Village of Hgaloa Kandan, Fiji. by J. J. Wild from his book, At Anchor; Narrative of Experiences afloat and ashore during the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger (1878). The Voyage of The Challenger, by Eric Linklater page 181. The Challenger is notable for carrying the first global marine research expedition and is without parallel in the history of scientific research. The vessel was also the first steamship to cross the Antarctic Circle, although this was not the object of the voyage. The Challenger made extensive researches in the Pacific and in 1862 she took part in operations against Mexico, including the occupation of Vera Cruz, and in 1866 a punitive operation against some Fijian natives to avenge the murder of a missionary and some of his dependents. The route led by New Zealand, the Fiji Islands, Torres Strait, the Banda Sea, and the China Sea to Hong Kong. The western Pacific was then explored northward to Yokohama, after which the Challenger struck across the ocean by Honolulu and Tahiti to Valparaiso. The Challenger then coasted southward, penetrated the Straits of Magellan, touched at Montevideo, recrossed the Atlantic by Ascension and the Azores, and reached Sheerness in May 1876.