The Kingdom of Hawaiai's Last Prime Minister Spoke My Mother Tongue

When most people think of the Kingdom of Hawaiai's last Prime Minister, they probably don't imagine a man who once learned Malay in a Dutch colonial prison in Java.

Yet that was the remarkable life of Walter Murray Gibson, who served as Prime Minister under King Kalukaua from 1882 until the political upheaval of 1887.

Born in England in 1822, Gibson lived an unusually adventurous life. In the 1850s, he traveled throughout Southeast Asia and was imprisoned in Java after allegedly encouraging resistance against Dutch colonial authorities. During his time there, he learned Archipelago Malay, the lingua franca of the region.

Years later, after settling in Hawaiai and becoming active in Hawaiian politics, Gibson drew upon this knowledge in an unexpected way.

Fluent in both Hawaiian and Malay, he translated the famous Malay epic Hikayat Hang Tuah into Hawaiian. Published in his newspaper Ka NOhou Hawaiai under the title Ke Kaao o Lakamana, the work introduced Hawaiian readers to one of the most important literary traditions of the Malay world.

Today, this translation stands as a fascinating example of cultural exchange across the Pacific. Long before globalization became a buzzword, stories were already traveling between Southeast Asia and Hawaiai through people like Gibson.

Gibson remains a controversial figure in Hawaiian history. Critics accused him of political ambition and self-interest, while supporters viewed him as a loyal defender of King Kalukaua and the Hawaiian Kingdom.

After the Bayonet Constitution of 1887 forced Kalukaua to surrender much of his authority, Gibson was driven from power. Queen Liliauokalani later defended him in her memoir, writing:

"Whatever the faults of Mr. Gibson, so long Prime Minister of Kalukaua, he was an able man, and his only public crime was his loyalty to his king."

Whether remembered as a political schemer, a loyal royalist, or an unlikely bridge between Hawaiai and the Malay world, Walter Murray Gibson remains one of the most intriguing figures in Hawaiian history.

To read more about Queen Liliuokalani's description of Walter Gibson click here https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Hawaii%27s_Story_by_Hawaii%27s_Queen/Chapter_29