Bishop MuseumExplore

Journeys

The expeditions, reassembled

Every dated label is a diary entry. Read a collector’s labels in order and the voyage comes back: the islands in sequence, the days at each, the specimens from every stop. 168 journeys so far, 1912 to 2017, 59,948 specimens between them.

83 collectors and expeditions4,574 days in the field1,448,842 km between stops35,631 photographed specimens

J. Raynal

7 islands · Jun – Aug 1973

J. Raynal across 7 islands, June – August 1973

117 specimens · 29 stops · 79 days · 4,474 km

W.A. Whistler

9 islands · Apr – Jun 1985

W.A. Whistler across 9 islands, April – June 1985

140 specimens · 32 stops · 75 days · 9,570 km

Edwin Smith

Moorea · Jun – Aug 1967

Edwin Smith in Moorea, June – August 1967

147 specimens · 26 stops · 69 days

F. Raymond Fosberg

3 islands of French Polynesia · Aug – Sep 1985

F. Raymond Fosberg in Maupiti Island, Tahiti and Maupiti, August – September 1985

158 specimens · 22 stops · 27 days

Steven Perlman

7 islands · Jun – Oct 1997

Steven Perlman across 7 islands, June – October 1997

111 specimens · 23 stops · 117 days · 9,650 km

Patrick V. Kirch

3 islands · Jun – Jul 1974

Patrick V. Kirch in Futuna Island, Niuatoputapu Island and Nuku Hiva, June – July 1974

162 specimens · 15 stops · 44 days

Jacques Florence

5 islands of French Polynesia · Mar – May 1992

Jacques Florence across 5 islands of French Polynesia, March – May 1992

227 specimens · 6 stops · 49 days · 2,824 km

Steven Perlman

6 islands · Apr – Jul 2004

Steven Perlman across 6 islands, April – July 2004

114 specimens · 22 stops · 110 days · 9,780 km

M.-H Sachet

5 islands of French Polynesia · Jun – Jul 1982

M.-H Sachet across 5 islands of French Polynesia, June – July 1982

169 specimens · 12 stops · 28 days · 297 km

Gerrit Parmele Wilder

3 islands · Jul – Dec 1926

Gerrit Parmele Wilder in Moorea, Tahiti and Penrhyn Atoll, July – December 1926

77 specimens · 29 stops · 145 days · 451 km

J. Raynal

9 islands · Jun – Oct 1971

J. Raynal across 9 islands, June – October 1971

106 specimens · 42 stops · 103 days · 21,113 km

G.W. Gillett

4 islands · Jul – Sep 1970

G.W. Gillett across 4 islands, July – September 1970

94 specimens · 13 stops · 74 days · 5,743 km

Gerrit Parmele Wilder

5 islands · Mar – Aug 1927

Gerrit Parmele Wilder across 5 islands, March – August 1927

69 specimens · 28 stops · 155 days · 13,558 km

Jan Newhouse

5 islands · Jul – Aug 1968

Jan Newhouse across 5 islands, July – August 1968

98 specimens · 10 stops · 50 days · 6,701 km

Ernest H. Quayle

14 islands · Apr – May 1922

Ernest H. Quayle across 14 islands, April – May 1922

112 specimens · 12 stops · 40 days · 3,640 km

Jacques Florence

Nuku Hiva and Moorea · Jul – Aug 1987

Jacques Florence in Nuku Hiva and Moorea, July – August 1987

128 specimens · 11 stops · 62 days · 4,316 km

F.C. How

3 islands · Mar – Apr 1935

F.C. How in Hainan, Hainan Island and Hatutaa, March – April 1935

132 specimens · 5 stops · 32 days

P.F. Hunt

6 islands · Jul – Nov 1965

P.F. Hunt across 6 islands, July – November 1965

69 specimens · 35 stops · 147 days · 15,687 km

Steven Perlman

4 islands · Jan – Feb 2003

Steven Perlman across 4 islands, January – February 2003

124 specimens · 14 stops · 50 days · 6,562 km

Jacques Florence

4 islands of French Polynesia · Apr – Jun 1984

Jacques Florence across 4 islands of French Polynesia, April – June 1984

147 specimens · 7 stops · 63 days · 9,717 km

C.C. Brooks

Manihi · Apr – Jun 1967

C.C. Brooks in Manihi, April – June 1967

101 specimens · 22 stops · 71 days

W.T. Brooks

Manihi · Apr – Jun 1967

W.T. Brooks in Manihi, April – June 1967

101 specimens · 22 stops · 71 days

P.H. Birnbaum

4 islands of French Polynesia · Sep – Nov 1988

P.H. Birnbaum across 4 islands of French Polynesia, September – November 1988

110 specimens · 13 stops · 79 days · 698 km

Noel Louis Hilmer Krauss

13 islands · Dec 1976 – Apr 1977

Noel Louis Hilmer Krauss across 13 islands, December 1976 – April 1977

88 specimens · 27 stops · 104 days · 15,072 km

How a journey is found

Every specimen with a full date and a known collector is a diary entry. The days are read in order; a gap of more than three weeks ends one journey and starts the next. Days spent where a collector lived most of their life are home, not travel, and are left out.

A journey needs at least five days, forty specimens and two places. Within it, a run of days spent within about ten kilometres is one stop; the stop’s point is the middle of the labels that carry coordinates, or the island’s centre when none do.

Companions are the people whose own labels put them in the same place on the same days. Staff can name a journey, write about it and feature it; everything else here is read straight off the specimens, and is rebuilt as the records improve.