Hawaiian sovereignty activists commemorated the 1843 restoration of the Kingdom of Hawai'i by British authorities with a brief noontime flag-raising ceremony at Thomas Square yesterday.

As rain showers chased sunlight around the park, some 150 people joined hands in a circle and sang "Hawai'i Pono'i" at 12:30 p.m. as a U.S. flag was replaced with a Hawaiian flag.

The event was called Ka La Ho'iho'i Ea, or Hawaiian Sovereignty Restoration Day.

The park is named for British Adm. Richard Thomas, who ordered the Union Jack replaced by the Hawaiian flag on July 31, 1843, after an unauthorized five-month British occupation.

The event was sponsored by more than a dozen sovereignty organizations, including Ka Pakaukau, Pro-Kanaka Maoli Independence Working Group, Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Komi-ke and DMZ Hawai'i /Aloha Aina.

Sovereignty supporters revived the ceremony in 1985.

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.