Itinerary

Meet The Expert

Dr. George Beccaloni

Sitting below the Seatrek recreated Wallace research Hut(photo left) Dr. George Beccaloni shows his enthusiasm for the book “The Malay Archipelago” written by one of his heroes Alfred Russel Wallace. George is a zoologist, evolutionary biologist and historian of science, who worked at London’s Natural History Museum (NHM) for more than 20 years on butterflies and other insects. He enjoys natural history photography and travel and has visited Indonesia multiple times, twice as a speaker on SeaTrek tours. George has studied Wallace’s life and work for c. 16 years and is the founder and Director of the Wallace Correspondence Project. In 1999 he set up the Wallace Memorial Fund, which restored Wallace’s grave in Dorset and paid for several memorials to him, including a bronze statue now in the NHM.

George has published a number of articles about Wallace and co-edited the book Natural Selection and Beyond: The Intellectual Legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace. He was the Historical Consultant for Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero, an award-winning two-part BBC series about Wallace, and he recently helped the Folio Society produce the first ‘deluxe’ edition of Wallace’s famous travelogue The Malay Archipelago. Most importantly for you, he loves to share his childlike enthusiasm for all things nature. Just look at his face as he holds up a rare giant coconut crab for observation! (above).

This expert-led cruise from Ternate to Sorong honours Alfred Russel Wallace – 19th century British naturalist and co-founder of the theory of evolution. We will explore, on land and underwater, what captivated Wallace about this part of the world, including the birds of paradise.

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