Abel Tasman - Where did they go?Abel Tasman - Where did they go? 

Get ready to chart the Unknown South Land, find treasure, and people to trade with! Abel Tasman sailed through the Pacific Ocean in 1642 and along Australia’s northern coastline in 1644.

In this chapter, you can explore an interactive map that follows where Tasman sailed and discover important events along the way. You’ll also find learning activities and helpful historical background information to support classroom lessons.

The interactive map shows the path that Abel Tasman and his ships followed on his 1642 and 1644 voyages.

Instructions

Go at your own pace and enjoy the journey! Text boxes will pop up with information about significant events on the voyage. Pause the video to read and discuss each event, or skip through using the progress bar at the bottom.

Read on to find out more about the significant events on the voyage!

August 1642

Tasman’s instructions were to sail from Batavia to the island of Mauritius, a Dutch station off the east coast of Africa. With a crew of 110 men, Tasman set sail in his flagship Heemskerck, accompanied by the armed transport ship, Zeehaen.

[icon]Batavia was a Dutch colonial city located where Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, is today. It was founded in 1619 and was an important trading centre in southeast Asia.

From Mauritius, he was instructed to sail along a latitude of 52° or 54° south of the equator. If he found no land, he was to sail east to the longitude of New Guinea or the Solomon Islands, before turning north to see if Torres Strait existed on his return to Batavia.

A drawing of the Dutch colony of Batavia

A mid-eighteenth century engraving showing two views of the Dutch colonial port-city of Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia). The engraver is unknown. ANMM Collection. Object Number 00027549

September 1642

Tasman arrived in Mauritius about three weeks after leaving Batavia. Rigging and sails were repaired, firewood and fresh water were collected in casks, and goats, pigs, and wild birds were caught to feed hungry mouths. A little over a month later, Heemskerck and Zeehaen set sail on a voyage into the unknown.

[icon]Rigging is all of the ropes, chains and fittings on a ship that support the masts, bowsprit, booms or yards, and the ones that control the sails.

A drawing of Abel Tasman’s ships at Mauritius

A view of the island of Mauritius showing ships at anchor in a bay. ANMM Collection. Object Number 00005983

[icon]The sketches and maps in this section were drawn by Isaack Gilsemans. He was the main artist on Tasman’s 1642 voyage.

October 1642

Tasman did not know when, or if, he would find land. As the ships sailed through clear skies, fog, rain and storms, he regularly determined his location and shared plans with the officers on Zeehaen. They sometimes rowed in a small open boat between the two ships so they could talk to each other. At other times, they floated messages in wax-sealed containers between the ships. This helped both crews understand the plan, stay together and report any problems.

In early November, the ships reached a latitude of 49° South, where they faced rough seas, strong gales, hail, snowstorms and freezing weather. These dangerous conditions forced Tasman to change course. They sailed back to 44° South to safely continue the voyage in an easterly direction.

Floating seaweed, plants, and seals were clues that land was nearby. But where was it? Tasman offered a prize of grog and silver ‘pieces of eight’ to the first crew member who spotted land. But they never saw the Australian mainland as they were too far south.

November - December 1642

Late in November, the seamen saw seals, and more and more floating seaweed. They even spotted whales! Six weeks after leaving Mauritius, two high mountains were seen on the horizon. It was the west coast of Lutruwita. 

[icon] Matthew Flinders later named the two mountains Mount Heemskirk and Mount Zeehan, in honour of Abel Tasman’s voyage.

Tasman sailed in an anti-clockwise direction around the south coast. In early December, he finally anchored safely in North Bay, at the top of the Forestier Peninsula. Crew and armed musketeers rowed to shore at Frederick Henry Bay (now named Blackman’s Bay). While his men were on shore, Tasman aboard Heemskerck, saw columns of smoke rising through the forest. On return, his shore party said they heard people nearby, but did not see anyone. Tasman wrote:

That the sounds they heard coming from humans were sounds resembling a trumpet or little gong. Although not far from them, they did not see anyone.

As storm clouds gathered the next day, Pieter Jacobszoon, a carpenter, swam ashore with a pole and the Dutch Prince flag. He planted the flag in the ground to show that the Dutch were claiming the land for the Netherlands. Tasman named it ‘Van Dieman’s Land’ in honour of the Governor General. He wrote:

We rowed our boat as close to the shore as we dared; the … carpenter swam back to the longboat through the surf. His task thus completed we rowed back towards the ship, leaving a touching memorial to posterity and to the inhabitants of this land (although they did not show themselves we suspected that some were not far from where we were and scrutinised our movements and doings with watchful eyes.

