LIHU‘E — Ni‘ihau Ranch was managed by Francis Sinclair. He raised sheep, some cattle and Arabian horses. His wife Isabella was a talented artist and over the years had accumulated botanical studies of many Hawaiian plants on Ni‘ihau and the
LIHU‘E — Ni‘ihau Ranch was managed by Francis Sinclair. He
raised sheep, some cattle and Arabian horses.
His wife Isabella was a talented artist and over the years had
accumulated botanical studies of many Hawaiian plants on Ni‘ihau
and the family estate on Kaua‘i. She was given the opportunity to
publish her work in London.
Editor’s note: On Dec. 3, the Kaua‘i Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary. Museum leaders have chosen 50 stories from exhibits, collections and the archives of the museum to share with the public. One story will run daily through Dec. 3.
LIHU‘E — Ni‘ihau Ranch was managed by Francis Sinclair. He raised sheep, some cattle and Arabian horses.
His wife Isabella was a talented artist and over the years had accumulated botanical studies of many Hawaiian plants on Ni‘ihau and the family estate on Kaua‘i. She was given the opportunity to publish her work in London.
This involved her overseeing the creation of the lithographs and the couple would be gone for a couple of years.
A manager from Kaua‘i was hired. He requested that he be allowed to have his friends from Kaua‘i visit him, some of whom were close relatives of the Sinclairs and his request was granted.
In 1892, Edward Kraft Bull, originally from Oslo, Norway, extended an invitation to his Norwegian friends from Mana to Waimea along with some school teachers and business people, a mixture of couples and single people.
With weekly service offered in the Hawaiian Islands, a steamship visited each port once a week. This meant the visitors to Ni‘ihau would be there for about that much time.
Bull arranged for amusements to entertain his guests. Fortunately for the people of today, the scenes were captured in photography, still a hobby for the well-to-do.
Fishing seemed to be a successful past time. The women wore very risqué bathing costumes with very short skirts and joined in the fun. One even hooked a giant eel! Bamboo poles were seen at likely spots along the coast. The catch made its way to the table.
Sightseeing to various locales was organized with a picnic lunch. Many of the women rode in a surrey except for the more adventurous that rode along with the gentlemen. At least one courting couple was married within a few months of the outing.
