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. 72 journeys so far, 1953 to 2002, 19,945 specimens between them.

3 collectors and expeditions1,929 days in the field578,122 km between stops106 photographed specimens

Johnson Randall

4 islands · 6–27 Mar 1988

Johnson Randall across 4 islands, 6–27 March 1988

277 specimens · 17 stops · 22 days

Johnson Randall

3 islands of the United States · Oct – Dec 1967

Johnson Randall in Enewetak Atoll, Oʻahu and Tahiti, October – December 1967

238 specimens · 14 stops · 40 days · 20,674 km

Johnson Randall

8 islands · Jun – Sep 1986

Johnson Randall across 8 islands, June – September 1986

167 specimens · 23 stops · 68 days · 75,616 km

Johnson Randall

8 islands of Iceland · Aug – Sep 1985

Johnson Randall across 8 islands of Iceland, August – September 1985

229 specimens · 13 stops · 37 days

Johnson Randall

15 islands of Oman · Dec 1992 – Feb 1993

Johnson Randall across 15 islands of Oman, December 1992 – February 1993

178 specimens · 21 stops · 71 days · 2,300 km

Johnson Randall

8 islands · Jul – Sep 1991

Johnson Randall across 8 islands, July – September 1991

189 specimens · 17 stops · 61 days · 15,392 km

Johnson Randall

20 islands of Indonesia · Sep – Nov 1986

Johnson Randall across 20 islands of Indonesia, September – November 1986

166 specimens · 27 stops · 52 days · 1,511 km

Johnson Randall

7 islands · May – Jun 1984

Johnson Randall across 7 islands, May – June 1984

177 specimens · 16 stops · 39 days · 385 km

Johnson Randall

3 islands · Dec 1971 – Apr 1972

Johnson Randall in Enewetak Atoll, Oʻahu and Maui, December 1971 – April 1972

108 specimens · 28 stops · 120 days · 19,165 km

Johnson Randall

Bahrain · Oct – Nov 1983

Johnson Randall in Bahrain, October – November 1983

150 specimens · 14 stops · 39 days

Johnson Randall

14 islands · Aug – Nov 1966

Johnson Randall across 14 islands, August – November 1966

116 specimens · 21 stops · 89 days · 28,513 km

Johnson Randall

Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island · Jul – Oct 1970

Johnson Randall in Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island, July – October 1970

117 specimens · 19 stops · 83 days · 459 km

Johnson Randall

5 islands · Feb – May 1956

Johnson Randall across 5 islands, February – May 1956

111 specimens · 14 stops · 108 days · 128 km

Johnson Randall

Tutuila Island and Tutuila · Apr – May 1974

Johnson Randall in Tutuila Island and Tutuila, April – May 1974

129 specimens · 14 stops · 21 days · 5,399 km

Johnson Randall

9 islands of French Polynesia · Feb – Jul 1957

Johnson Randall across 9 islands of French Polynesia, February – July 1957

86 specimens · 22 stops · 146 days · 1,617 km

Johnson Randall

4 islands · May – Jun 1981

Johnson Randall across 4 islands, May – June 1981

142 specimens · 7 stops · 14 days · 913 km

Johnson Randall

13 islands of Oman · Apr – May 1990

Johnson Randall across 13 islands of Oman, April – May 1990

111 specimens · 10 stops · 21 days · 1,135 km

Johnson Randall

Easter Island and Bonaire · 4–22 Feb 1985

Johnson Randall in Easter Island and Bonaire, 4–22 February 1985

112 specimens · 10 stops · 19 days

Johnson Randall

10 islands of Egypt · Jul – Aug 1976

Johnson Randall across 10 islands of Egypt, July – August 1976

80 specimens · 19 stops · 44 days

Johnson Randall

6 islands · 1–15 Jun 1972

Johnson Randall across 6 islands, 1–15 June 1972

112 specimens · 10 stops · 15 days

Johnson Randall

Easter Island and Tahiti · Jan – Feb 1986

Johnson Randall in Easter Island and Tahiti, January – February 1986

90 specimens · 12 stops · 21 days

Johnson Randall

6 islands of Saudi Arabia · May – Jun 1992

Johnson Randall across 6 islands of Saudi Arabia, May – June 1992

89 specimens · 10 stops · 28 days · 84 km

Johnson Randall

9 islands · Apr – May 1997

Johnson Randall across 9 islands, April – May 1997

95 specimens · 8 stops · 33 days · 8,635 km

Johnson Randall

12 islands of Indonesia · Oct – Nov 1990

Johnson Randall across 12 islands of Indonesia, October – November 1990

76 specimens · 15 stops · 28 days · 1,705 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.