After spending about a week exploring the coastline of Lutruwita, Tasman continued his voyage to the east. They’d found nothing to trade and had met no people. He wrote:

While sailing out of this bay and all through the day we saw several columns of smoke ascend along the coast.

[icon] Read the three quotes and discuss the following questions as a group:

A chart of the surveyed coast of Anthony van Diemens Landt 

The Palawa are the First Nations peoples of Lutruwita or Tasmania. There are several language groups, including Paredarerme, on the island. 

This map shows the section of the Lutruwita coastline drawn by Tasman. The faint, straight lines in the ocean show the path that he sailed along.

[icon] Look carefully at the map to help you answer the following questions:

December 1642

Tasman’s visit to Aotearoa is remembered by a brief, violent encounter that was probably the result of a cultural misunderstanding between the Dutch and Māori people. About 10 days after leaving Lutruwita, Tasman saw cloudy, mountain peaks on the west coast of the south island of Aotearoa. Tasman fired a cannon and the Zeehaen officers came aboard Heemskerck to plan their trip along the coast.

A few days later, Māori people from the Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri iwi (tribe) watched the two tall ships sail into Mohua as they sat by fires on the shore. Tasman later named this place Moordenaers’ (Murderers’) Bay because of the violent conflict that happened here. Today, the area is known in English as Golden Bay.

Over two days, Tasman was approached by Māori men in waka. One evening after sunset, Māori men called out and blew a pūkāea or pūtātara as they paddled towards the two tall ships. The Dutch crew called back and blew their trumpets. Neither side knew if these were warnings or a friendly greeting as they didn’t speak the same language! Tasman’s musketeers kept watch with muskets, pikes and cutlasses.

[icon] A waka is a type of Māori canoe. It is often very big and can be paddled or sailed.

[icon] A pūkāea or pūtātara is a traditional Māori wooden trumpet.

Soon after, a waka carrying a large group of Māori men approached the ships, calling out in what may have been a haka. Tasman signalled for them to come aboard by showing white linen and gifts, possibly as signs of peace or trade. When more waka came from shore, the Dutch sent a small rowboat to meet them. But violence broke out! One waka struck the boat and the Māori men attacked with clubs and paddles, killing four Dutch sailors. The Dutch fired muskets and cannons at the waka but there were no reported injuries to the Māori men.

Tasman saw a fleet of more than 20 wakas assembling at the shore and quickly ordered his crew to lift anchors and set sail. As Zeehaen and Heemskerck retreated, they fired their guns, striking some of the waka and one Māori man.

Once safe, Tasman sailed north and charted the west coast of the north island of Aotearoa. He gave it the Dutch name of Staete Landt, thinking it was possibly the west coast of the fabled Great Southern Land that stretched all the way to South America.

It would be 127 years before the next encounter between Europeans and the Māori people, when Cook arrived in 1769. 

[icon] Dutch cartographers later changed the name Staten Land to Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. Zeeland means ‘sea land’. The country’s English name then became New Zealand.

A picture summarising the meeting between Tasman and the Māori people

Montage showing the meeting between Abel Tasman and the Māori people at Mohua. A. Abel Tasman’s ships. B. The Māori wakas that came alongside Tasman’s ships. C. The row boat of the Zeehaen, which paddled towards the Heemskerck, and was overpowered by the Māori people, who afterwards left it after being fired at. D. A view of a waka with the Māori people onboard. E. Tasman’s ships sailing away after the conflict. F. Tasman’s rowboat bringing back the other row boat after the conflict. ANMM Collection. Object Number 0005983

[icon] Look carefully at the picture above to see what happened in Aotearoa. Write a paragraph that describes what happened in this meeting.

Abel Tasman’s map of the west coast of Aotearoa (New Zealand)

A chart of part of the coast of Staete Landt made and discovered by the ships Heemskerck and Zeehaen, the Hon. Abel Tasman commander, A.D. 1642, the 13th of December. ANMM Collection. Object Number 0005983

January 1643

Tasman arrived in the kingdom of Tonga in late January of 1643. The first European to do so! Tonga is an archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean made up of more than 170 islands. These islands are grouped into three main areas: Vava‘u, Ha‘apai and Tongatapu. Tongatapu is the largest island in the country.

In January 1643, the people of Tongatapu watched Tasman’s two tall ships, Heemskerck and Zeehaen, sail into view. Tasman and his crew were wary because of the fight with Māori people in Aotearoa.

