Napua Stevens

Napua Stevens
Stevens presenting the annual Kamehameha Day for KITV in the 1970s.
Born	Harriet Daisy Kawaiala Kao'ionapuapi'ilani Stevens August 31, 1918
Died	January 7, 1990
Nationality	Hawaiian, Irish, English
Spouse(s)	Gordon Hunter Poire

Napua Stevens Poire (born Harriet Daisy Kawaiala Kao'ionapuapi'ilani Stevens, August 31, 1918 – January 7, 1990) was a well-known Hawaiian entertainer, singer, hula dancer, musician, teacher, radio-TV personality, producer and author. Noted for her hits such as "Beyond The Reef" and "Hawaiian Hospitality" in the late 1940s, in the 1950s and later embarked upon a successful media career as a radio DJ for her own show KTRG and presenting her own TV cooking show Napua's Kitchen in the 1960s. She made two guest appearances in the popular series Hawaii Five-O and also presented the Aloha Week and Kamehameha Day hula shows.

Stevens was born on August 31, 1918 in Hawi, North Kohala, Hawaii. She was a descendant of Charles Stevens, an American whaler who arrived in Hawaii in the 1840s. She was born one of six children of Robert Naea Stevens and Julia Kaaoaolahilahiokeohokalole Bell. Her name Napua was a shortened version of her name Kawaiala Kao'ionapuapi'ilani which means "the perfumed water" and "the finest flower in the bouquet of Pi'ilani. She was of Scots and native Hawai'ian ancestry. Her great-great-grand-grandmother was a descendant of ancient native Hawai'ian kings.

In 1949 she recorded Beyond The Reef on the Bell Records label (like her other hits), written by Canadian Jack Pitman. It was later recorded by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and The Ventures. Other notable hits include "Hawaiian Hospitality", "I Want to Learn to Speak Hawaiian", "Pretty Red Hibiscus", "May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii" and "What Aloha Means". In the hit "Hawaiian Hospitality" she sings of meeting a handsome dark-eyed local on Waikiki beach and his Hawaiian hospitality. In "I Want to Learn to Speak Hawaiian" she sings of her desire to learn the Hawaiian language so "she can say the sweetest things and do the hula too."