The 1954 Chatham Islands expedition was a research expedition organised by George Knox of the University of Canterbury to explore the distribution of benthic and pelagic marine fauna living between the Chatham Islands / Rēkohu and the eastern coast of New Zealand.

[1] Funding was received from the New Zealand Oceanographic Committee, via the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR).

[2] They visited a number of locations on Rekohu (the main island) including Owenga, Kaingaroa, Waitangi, Petre Bay, Te Whanga Lagoon and Port Hutt.

[1][2][3] The expedition collected thousands of specimens of both land and marine fauna including over 150 new species.

[8] Dell named a deep water snail after the expedition ship and its master Alertalex blacki while another snail was named Chathamidia expeditionis after the expedition.