William Hoapili Kaauwai

William Hoapili Kaʻauwai ( – March 30, 1874) was a Hawaiian high chief and politician, and religious deacon of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He served two terms as a member of the House of Representatives of the Legislature of the Kingdom in 1862 and 1870. He became the only Native Hawaiian to be ordained a deacon of the Anglican Church of Hawaii and traveled with its founder Queen Emma to Europe between 1865 and 1866, circumnavigating the globe upon his return eastward via New Zealand.

Early life Kaʻauwai was born , as the second son of Zorobabela Kaʻauwai and Kalanikauleleiaiwi III. His father was a successful Hawaiian politician, judge and entrepreneur who owed his rise to prominence to High Chief Hoapili, a trusted friend and companion of King Kamehameha I and the Governor of Maui, who became the child's namesake. Through his mother, he descended from the ancient Hawaiian Mōʻī of Maui, Piʻilani. His mother was also a relative of Governor Hoapili. He had three siblings: David Kahalekula Kaʻauwai (1835–1856), George Kaleiwohi Kaʻauwai (1843–1883) and a sister who died in infancy before 1848. His niece became Princess Elizabeth Kahanu Kalanianaʻole, wife of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, the second Congressional Delegate from the Territory of Hawaii.

Career and travel abroad

Kaʻauwai was elected and served two nonconsecutive terms as a member of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Hawaiian legislature, for the district of Wailuku on the island of Maui. He was elected in 1862 and re-elected to serve a second term in 1870. His father Zorobabela and brother David had served as representative for Maui as well in the 1850s. At the time of his first election, he was regarded as less experienced than his elder brother David who was "one of the finest Hawaiian orators" of his time. However, he later proved himself to be an orator as capable as his father and brother.

On July 1, 1856, Kaʻauwai married Mary Ann Kiliwehi (1840–1873), daughter of High Chiefess Kuini Liliha, Governess of Oahu, but they had no children. He became an aide-de-camp to King Kamehameha IV and converted from Congregationalism to the Anglican Church of Hawaii established by the Anglophile monarch and his wife Queen Emma. On September 25, 1864, he was ordained as a deacon by Bishop Thomas Nettleship Staley in Lahaina, the only Native Hawaiian to have this distinction, and afterward assisted the Archdeacon Reverend George Mason on the island of Maui.

Return to politics and death Kaʻauwai developed pulmonary tuberculosis and his health was worsened by his drinking habit. These health issues did not completely hinder his return to active political life. He was re-elected to the legislature of 1870. He also took an active part in the 1874 election following the death of King Lunalilo and became a supporter of Kalākaua against his former patron Queen Emma. After Kalākaua ascended to the throne, he appointed Kaʻauwai as his Court Chamberlain. He was preparing to depart with the king on his tour of the islands when he died of a heart attack, in Honolulu, on March 30, 1874.

His remains were interred in an underground family vault at the cemetery of the Kawaiahaʻo Church.