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. 1,954 journeys so far, 1874 to 2026, 349,432 specimens between them.

830 collectors and expeditions34,320 days in the field7,297,183 km between stops244,553 photographed specimens

Harold St.John

7 islands · Apr – Aug 1937

Harold St.John across 7 islands, April – August 1937

459 specimens · 38 stops · 139 days · 68,706 km

Erling Christophersen

3 islands · Aug – Sep 1929

Erling Christophersen in Upolu, Tutuila and Ofu, August – September 1929

587 specimens · 24 stops · 37 days · 31 km

J.A. McDonald

7 islands · Apr – Sep 1994

J.A. McDonald across 7 islands, April – September 1994

359 specimens · 33 stops · 154 days · 3,611 km

Charles N. Forbes

4 islands of the United States · Jun – Aug 1912

Charles N. Forbes across 4 islands of the United States, June – August 1912

567 specimens · 12 stops · 44 days · 287 km

Ismail Tukirin

4 islands · May – Jul 1989

Ismail Tukirin across 4 islands, May – July 1989

414 specimens · 25 stops · 63 days · 32,354 km

William J. Hoe

Maui · Jun – Jul 1975

William J. Hoe in Maui, June – July 1975

534 specimens · 15 stops · 36 days · 351 km

Harold St.John

3 islands · Feb – Jul 1933

Harold St.John in Oʻahu, Molokaʻi and Mangareva, February – July 1933

379 specimens · 23 stops · 151 days · 11,376 km

Paul K. Higashino

4 islands of the United States · May – Aug 1980

Paul K. Higashino across 4 islands of the United States, May – August 1980

421 specimens · 25 stops · 98 days · 946 km

Truman George Yuncker

3 islands of the United States · Aug 1932 – Jan 1933

Truman George Yuncker in Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, August 1932 – January 1933

335 specimens · 35 stops · 150 days · 463 km

Grady L. Webster

Kauaʻi and Oʻahu · Nov 1947 – Apr 1948

Grady L. Webster in Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, November 1947 – April 1948

329 specimens · 34 stops · 176 days · 1,112 km

W.G. Anderson William G. Anderson Jr.

5 islands of the United States · Jun – Aug 1964

W.G. Anderson William G. Anderson Jr. across 5 islands of the United States, June – August 1964

424 specimens · 20 stops · 65 days · 2,387 km

Ted E. should Be D. Dranga

8 islands of the United States · Jul – Aug 1924

Ted E. should Be D. Dranga across 8 islands of the United States, July – August 1924

504 specimens · 13 stops · 52 days · 6,915 km

J.S. Henrickson

4 islands of the United States · Jun – Aug 1969

J.S. Henrickson across 4 islands of the United States, June – August 1969

483 specimens · 15 stops · 55 days · 1,780 km

F. Raymond Fosberg

14 islands · Mar – Sep 1956

F. Raymond Fosberg across 14 islands, March – September 1956

258 specimens · 81 stops · 177 days · 16,398 km

J.M. Powell

6 islands · Apr – Jul 1972

J.M. Powell across 6 islands, April – July 1972

377 specimens · 34 stops · 109 days · 11,538 km

Adolph D.E. Elmer

3 islands · 1–22 Oct 1922

Adolph D.E. Elmer in Borneo, North Borneo and Tawao, 1–22 October 1922

1,407 specimens · 2 stops · 22 days

G.P. Buelow

5 islands of Tonga · Jun – Aug 1982

G.P. Buelow across 5 islands of Tonga, June – August 1982

540 specimens · 49 stops · 82 days

William J. Hoe

3 islands · Jun – Sep 1966

William J. Hoe in Hawaiʻi Island, Maui and South Island, June – September 1966

330 specimens · 50 stops · 79 days · 274 km

Harold St.John

11 islands · Oct 1957 – Feb 1958

Harold St.John across 11 islands, October 1957 – February 1958

325 specimens · 61 stops · 125 days · 23,583 km

P.H. McEldowney

Maui and Molokaʻi · May – Aug 1980

P.H. McEldowney in Maui and Molokaʻi, May – August 1980

394 specimens · 23 stops · 119 days · 780 km

Kenneth R. Wood

8 islands · Jul – Dec 1995

Kenneth R. Wood across 8 islands, July – December 1995

447 specimens · 35 stops · 139 days · 32,262 km

R. Okano

4 islands of the United States · May – Jul 2000

R. Okano across 4 islands of the United States, May – July 2000

654 specimens · 14 stops · 67 days · 2,034 km

H.P. Nooteboom

3 islands · Mar – May 1970

H.P. Nooteboom in Borneo, Sarawak and Sabah, March – May 1970

344 specimens · 34 stops · 62 days · 5,549 km

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo

Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island · Apr – Sep 1951

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo in Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island, April – September 1951

330 specimens · 27 stops · 127 days · 2,315 km

How a journey is found

Every specimen with a full date (year, month and day; a bare “1 January” is treated as a missing day) and a named collector is a diary entry. For each collector the days are read in order, each day given the place most of its labels name. The place where a collector spent more than forty percent of their days, and at least sixty of them, is home: days there are left out.

A gap of more than 21 days between collecting days ends one journey and begins the next. A journey must run five to four hundred days, hold at least forty specimens and touch at least two places. Within it, consecutive days inside the same or a neighbouring tenth-of-a-degree cell (about eleven kilometres) are one stop; the stop’s point is the mean of its labels’ coordinates, or the island’s centre when none carry any.

Companions are collectors whose own labels put them in the same cell on the same days. Staff can name a journey, write about it, feature it or hide it; those words survive every rebuild. Everything else is read off the specimens and rebuilt by harvest.mjs expeditions as the records improve.