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Abel Tasman - What did they learn?

Australia starts to take shape on the world map

Do you think Tasman’s voyages were a success or a failure? The answer depends on how you judge them.

His instructions were to find valuable commodities, people to trade with and new, fertile land. He didn’t get an A+ for the commercial part of his project!

However, Tasman's geographical achievements were very significant. His discoveries added important new information to European maps, which provided a better understanding of Australia and the wider Pacific region. The famous map of his voyages brought together almost 40 years of Dutch exploration of the Australian coastline.

A map of Abel Tasman’s voyages 

[icon] It’s time to put your cartography skills and Abel Tasman knowledge to the test! Look carefully at the map above to answer the following questions. 

Key achievements of the voyages

Abel Tasman was the first European to:

  • Visit Tasmania. He named the island ‘Van Diemen’s Land’, but the First Nations Palawa people call it Lutruwita.
  • See Aotearoa (New Zealand) and meet the Māori people. He named the islands ‘Staten Landt’. He thought they may be part of South America.
  • Visit Tonga and meet the local people.
  • View the islands Fiji.

He charted more of the Australian coastline than any other person.

He gave the Australian mainland the name New Holland.

The Tasman Bonaparte map is a significant historical map of Australia. 

It represents the pinnacle of Dutch exploration in the Australia and Pacific region. It was probably drawn under the supervision of Tasman’s chief pilot, Franz Jacobszoon Visscher, and merchant, Isaac Gilsemans. 

[icon] Look at the two Dutch maps of Australia below. The map on the left shows Australia around 1618, and the map on right is Tasman’s Bonaparte Map from around 1644.