Personal details
Full Name:
- Abel Janszoon Tasman
Lifetime:
- 1602/1603–1659?
Biography

The dutch explorer Abel Tasman is officially recognised as the first European to ‘discover’ New Zealand in 1642. His men were the first Europeans to have a confirmed encounter with Māori.
Read more...Events In History
-
18 December 1642First known encounter between Māori and Europeans
Abel Tasman’s Dutch East India Company expedition had the first known European contact with Māori. It did not go well. Read more...
-
13 December 1642First recorded European sighting of New Zealand
Towards noon the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted 'a large land, uplifted high', possibly the peaks of the Paparoa Range behind Punakaiki. Read more...
-
Main image: Abel Tasman memorial, Golden Bay