But the meeting in Tonga was peaceful! The Tongans and the Dutch did not speak the same language, but gestures, the bartering of objects and the display of white cloth or flags showed friendly intentions. The first visitors to the ships were three men who paddled out in a small canoe. Over the next days, different members of the community came to the ships. This included a leader in an outrigger canoe decorated with shells and conches, followed by large fleets with as many as 30 canoes. Men, women and children also swam out from the shore to see the ships.

This stop over became a peaceful exchange of food and materials. Tongans brought coconuts, yams, baccovos, bananas, pigs, chickens, fish and hooks made from mother-of-pearl. In return, the Dutch exchanged silver knives, nails, copper wire, pieces of satin, hats and shirts, looking glasses and beads. 

There were also moments of curiosity, courtesy and entertainment on both the ships and the shore. Tasman gave tours of his cabin and one Tongan man stayed overnight on the ship. Members of the Dutch crew played a violin and trumpet. They also fired a cannon, and its sudden, thunderous noise caused alarm and excitement. Tasman and some of his crew were invited ashore on Tongatapu, which the Dutch called Amsterdam, and Nomuka, which they called Rotterdam. On shore, Tasman was welcomed into a small open-sided hut, where he sat on a beautiful woven mat and shared water from coconut shells with a community leader.

The Dutch stayed in the kingdom of Tonga for about ten days. During this time, they refilled casks with fresh water (their first since leaving Mauritius) and received 100 pigs and 150 chickens for their voyage! Tasman’s ships then sailed north towards Fiji.

A drawing showing the meeting between Abel Tasman and the people of Tonga

Montage of scenes from Tongatapu Island in Tonga (named Amsterdam Island by Tasman in 1643). A. Tasman’s ships at anchor in a bay. B. Small canoes that paddled out with presents from the King. C. Tongan sailing canoe. D. Tongan outrigger canoe used to go fishing. E. Tongan people swimming out to Tasman’s ships with coconuts and yams. F. The area where the Tongan King resides on the island. ANMM Collection. Object Number 0005983

[icon] Look carefully at the picture above to see what happened in Tonga. Write a sentence that describes each of the scenes you can find.

February - May 1643

Tasman passed through Fiji in early February of 1643. His ships didn’t stop as there was a high risk of hitting coral reefs in the shallow water around the islands. There was foggy and stormy weather for most of February.

After Fiji, Tasman and his crew sailed along the north coast of New Guinea on their return to Batavia. Tasman had given up on exploring Torres Strait because of the monsoon weather. As they sailed along the coast, people from different islands approached them in outrigger canoes, sometimes in large fleets. They traded goods on the open ocean, exchanging coconuts, bananas, freshly caught fish, shark and dolphin for strings of beads, belts, knives and metal nails.

They even experienced an earthquake at sea, which was a shock for everyone on board. The crew hurried onto the deck, first thinking the ship had struck a rock. The shaking continued with repeated aftershocks. They also saw an erupting volcano nearby!

A drawing of a volcanic eruption that Tasman and his crew saw in New Guinea

ANMM Collection. Object Number 0005983

June 1643

Heemskerck and Zeehaen arrived back in Batavia in the middle of June in 1643. Although Tasman and his crew had completed an extraordinary journey through the Pacific, Anthony van Diemen was disappointed. From the VOC’s point of view, the voyage had not found valuable trading goods, established strong relationships with local communities, or mapped enough new coastline. Almost straight away, Tasman was sent on another mission. 

In late January 1644, Tasman left Batavia again, this time with three ships: Limmen, Zeemeeuw and de Braq. A crew of 111 men sailed with him. Their goal was to find Torres Strait, the sea passage between northern Australia and New Guinea. Tasman did not find the strait, but he did chart much of the coastline of northern Australia. By August 1644, the ships had returned to Batavia after running low on food and water. Once again, Governor-General Anthony van Diemen was disappointed because Tasman had not explored as much land as hoped, found no profitable goods, and had not discovered Torres Strait. 

[icon] In 1606 Luis Vaez de Torres was the first European to sail through the strait between New Guinea and Australia. The Spanish kept this discovery a secret so the Dutch and British didn’t use the strait to find new trade routes.

Only parts of the original records from Tasman’s two major voyages survive today. The original journal from his 1644 voyage has been lost, and no copies are known to exist. This means historians have had to piece together the story of his second voyage from other evidence, especially maps such as the Bonaparte Tasman map.

Tasman’s achievements were still remarkable. Even though he didn’t find valuable resources or establish trading relationships, he charted more of Australia’s coastline than any other sailor in history. His voyages marked the high point of Dutch exploration in the region. Tasman also gave the name New Holland to the Unknown South Land as it began to take shape on European world maps. He continued working as a merchant and died a wealthy man in Batavia in 1659.