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. 2,592 journeys so far, 1874 to 2026, 493,508 specimens between them.

1,114 collectors and expeditions42,779 days in the field8,765,933 km between stops330,332 photographed specimens

Harold St.John

Kauaʻi · Jun – Aug 1925

Harold St.John in Kauaʻi, June – August 1925

162 specimens · 18 stops · 58 days

Charles N. Forbes

Oʻahu · Feb – May 1911

Charles N. Forbes in Oʻahu, February – May 1911

101 specimens · 17 stops · 92 days · 602 km

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

T.K. Newell

9 islands · Aug – Nov 1966

T.K. Newell across 9 islands, August – November 1966

116 specimens · 27 stops · 91 days · 12,029 km

M. Jitmau

3 islands of Indonesia · Mar – May 1994

M. Jitmau in New Guinea, Irian Jaya and Borneo, March – May 1994

128 specimens · 10 stops · 76 days · 4,100 km

John L. Earle

7 islands · Jul – Sep 1991

John L. Earle across 7 islands, July – September 1991

180 specimens · 19 stops · 78 days · 2,979 km

Mrs Hughes

7 islands of the United States · Sep – Oct 2002

Mrs Hughes across 7 islands of the United States, September – October 2002

122 specimens · 13 stops · 27 days · 2,889 km

D. Wesley Garber

Tutuila and Goat Island · Nov 1924 – Jan 1925

D. Wesley Garber in Tutuila and Goat Island, November 1924 – January 1925

170 specimens · 9 stops · 38 days

Gordon Allan Samuelson

5 islands of New Zealand · Sep – Oct 1962

Gordon Allan Samuelson across 5 islands of New Zealand, September – October 1962

85 specimens · 27 stops · 58 days · 9,986 km

P.J. Darbyshire

New Guinea · Jun – Sep 1961

P.J. Darbyshire in New Guinea, June – September 1961

76 specimens · 40 stops · 109 days · 2,501 km

Harold E. Parks

Rarotonga · May – Jul 1929

Harold E. Parks in Rarotonga, May – July 1929

115 specimens · 17 stops · 69 days

Benjamin C. Stone

7 islands · Dec 1967 – Apr 1968

Benjamin C. Stone across 7 islands, December 1967 – April 1968

95 specimens · 22 stops · 121 days · 1,715 km

G.J. Leach

New Guinea · May – Aug 1972

G.J. Leach in New Guinea, May – August 1972

127 specimens · 9 stops · 75 days · 1,995 km

G.A. Santos

4 islands of the Philippines · Feb – Jun 1968

G.A. Santos across 4 islands of the Philippines, February – June 1968

84 specimens · 23 stops · 117 days · 3,115 km

Marie Catherine Neal

4 islands · Jul – Aug 1933

Marie Catherine Neal across 4 islands, July – August 1933

137 specimens · 9 stops · 33 days · 17,135 km

Alvarez

Luzon and Olango · Nov – Dec 1991

Alvarez in Luzon and Olango, November – December 1991

124 specimens · 13 stops · 19 days

J.R. Le B. Tomlin Ex Jens M. Ostergaard

Oʻahu · Jul – Aug 1924

J.R. Le B. Tomlin Ex Jens M. Ostergaard in Oʻahu, July – August 1924

104 specimens · 14 stops · 48 days · 869 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

M.D. Hoyle

6 islands of the United States · Jul – Aug 1968

M.D. Hoyle across 6 islands of the United States, July – August 1968

91 specimens · 22 stops · 46 days

Edward Yataro Hosaka

Maui and Hawaiʻi Island · Jan – Feb 1937

Edward Yataro Hosaka in Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, January – February 1937

114 specimens · 14 stops · 28 days · 447 km

Steven Perlman

Kauaʻi · Jan – Apr 2015

Steven Perlman in Kauaʻi, January – April 2015

91 specimens · 17 stops · 94 days · 13,385 km

Ruth D. Svihla

Maui and Oʻahu · Jun – Aug 1935

Ruth D. Svihla in Maui and Oʻahu, June – August 1935

176 specimens · 15 stops · 69 days · 191 km

David F. Grether

5 islands · Jul – Aug 1946

David F. Grether across 5 islands, July – August 1946

121 specimens · 10 stops · 38 days · 37,731 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

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.