Bureau of Public Works

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

Bureau of Public Works

Parallel form(s) of name

Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

Other form(s) of name

  • Bureau of Public Improvement

Identifiers for corporate bodies

Description area

Dates of existence

1845/1900-06

History

Laws enacted in 1845 and 1846 established the Department of Interior to manage the Kingdom of Hawaii's internal affairs.

One of the responsibilities of the Department of Interior, which was headed by the Minister of Interior, was the management and supervision of internal improvements undertaken by the Hawaiian government.

The Minister of Interior had the authority, with the approval of the King in Privy Council, to appoint a Superintendent of Public Works to assist him in directing the Kingdom's internal improvements. In the pre-Territorial Government period, the Superintendent of Public Works, was the executive in charge of the Bureau of Public Works.

From 1855-1857, the Bureau of Public Improvement was a part of the Department of War. It then, once again, became a part of the Department of Interior.

The Organic Act for the Territory of Hawaii, which became effective in June 1900, abolished the office of the Minister of Interior (Section 8) and empowered the Governor of Hawaii, with the consent of the Territorial Senate, to appoint a Superintendent of Public Works for the Territory of Hawaii (Section 80).

Places

Legal status

Functions, occupations and activities

The Superintendent of Public Works was responsible for government buildings, prisons, pounds, harbors, piers, wharves, lighthouses, beacons, sewage systems, electric lights, and certain roads and bridges.

The Superintendent of Public Works was also responsible for constructing public laundries and wash houses, acquiring and preserving heiaus and puuhonuas or the sites and remains, and producing surveys, maps and plans of government lands, harbors, and internal improvements, as needed by the public.

The varied duties of the Superintendent of Public Works were not all assigned at the same time.

Mandates/sources of authority

Internal structures/genealogy

General context

Relationships area

Related entity

Territorial Department of Public Works (1900-06/1959)

Identifier of the related entity

Category of the relationship

temporal

Type of relationship

Territorial Department of Public Works

is the successor of

Bureau of Public Works

Dates of the relationship

1900-06

Description of relationship

Related entity

Department of the Interior (1845-1900)

Identifier of the related entity

Category of the relationship

hierarchical

Type of relationship

Department of the Interior

is the superior of

Bureau of Public Works

Dates of the relationship

1857/1900-06

Description of relationship

Related entity

Military and Navy Department

Identifier of the related entity

Category of the relationship

hierarchical

Type of relationship

Military and Navy Department

is the superior of

Bureau of Public Works

Dates of the relationship

1855-1857

Description of relationship

Related entity

Department of the Interior (1845-1900)

Identifier of the related entity

Category of the relationship

hierarchical

Type of relationship

Department of the Interior

is the superior of

Bureau of Public Works

Dates of the relationship

1845-1855

Description of relationship

Access points area

Subject access points

Place access points

Occupations

Control area

Authority record identifier

Maintained by

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Maintenance notes

2020-11-02, Joel Horowitz: Entered into AtoM

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