Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch navigator, explorer and merchant who sailed for the Dutch East India Company. In 1642, he became the first European recorded as sighting Tasmania and New Zealand; in 1644, he mapped roughly 4,000 kilometres of Australia’s northern coast.
Yet those voyages left important questions unresolved. Tasman did not establish that Tasmania was an island, and he never landed in New Zealand. If you follow his route from Batavia to Golden Bay, you encounter commercial ambitions, a deadly clash and geographical guesses that shaped the names he used.
Who was Abel Tasman before his famous voyages?
Tasman was probably born in 1602 or 1603 in Lutjegast, a village in the Groningen region of the Netherlands. His career included service as a navigator, captain and expedition second-in-command before the voyage that brought him to Tasmania and New Zealand.
In 1634, he served as second mate aboard Weesp. Later that same year, he became captain of Mocha. These appointments place his working life aboard ships well before his departure for the southern seas in 1642.
In 1639, Tasman was second-in-command of a North Pacific expedition led by Matthijs Quast. Three years later, he sailed on the voyage for which he is best remembered, under the authority of the Dutch East India Company.
Why did Tasman sail south in 1642?
The expedition had commercial and geographical aims. It sought southern lands that could offer opportunities for trade. It also investigated whether a sea route to Chile existed. Tasmania and New Zealand entered the expedition’s record during this wider search.
Tasman left Batavia, now Jakarta, on 14 August 1642. His two ships were Heemskerck and Zeehaen, carrying a total of 110 men. Franz Jacobszoon Visscher served as chief navigator and Tasman’s principal adviser.
The ships stopped at Mauritius for repairs and supplies. They spent about a month there before continuing. This pause was part of the practical work behind the voyage: the vessels needed attention, and the expedition needed provisions.
When did Abel Tasman reach Tasmania?
On 24 November 1642, Tasman sighted Tasmania’s western coast. This was the first recorded European sighting of the island. He named the land Van Diemen’s Land in honour of Anthony van Diemen, governor-general of the Dutch East Indies.
The expedition saw signs of human presence in Tasmania but did not meet the Indigenous inhabitants. That distinction matters when you read about Tasman’s arrival. The recorded sighting and the expedition’s observations did not include a meeting with the people living there.
On 3 December 1642, members of the expedition raised a Dutch flag in Tasmania and claimed sovereignty for the Netherlands. The flag ceremony followed the coastal sighting, making it a separate event in the expedition’s progress.
Tasman’s voyages did not establish that Tasmania was separate from mainland Australia. You can therefore distinguish what he saw from what his expeditions proved: he recorded the coast, but its status as an island remained unresolved by his work.
Abel Tasman in New Zealand: where did he arrive?
Tasman sighted the western coast of New Zealand’s South Island on 13 December 1642. He became the first European recorded as seeing New Zealand. Isaac Gilsemans, who travelled with him, produced the earliest known European drawings of the country during the expedition.
Tasman called the land Staten Landt. He thought it might connect with a landmass bearing that name near South America. The name recorded a possibility in his geographical thinking, rather than an established connection.
After rounding Farewell Spit, the ships anchored in what is now Golden Bay on 18 December. Here, the expedition encountered Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri.
What happened at Golden Bay?
On 18 December, Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri approached in two waka and sounded wind instruments. The Dutch answered with their own trumpets. The exchange brought the visitors and local people into contact before the violence of the following day.
On 19 December, a Māori waka rammed a small Dutch boat travelling between the expedition’s two ships. An attack followed, and four Dutch sailors were killed. Tasman subsequently named the place Moordenaers Bay, meaning Murderers’ Bay.
The name reflected Tasman’s response to the deaths of his men. It should be read alongside the sequence of events: the anchorage on 18 December, the approach by waka, and the attack on the boat on 19 December.
Despite sailing along New Zealand’s coast, Tasman did not go ashore anywhere in the country. His voyage brought recorded European observation and a deadly encounter, but no landing by Tasman himself.
How did the voyage continue after New Zealand?
Tasman suspected that a passage existed where Cook Strait is today. Bad weather prevented him from investigating it, and he continued north. Like Tasmania’s island status, this was a geographical question his voyage did not settle.
At Christmas in 1642, his crews sheltered from a storm east of Stephens and D’Urville islands. They marked the occasion with pork and an extra wine ration. If you associate a special meal with a holiday, this is an everyday link to the sailors: their Christmas celebration also centred on food and drink.
