Thomas R. Foster (1835 – August 20, 1889) was the founder of the

Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company was headquartered in Honolulu and ran steamship passenger and cargo service between the Hawaiian Islands from 1883 until 1947. Inter-Island constructed the Kona Inn in 1928, the first hotel in Kona on the Big ...

. Inter-Island became the largest passenger and cargo steamship operator in 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 ...

and the parent company of Inter-Island Airways, which later changed its name to

Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines ( haw, Hui Mokulele o Hawaiʻi ) is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the tenth-largest commercial airline in the United States, and is based at Honolulu, Hawaii. The ai ...

. Foster's home and land were donated to the city of Honolulu, and is now the

Foster Botanical Garden Foster Botanical Garden, measuring , is one of five public botanical gardens on Oahu. It is located at 50 North Vineyard Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, near Chinatown at the intersection of Nu'uanu Avenue and Vineyard Boulevard. Fost ...

Shipbuilding

Foster was a shipbuilder in Canada who moved to

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

, in 1857. He found employment with shipbuilder John Robinson and married his daughter

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her elect ...

in 1861.

Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company

On February 7, 1883, Captain Foster incorporated the

. Some of the company's early ships included the ''SS James Makee'', ''SS Planter'', ''SS C.R. Bishop'', ''SS Iwalani'', and the ''SS Helene''. After the acquisition of the Wilder Steamship Company in 1905, Inter-Island became the largest steamship company in the Hawaiian Islands. In 1929, Inter-Island Steam Navigation incorporated a subsidiary, Inter-Island Airways which changed its name to

in 1941.

T.R. Foster Building

In 1891, shortly after Foster's death, Inter-Island erected the T.R. Foster building at the intersection of Nuuanu Avenue and Merchant Street in the heart of Honolulu's Merchant Square. The T.R. Foster Building was originally used as a warehouse, but currently houses a bar and restaurant.

Foster Botanical Garden

Foster lived next door to botanist Dr. William Hillebrand, who had come to Hawaii from Germany for his own health. Hillebrand grew a beautiful garden at his home and published the book ''Flora of the Hawaiian Islands'' after he returned to Germany in 1884. Foster bought Hillebrand's home and gardens and continued to cultivate them with his wife Mary. After Foster's death in 1889, Mary continued to care for the gardens until her death in 1930. Mary gave the gardens to the city of Honolulu with the stipulation it would be named "Foster Botanical Garden".

Death

Foster died on August 20, 1889, at the age of 54 while on a trip to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. He is buried at the Makiki cemetery in Honolulu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Thomas R. 1835 births 1889 deaths Businesspeople from Nova Scotia Businesspeople from Honolulu Canadian shipbuilders American shipbuilders 19th-century shipbuilders Colony of Nova Scotia people Immigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom