Change dot Org / Petition

The Bond Homestead kauhale is a unique and important collection of  buildings dating back to 1840 that are located in the ahupuaʻa of ʻIole in Kohala on the island of Hawaiʻi. Originally the home of missionary Elias Bond and his descendants, the buildings were listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1977 and 1978.

Sadly, due to years of negligence, the Homestead is deteriorating at an alarming rate and needs our help. These buildings and grounds tell the stories of a period of major transition for Kohala, between the 1840s and 1880s. These stories belong to the people of Kohala and should not be forgotten.

The Bond family descendants had intended that the homestead and all of the family artifacts be preserved as a museum for the benefit of all, as it was considered the best remaining example of this kind of complex in the entire Pacific.  With the collapse of the sugar industry, the family found themselves unable to afford the upkeep of the site, and in 1997 the homestead and the rest of the Bond Historic District were sold to the New Moon Foundation who promised that the homestead would be renovated and maintained as a museum. Sadly, that promise was not kept and instead the Homestead buildings were ignored.  Earthquake damage in 2006 was left un-repaired, and the structures continued to deteriorate. Currently all of the Bond family artifacts left behind for the museum are being poorly stored in rusting containers on the property.

In 2022, the entire ahupuaʻa of ʻIole including the homestead, (now 2400 acre property, was gifted to the Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF), a responsible, well-known non-profit. HCF created the subsidiary ʻIole to manage the ahupuaʻa and instead of moving to resolve past neglect, the CEO of the new subsidiary in 2023 initiated an illegal and un-permitted deconstruction of the homestead buildings. The deconstruction process was noticed and brought to a stop by local citizens, but not before a number of smaller buildings had been torn down, and the roof of one of the oldest buildings removed. This building has remained open to the elements for over a year now, constantly incurring further damage.

Government and private agencies, and community resources are available for the restoration and preservation of the homestead, yet the owners are moving far too slowly. Together, we hope to convince the owners to accept their kuleana (responsibility) for the homestead and rally support for the restoration of this important place.

Let us tell the stories of Kohala again, for this generation and all the generations to come.

Please Sign our Petition:

“The undersigned ask the current owners of the Bond Homestead, the Hawaii Community Foundation and their subsidiary ʻIole, to accept their kuleana for this important and irreplaceable landmark that tells the origin stories and history that is shared by so many of Kohalaʻs families.

We ask HCF to step up and correct the wrong they have committed, immediately covering the opening created by the missing roof, and to work with the community to initiate the effort to restore the homestead, making use of the many resources available, or, to assign the homestead to another entity that will specifically accomplish this neglected and long overdue work.

We implore them to understand that continued negligence is no longer an option. In support of this desperately needed attention, we add our signatures below.”

Mahalo,

Hoʻomau Bond Homestead

Kohala, Hawaiʻi