Gulab Watumull Tours School with Jared Watumull, Grandson
Gulab Watumull, the patriarch of one of Hawaii’s wealthiest and most philanthropic families, visited Island Pacific Academy’s campus today. He was accompanied by his grandson, Jared Watumull, as they took an informal tour of IPA’s grounds and facilities which were recently acquired by WPC Haumea LLC, a subsidiary of Watumull Property Corporation.
Head of School, Gerald Teramae; Gulab Watumull; Kip Cummings, Secondary Principal; Jared Watumull; and Steve Ross, Elementary Principal at Island Pacific Academy.
The name Watumull wove its way into the fabric of island history over 100 years ago. Gulab’s father, Jhamandas Watumull originally from Hyderabad, Sindh (Pakistan), was one of the first people of Indian descent to come to Hawaii. Already a successful businessman in the Philippines, he opened his first Hawaii location merchandise store in downtown Honolulu in 1914.
Under Jhamandas’ and then Gulab’s direction, the Watumull retail operation grew to its peak of 29 stores. And it was Gulab’s business acumen that guided the transition of the Watumull portfolio from that of retail and clothes manufacturing to its current wealth generating engine status of real estate and investment property ownership. Today there is just one remaining retail store: the Watumull’s at Ala Moana was one of the original tenants of the shopping center when it opened in 1959 and is still in operation today.
It is a detail worth noting that the Watumulls wore Aloha shirts for their visit to IPA. It was Jhamandas and his brother Govindaram who introduced the flowery print “aloha shirt” to locals and tourists alike during the mid-1930s at one of their stores. The Watumulls also conceived the idea of matching aloha wear for the entire family.
The Watumull family has an equally long history of sharing the Aloha spirit through their many foundations which offer generous financial support of various educational and cultural institutions like the Bishop Museum and other non-profits and causes.
“We are thrilled to have the Watumulls as our new landlord,” says Gerald Teramae, Head of School. “The terms of our new lease guarantee that Island Pacific Academy will thrive as we continue to build our presence and write our history in Kapolei as West Oahu’s premiere private, independent K-12 school.”
