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. 1,039 journeys so far, 1879 to 2026, 190,135 specimens between them.

396 collectors and expeditions17,317 days in the field3,803,657 km between stops132,409 photographed specimens

David H. Lorence

6 islands · Jun – Aug 1988

David H. Lorence across 6 islands, June – August 1988

538 specimens · 18 stops · 37 days · 9,578 km

Harold St.John

5 islands · Sep 1947 – Jan 1948

Harold St.John across 5 islands, September 1947 – January 1948

276 specimens · 21 stops · 126 days · 13,296 km

S. Carlquist

14 islands · Jun – Oct 1966

S. Carlquist across 14 islands, June – October 1966

208 specimens · 55 stops · 112 days · 6,722 km

Charles N. Forbes

3 islands of the United States · Jan – Apr 1915

Charles N. Forbes in Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island, January – April 1915

353 specimens · 21 stops · 65 days · 233 km

Paul K. Higashino

Hawaiʻi Island and Maui · Jun – Aug 1977

Paul K. Higashino in Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, June – August 1977

290 specimens · 18 stops · 83 days · 260 km

Benjamin C. Stone

22 islands · Feb – Aug 1957

Benjamin C. Stone across 22 islands, February – August 1957

301 specimens · 47 stops · 169 days · 33,594 km

Steven Perlman

9 islands · Aug – Dec 1995

Steven Perlman across 9 islands, August – December 1995

320 specimens · 39 stops · 137 days · 51,778 km

Charles N. Forbes

Maui and Oʻahu · Nov – Dec 1919

Charles N. Forbes in Maui and Oʻahu, November – December 1919

310 specimens · 20 stops · 39 days · 614 km

G.A. Santos

8 islands · Apr – Jun 1969

G.A. Santos across 8 islands, April – June 1969

298 specimens · 16 stops · 89 days

Joseph F. Rock

5 islands of the United States · Mar – May 1910

Joseph F. Rock across 5 islands of the United States, March – May 1910

361 specimens · 11 stops · 68 days · 120 km

Edward Yataro Hosaka

4 islands · Jun – Sep 1936

Edward Yataro Hosaka across 4 islands, June – September 1936

232 specimens · 37 stops · 84 days · 4 km

F. Raymond Fosberg

10 islands · Oct – Dec 1978

F. Raymond Fosberg across 10 islands, October – December 1978

361 specimens · 27 stops · 68 days · 79,655 km

Harold St.John

6 islands · Nov 1955 – Jan 1956

Harold St.John across 6 islands, November 1955 – January 1956

293 specimens · 22 stops · 65 days · 13,814 km

Steven L. Montgomery

3 islands of the United States · May – Sep 1979

Steven L. Montgomery in Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi Island and Lānaʻi, May – September 1979

268 specimens · 35 stops · 100 days · 1,207 km

Otto Degener

3 islands · Feb – Sep 1959

Otto Degener in Maui, Oʻahu and Molokaʻi, February – September 1959

214 specimens · 48 stops · 242 days · 2,169 km

Derral R. Herbst

3 islands · Mar – Jun 1983

Derral R. Herbst in Guam, Oʻahu and Maui, March – June 1983

435 specimens · 21 stops · 80 days · 24,826 km

Elbert L. Little Jr.

6 islands of the United States · Aug – Sep 1976

Elbert L. Little Jr. across 6 islands of the United States, August – September 1976

271 specimens · 23 stops · 52 days · 1,816 km

Erling Christophersen

3 islands · May – Jul 1932

Erling Christophersen in Oʻahu, Kauaʻi and Tutuila, May – July 1932

518 specimens · 4 stops · 57 days · 8,548 km

Wm. R. Taylor

6 islands · Feb – Aug 1946

Wm. R. Taylor across 6 islands, February – August 1946

242 specimens · 52 stops · 156 days · 5,901 km

Charles N. Forbes

4 islands of the United States · Jun – Jul 1913

Charles N. Forbes across 4 islands of the United States, June – July 1913

406 specimens · 8 stops · 38 days · 774 km

Harold St.John

7 islands · Dec 1946 – Feb 1947

Harold St.John across 7 islands, December 1946 – February 1947

291 specimens · 17 stops · 67 days · 4,927 km

Otto Degener

6 islands · Dec 1968 – Feb 1969

Otto Degener across 6 islands, December 1968 – February 1969

258 specimens · 29 stops · 52 days · 41,268 km

Joseph F. Rock

3 islands of the United States · Apr – Aug 1911

Joseph F. Rock in Maui, Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu, April – August 1911

297 specimens · 13 stops · 123 days · 1,153 km

Alan Holt

Maui and Molokaʻi · May – Aug 1980

Alan Holt in Maui and Molokaʻi, May – August 1980

302 specimens · 13 stops · 104 days · 433 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.