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. 11 journeys so far, 1929 to 1975, 7,847 specimens between them.

11 collectors and expeditions556 days in the field62,179 km between stops2,475 photographed specimens

Johnson Randall

27 islands · Dec 1970 – May 1971

Johnson Randall across 27 islands, December 1970 – May 1971

2,367 specimens · 98 stops · 175 days · 9,120 km

Dean B. Cannoy

23 islands · Dec 1970 – May 1971

Dean B. Cannoy across 23 islands, December 1970 – May 1971

1,582 specimens · 82 stops · 159 days · 7,718 km

Pacific Entomological Survey

6 islands of French Polynesia · May 1930 – Jan 1931

Pacific Entomological Survey, May 1930 – January 1931

797 specimens · 34 stops · 228 days · 8,102 km

Edward Philpott Mumford

8 islands of French Polynesia · Aug – Dec 1929

Edward Philpott Mumford across 8 islands of French Polynesia, August – December 1929

774 specimens · 26 stops · 140 days · 795 km

Alastair M. Adamson

9 islands of French Polynesia · Aug – Dec 1929

Alastair M. Adamson across 9 islands of French Polynesia, August – December 1929

765 specimens · 27 stops · 140 days · 759 km

Jim Haywood

19 islands of French Polynesia · Dec 1970 – May 1971

Jim Haywood across 19 islands of French Polynesia, December 1970 – May 1971

499 specimens · 36 stops · 162 days · 4,655 km

M.-H Sachet

8 islands of French Polynesia · Nov 1974 – Feb 1975

M.-H Sachet across 8 islands of French Polynesia, November 1974 – February 1975

286 specimens · 34 stops · 108 days · 4,737 km

B.G. Decker

Hiva Oa and Hivaoa · Sep – Dec 1963

B.G. Decker in Hiva Oa and Hivaoa, September – December 1963

250 specimens · 26 stops · 83 days

P.A. Schafer

4 islands of French Polynesia · Jan – Apr 1975

P.A. Schafer across 4 islands of French Polynesia, January – April 1975

231 specimens · 36 stops · 89 days · 329 km

Royce L. Oliver

3 islands of French Polynesia · Jan – Mar 1975

Royce L. Oliver in Hiva Oa, Tahuata and Hivaoa, January – March 1975

220 specimens · 27 stops · 58 days · 222 km

station

17 islands · Aug – Dec 1956

station, August – December 1956

76 specimens · 33 stops · 130 days · 25,742 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.