The fleet reached Tonga’s southern islands on 21 January 1643. It then travelled through the northern Fiji islands and past New Guinea. The ships returned to Batavia on 15 June 1643, completing the voyage that had brought Tasmania and New Zealand into their records.
What did Abel Tasman do in 1644?
Tasman’s next major expedition sailed in 1644 with three ships: Limmen, Zeemeeuw and Brak. It mapped approximately 4,000 kilometres of Australia’s northern coast. This coastal survey was a different achievement from the first recorded European sightings of 1642.
Together, the voyages expanded European geographical knowledge of the region. Their limits remained significant, however. Tasman’s expeditions did not establish Tasmania’s separation from mainland Australia, despite the extensive coastline recorded during his work.
Details you won’t find in guidebooks
The Dutch flag raised in Tasmania reached shore through an individual sailor’s effort. In a 1925 study based on Tasman’s journal, G. H. Halligan described the ship’s carpenter swimming ashore to plant it. That account adds a physical detail to the sovereignty claim of 3 December 1642.
The Tasman Map held by the State Library of New South Wales records the results of the 1642–1644 voyages. It was drawn by hand on Japanese gampi paper. The object preserves the expeditions’ geographical results in a particular material form, rather than simply as a list of destinations.
Tasman’s later career also included disciplinary action. On 23 November 1649, he was suspended without pay over an allegation that he had attempted to hang two sailors without trial. He returned to service 11 months later.
By 1653, Tasman had retired. He probably died in Batavia shortly before 22 October 1659, when his will was authenticated. His life therefore continued beyond the two expeditions most closely associated with his name.
Timeline
- 1602 or 1603: Probably born in Lutjegast, in Groningen.
- 1634: Served as second mate on Weesp, then captain of Mocha.
- 1639: Joined Matthijs Quast’s North Pacific expedition as second-in-command.
- 14 August 1642: Departed Batavia aboard Heemskerck and Zeehaen.
- 24 November 1642: Sighted Tasmania’s western coast.
- 3 December 1642: His expedition claimed sovereignty in Tasmania for the Netherlands.
- 13 December 1642: Sighted New Zealand’s South Island.
- 18 December 1642: Anchored at Golden Bay and encountered Māori.
- 19 December 1642: Four Dutch sailors died in the Golden Bay attack.
- 21 January 1643: Reached Tonga’s southern islands.
- 15 June 1643: Returned to Batavia.
- 1644: Mapped Australia’s northern coast.
- 23 November 1649: Suspended without pay.
- 1659: Probably died shortly before 22 October in Batavia.
FAQ
Who was Abel Tasman?
Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch navigator, explorer and merchant known for his 1642 and 1644 voyages for the Dutch East India Company.
When did Abel Tasman reach Tasmania?
Tasman sighted Tasmania’s western coast on 24 November 1642. He named it Van Diemen’s Land after Anthony van Diemen.
Did Abel Tasman land in New Zealand?
No. He sighted the South Island on 13 December 1642 and sailed along New Zealand’s coast, but he did not go ashore.
What happened at Golden Bay?
On 19 December 1642, an attack began when a Māori waka rammed a small Dutch boat travelling between Tasman’s ships. Four Dutch sailors died.
What did Tasman’s 1644 voyage achieve?
His ships Limmen, Zeemeeuw and Brak mapped approximately 4,000 kilometres of Australia’s northern coast.
Sources
- Te Ara — Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Abel Janszoon Tasman teara.govt.nz
- NZ History — Abel Tasman nzhistory.govt.nz
- NZ History — First recorded European sighting of New Zealand nzhistory.govt.nz
- Te Ara — Abel Tasman teara.govt.nz
- National Library of Australia — Early explorers library.gov.au
- University of Tasmania — Tasman’s landing place eprints.utas.edu.au
- Royal Society of Tasmania — G. H. Halligan, Tasman’s landing place eprints.utas.edu.au
- NZ History — First known encounter between Māori and Europeans nzhistory.govt.nz
- NZ History — European voyaging and discovery nzhistory.govt.nz
- Western Australian Museum — VOC Encounters collections.museum.wa.gov.au
- State Library of New South Wales — The Tasman Map sl.nsw.gov.au
- Te Ara — European discovery of New Zealand: Before Tasman teara.govt.nz
- English Wikipedia — Abel Tasman en.wikipedia.org
Image: Portrait of Abel Tasman, his wife and daughter (adjusted).jpg — Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp, Public domain
