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. 2,237 journeys so far, 1874 to 2026, 440,730 specimens between them.

965 collectors and expeditions37,623 days in the field7,838,218 km between stops330,332 photographed specimens

Adolph D.E. Elmer

6 islands of the Philippines · Oct – Nov 1912

Adolph D.E. Elmer across 6 islands of the Philippines, October – November 1912

243 specimens · 3 stops · 32 days

Otto Degener

Oʻahu and Maui · Jan – Jun 1937

Otto Degener in Oʻahu and Maui, January – June 1937

92 specimens · 21 stops · 132 days · 335 km

E.Y. Dawson

8 islands · May – Jun 1949

E.Y. Dawson across 8 islands, May – June 1949

127 specimens · 14 stops · 29 days

Keith D.P. Wilson

Maui and Oʻahu · Oct 1951 – Jan 1952

Keith D.P. Wilson in Maui and Oʻahu, October 1951 – January 1952

111 specimens · 14 stops · 97 days · 495 km

Kohndo Gessler

4 islands · Sep – Oct 1934

Kohndo Gessler across 4 islands, September – October 1934

181 specimens · 5 stops · 34 days · 240 km

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

Isabelle Abbott

St. Croix · Dec 1972 – Jan 1973

Isabelle Abbott in St. Croix, December 1972 – January 1973

130 specimens · 12 stops · 28 days

Pratita Puradyatmika

New Guinea · Jan – Mar 1998

Pratita Puradyatmika in New Guinea, January – March 1998

114 specimens · 17 stops · 78 days · 3,724 km

Clarence H. Cooke Jr.

Molokaʻi and Kiritimati · Jul – Aug 1924

Clarence H. Cooke Jr. in Molokaʻi and Kiritimati, July – August 1924

164 specimens · 6 stops · 35 days · 4,362 km

M.L. Lohman

Kauaʻi and Oʻahu · Oct 1947 – Jan 1948

M.L. Lohman in Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, October 1947 – January 1948

173 specimens · 19 stops · 67 days · 763 km

P.S. Vroom

7 islands of the U.S. Outlying Islands · 18–31 Jan 2006

P.S. Vroom across 7 islands of the U.S. Outlying Islands, 18–31 January 2006

289 specimens · 5 stops · 14 days · 2,146 km

Derral R. Herbst

3 islands of the United States · Jul – Aug 1973

Derral R. Herbst in Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, July – August 1973

122 specimens · 12 stops · 44 days · 1,166 km

J.R. Croft

3 islands of Papua New Guinea · Nov – Dec 1976

J.R. Croft in Fergusson Island, Normanby Island and Fergusson Island., November – December 1976

149 specimens · 8 stops · 39 days · 605 km

Edwin Horace Bryan Jr.

7 islands · Mar – Apr 1935

Edwin Horace Bryan Jr. across 7 islands, March – April 1935

175 specimens · 12 stops · 27 days · 12,205 km

Isa Degener

4 islands · Nov – Dec 1960

Isa Degener across 4 islands, November – December 1960

102 specimens · 20 stops · 40 days · 12,274 km

Edwin G. Burrows

4 islands · Apr – Jun 1932

Edwin G. Burrows across 4 islands, April – June 1932

190 specimens · 4 stops · 44 days · 4,532 km

Donald Anderson

Oʻahu · 1–15 Apr 1938

Donald Anderson in Oʻahu, 1–15 April 1938

318 specimens · 2 stops · 15 days · 153 km

William H. Meinecke

Kauaʻi · Jul – Aug 1928

William H. Meinecke in Kauaʻi, July – August 1928

253 specimens · 4 stops · 5 days · 659 km

A.J. Bernatowicz

4 islands · May – Sep 1950

A.J. Bernatowicz across 4 islands, May – September 1950

82 specimens · 32 stops · 103 days

J.S. Burley

Borneo and Kalimantan · Mar – May 1988

J.S. Burley in Borneo and Kalimantan, March – May 1988

100 specimens · 20 stops · 42 days · 4,807 km

M. Sundue

New Guinea · 3–23 Feb 2013

M. Sundue in New Guinea, 3–23 February 2013

300 specimens · 2 stops · 21 days · 483 km

Luke Seli

Vatoa · Oct – Nov 1968

Luke Seli in Vatoa, October – November 1968

163 specimens · 7 stops · 17 days

Fernando Dayrit

1–10 Feb 1957

Fernando Dayrit, 1–10 February 1957

332 specimens · 2 stops · 10 days

Mary Eleanor King

1–10 Feb 1957

Mary Eleanor King, 1–10 February 1957

332 specimens · 2 stops · 10 days

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.