top of page
Catalog of plant specimen collection and production tools (in German, date unknown)
(Click image to enlarge)
Various styles of aluminium specimen collection boxes, walking sticks, tools for making pressed specimens, and shovels. Field naturalists at the time brought reference books, notebooks, specimen bottles, magnifying glasses, specimen collection boxes, and walking sticks to naval expeditions. Other necessities included compasses, telescopes, barometers, thermometers, and pistols.
Standard equipment for 19th century field naturalists
The study of natural history involved a division of labour, from taxonomists who identify specimens to field naturalists who go on expeditions. Field naturalists were usually accompanied by professional botanical collectors or gardeners sent by official agencies. On site, they sought guidance from local merchants, officials, and villagers. Meyen, for example, was guided by children on Lantau in 1831.
Naturalists' tools
In 1735, Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus pioneered a new method of species classification and advocated the use of Latin binomial nomenclature for naming living organisms. Riding on the enthusiasm for expeditionary exploration sparked by the Age of Discovery and the Renaissance, discoveries resulting from naturalists’ travels were no longer mere descriptions of exotic species, but instead formed valuable scientific records of the observation, classification, and naming of species.
The growth of natural history came at a time when European and American empires saw the need to expand. Many military and commercial sea voyages were accompanied by naturalists, who saw these journeys as valuable opportunities. One of the most famous voyages was the one of HMS Beagle in 1831, with amateur naturalist Charles Darwin onboard. The five-year global expedition led to Darwin's influential theory of evolution by natural selection.
The HMS Sulphur, a Royal Navy survey ship like the Beagle, landed on Hong Kong Island during the First Opium War in 1841. While surveying Hong Kong waters, Captain Edward Belcher was able to draw a nautical chart of Hong Kong; naval surgeon Richard Hinds, on the other hand, collected nearly 140 specimens of plants.
The Voyage of Naturalists
Top
Exhibits
Photo of the ship | Country/ Name of vessels | Year journeyed through Hong Kong / Locations of Expedition | Naturalists on board and assistants (role on board) | Hong Kong specimens collected | Influences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Britain / Merchant ship The Hindostan, East India Company | 1794 / Ma Wan | Henry Parish (Lieutenant) and Willam Alexander (painter) | No collection made | ||
Britain /
Royal Navy HMS Alceste | 1816 /
Southwest of Hong Kong Island and an small island (presumably Magazine Island) | Clarke Abel (Chief Medical Officer) and Hooper (botanical gardener) | Lost all specimens | In 1818, he published Narrative of a Journey in the Interior of China, the first book written by a naturalist from the West to describe the nature of Hong Kong. | |
Prussia /
Merchant ship Prinzess Luise | 1831 /
Lantau Island | Franz Meyen (naval surgeon) | 23 species of Hong Kong plants | The first successful attempt to bring specimens from Hong Kong to Europe. Later, in 1834, he published A Voyage around the World. British botanist Seemann later referenced Meyen’s travelogue for information on Hong Kong's climate before visiting China. | |
Britain /
Royal Navy
HMS Sulphur | 1841 /
Hong Kong Island | Richard Brinsley Hinds (naval surgeon) and A. Sinclair (assistant naval surgeon) | Nearly 140 species of Hong Kong plants, 21 of which were new species | First batch of specimens brought from Hong Kong to Britain which formed the foundation for Flora Hongkongensis published in 1861. Sulphur Channel, Belcher's Street, Belcher's Battery (now The Belcher's) and the Hill Above Belcher’s (now Lung Fu Shan) were named after the survey ship and its captain. | |
Britain
/
Royal Navy HMS Herald | 1850 /
Hong Kong Island and Kowloon | Berthold Carl Seemann (botanist) | Over 700 species of Hong Kong plants (including specimens from Hance) | Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Herald, published in 1853, includes 773 species of Hong Kong plants which were later cited in Flora Hongkongensis (1861). |
船的圖片 | 國家 /船名 | 途經香港年份 / 在港探索地點 | 隨行博物學家及助手(船上職位) | 所採集香港標本 | 影響 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
英國 / 東印度公司商船印度斯坦 | 1794 / 馬灣 | 巴爾施（陸軍中尉）和亞歷山大（畫家） | 沒有採集標本 | ||
英國 /
皇家海軍Alceste號 | 1816 /
香港島西南面及一 小島 (估計為火藥洲) | 克拉克·亞卑路 (首席船醫)及霍珀(植物護理員) | 失去所有標本 | 1818年發表《1816年與1817年中國內陸之旅與航行紀事》，為首次有西方博物學家著書描述香港。 | |
普魯士 /
皇家商船露易絲公主號 | 1831 /
大嶼山 | 邁恩 (船醫) | 23種香港植物 | 首次成功將香港標本帶回歐洲，1834年出版《環球航行記》。英國植物學家斯曼來華前，特別參考此書的香港氣候資訊。 | |
英國 /
皇家海軍硫磺號 | 1841 /
香港島 | 理察·軒仕 (船醫) 及A. Sinclair (助理船醫) | 近140種香港植物，21種為新物種 | 首批帶回英國的香港標本，為1861年出版的《香港植物誌》基礎。後香港以該船及船長命名了硫磺海硤、卑路乍街、卑路乍炮台(今寶翠園)與卑路乍後山(今龍虎山)。 | |
英國 /
皇家海軍先驅號 | 1850 /
香港島與九龍 | 貝特霍·斯曼 (植物學家) | 逾700種香港植物 (包括漢斯的標本) | 1853發表《先驅號航程的植物考察》，收錄共773種香港植物，後引用到1861年出版的《香港植物誌》中。 |
Vessels that visited HK
The map below marks several voyages that journeyed through Hong Kong from the early to mid-19th century, according to historical records left by field naturalists.
(Hover over the icons for details)
All stories in Chapter 1
Other Stories
bottom of page