William Herbert Purvis (November 27, 1858 – December 31, 1950) was a plant collector and investor in a

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

on the

island of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...

during the late nineteenth century. William Herbert Purvis (also known as Herbert Purvis) was born in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, England.

Arrival in Hawaii

He and his father John Purvis (1820–1909) came to Hawaii in 1878. A distant cousin, Edith Mary Winifred Purvis, also came to Hawaii and married into the Holdsworth family; their daughter married into the Greenwell family (early

Kona coffee Kona coffee is the market name for coffee ('' Coffea arabica'') cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Only coff ...

merchants) and had daughter Amy B. H. Greenwell (1920–1974). Edith's brothers were Robert William Theodore, a businessman on Kauai, and

Edward William Purvis Colonel Edward William Purvis (July 4, 1857 – August 16, 1888) was a British army officer and settler of the Kingdom of Hawaii who served as Vice-Chamberlain during the reign of King Kalākaua. After resigning from the royal household, Purvis ...

who served as King Kalakaua's vice chamberlain.

Involvement in plantations

The Purvis family were early investors in the Pacific Sugar Mill at

Kukuihaele Kukuihaele is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii, United States. The population was 281 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography Kukuihaele is located on the north side of the ...

near

Waipio Valley Waipio Valley is a valley located in the Hamakua District of the Big Island of Hawaii. "Waipio" means "curved water" in the Hawaiian language. The valley was the capital and permanent residence of many early Hawaiian Aliʻi (chiefs/kings) up ...

on the northeast coast "Big Island" of Hawaii. The lands were from the estate of King

Lunalilo Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later. Born to Kekāuluohi and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina, ...

, consolidated by Purvis and the royal doctor

Georges Phillipe Trousseau Georges Phillipe Trousseau (1 May 1833 – 4 May 1894) was a French physician who became the royal doctor of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and engaged in a variety of agricultural ventures. Biography Georges Phillipe Trousseau was born in Paris on 1 M ...

. In 1882, Purvis introduced

macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus ...

seeds into the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

after he visited

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He planted seed nuts that year at Kapulena, Hawaii at , just southeast of the Pacific Mill. For many years, the trees were grown just as ornamental plants. Macadamias have since become an important tree crop in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Total area in macadamia production is and Hawaii’s macadamia industry is valued at $175 million annually. Major macadamia production is on the island of Hawaii. Purvis introduced the

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...

to control rats at the plantation in 1883. The mongoose has become an invasive pest. In 1889 he was elected into the Royal Colonial Institute. In 1887, Purvis hired Scottish arboriculturalist

David McHattie Forbes David McHattie Forbes (21 July 1863 – 23 March 1937) was a Scottish botanist, ethnologist, sugarcane plantation manager and explorer on the island of Hawai'i. He practised forestry, agronomy, and horticulture and served as the first district ...

from his position as Foreman Forester of the estate of Fletcher's

Saltoun Hall Saltoun Hall is an historic house standing in extensive lands off the B6355, Pencaitland to East Saltoun road, about 1.5 miles from each village, in East Lothian, Scotland. The house is reached by way of an impressive gateway and is situated ...

to import and cultivate cinchona trees above the sugar line in Kukuihaele, Hawaii at the Pacific Sugar Mill.

Personal life and death

He married Mabel Vida Turner and had at least four children: Arthur Frederic Purvis (1890–1955), Inez Adele Isobel Kapuaimohala Purvis (1891–1961), John Ralph Purvis (1894–1915), and Herbert Charles Purvis (1897–1945). He died December 31, 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purvis, William Herbert 1858 births 1950 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians Businesspeople from Hawaii Hawaiian Kingdom people British emigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom People of the Territory of Hawaii