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. 19 journeys so far, 1922 to 2022, 5,198 specimens between them.

4 collectors and expeditions520 days in the field192,095 km between stops3,528 photographed specimens

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman

21 islands · Feb – Oct 1934

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman across 21 islands, February – October 1934

1,714 specimens · 56 stops · 248 days · 12,587 km

Wood Jones

22 islands · Jul – Dec 1922

Wood Jones across 22 islands, July – December 1922

478 specimens · 45 stops · 142 days · 3,823 km

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman

4 islands · May – Aug 1940

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman across 4 islands, May – August 1940

616 specimens · 10 stops · 86 days · 181 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

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman

Kauaʻi and Maui · Jun – Aug 1937

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman in Kauaʻi and Maui, June – August 1937

575 specimens · 25 stops · 78 days · 481 km

Kenneth R. Wood

4 islands of the United States · Mar – May 2005

Kenneth R. Wood across 4 islands of the United States, March – May 2005

202 specimens · 17 stops · 58 days · 2,044 km

Kenneth R. Wood

9 islands · Jun – Nov 1997

Kenneth R. Wood across 9 islands, June – November 1997

164 specimens · 33 stops · 139 days · 49,817 km

Kenneth R. Wood

3 islands · Feb – Mar 2009

Kenneth R. Wood in Kosrae, Maui and Pohnpei, February – March 2009

132 specimens · 15 stops · 37 days · 9,977 km

Kenneth R. Wood

Savaii and Upolu · 2–30 Jun 2016

Kenneth R. Wood in Savaii and Upolu, 2–30 June 2016

132 specimens · 15 stops · 29 days · 80 km

Kenneth R. Wood

3 islands · Mar – May 2002

Kenneth R. Wood in Rapa, Easter Island (=Isla De Pascua) and Austral Islands, March – May 2002

119 specimens · 11 stops · 55 days · 57,573 km

Kenneth R. Wood

4 islands · Jan – Feb 2003

Kenneth R. Wood across 4 islands, January – February 2003

108 specimens · 16 stops · 30 days · 11,438 km

J.J. Wood

6 islands of Papua New Guinea · Sep – Dec 1975

J.J. Wood across 6 islands of Papua New Guinea, September – December 1975

67 specimens · 13 stops · 71 days · 5,279 km

Kenneth R. Wood

4 islands of French Polynesia · Jun – Jul 2004

Kenneth R. Wood across 4 islands of French Polynesia, June – July 2004

94 specimens · 13 stops · 41 days · 1,519 km

Kenneth R. Wood

7 islands of Palau · Jun – Jul 2022

Kenneth R. Wood across 7 islands of Palau, June – July 2022

55 specimens · 10 stops · 18 days

Kenneth R. Wood

Ua Pou and Hiva Oa · Oct – Nov 2017

Kenneth R. Wood in Ua Pou and Hiva Oa, October – November 2017

67 specimens · 9 stops · 16 days · 168 km

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman

Oʻahu · Jan – Mar 1937

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman in Oʻahu, January – March 1937

59 specimens · 12 stops · 68 days

Kenneth R. Wood

4 islands of French Polynesia · Jun – Jul 2003

Kenneth R. Wood across 4 islands of French Polynesia, June – July 2003

76 specimens · 6 stops · 28 days · 576 km

Kenneth R. Wood

3 islands of French Polynesia · Nov – Dec 2003

Kenneth R. Wood in Ua Huka, Ua Pou and Huahine, November – December 2003

52 specimens · 11 stops · 28 days · 1,630 km

Kenneth R. Wood

Kosrae and Kosrae (=Kusaie) · Jan – Feb 2010

Kenneth R. Wood in Kosrae and Kosrae (=Kusaie), January – February 2010

41 specimens · 8 stops · 11 days · 2,660 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.