It was the adopted song of the Territory of Hawaiʻi before becoming the state symbol by an act of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in 1967. The melody is reminiscent of "God Save the King" and the Prussian anthem "Heil dir im Siegerkranz".[2] "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī" is commonly sung at sporting events in Hawaii, immediately after the U.S. national anthem. It is sung at many local schools and Local Service Organization Meetings and Events.
^Stevenson, Robert Louis; Jolly, Roslyn (2008). South Sea Tales. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-19-953608-5. OCLC1003039815.
^The melody was based on the Prussian hymn originally titled "Heil Dir Im Siegerkranz"."Hawaiʻi ponoʻī". Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
Kahananui ‘Ohana (Dorothy Kahananui and Dorothy Gillett)
Saichi Kawahara
Literary award:He Mele Aloha: A Hawaiian Songbook (Vicky Hollinger, Kimo Hussey, Puakea Nogelmeier, Carol Wilcox), The Queen’s Songbook (Dorothy Kahananui Gillett, Barbara Smith and Hui Hanai)