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Why did Abel Tasman find Tasmania?

Why did Abel Tasman find Tasmania?

On the 24 November 1642, Tasman’s crew had encountered the west of Tasmania, most probably at Cape Sorell, but he decided for safety in unknown territory to take the ships further out of the bay when evening arrived. Tasman sailed around to the east and discovered New Zealand on 13 December. …

When Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania what did he call it?

Van Diemen’s Land
Continuing eastwards they sighted the mountains of a land that Tasman named Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) after the governor general of Batavia. They continued east on 4 December and sighted the west coast of the South Island on the 13th.

What Explorer is Tasmania named after?

Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman, in full Abel Janszoon Tasman, (born 1603?, Lutjegast, Netherlands—died probably before October 22, 1659; certainly before February 5, 1661), greatest of the Dutch navigators and explorers, who was the first European to sight Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga, and the Fiji Islands.

When did Tasman sight Tasmania?

November 24 1642
When Tasman finally made land, on November 24 1642, he did so just north of what is now Macquarie Harbour, on the west coast of Tasmania.

Are there any other places named after Abel Tasman?

Multiple places have been named after Tasman, including: the Australian island and state of Tasmania, renamed after him, formerly Van Diemen’s land. the Tasman Sea in New Zealand: the Tasman Glacier

What did Abel Tasman do in New Zealand?

Abel Tasman was the first European explorer to reach the islands of Van Diemen”s Land (now Tasmania) and New Zealand. In 1642 the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, Anthony Van Diemen sent Tasman on an expedition to explore and map out New Holland, where a lot of Dutch ships had become shipwrecked due to the Roaring Forties winds.

Why was Tasmania named after Anthony van Diemen?

In 1642 Abel Janszoon Tasman named his ‘first sighted land’ after his Dutch superior Anthony Van Diemen. While Tasman missed meeting any Aborigines, they knew their land as ‘Trowunna’, ‘Trowenna’ or ‘Loetrouwitter’. Despite the official name of Van Diemen’s Land, usage of the alternative ‘Tasmania’ gradually grew.

Where did Abel Tasman discover Van Diemen’s Land?

On 24 November 1642 Abel Tasman reached and sighted the west coast of Tasmania, north of Macquarie Harbour. He named his discovery Van Diemen’s Land after Antonio van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies . Proceeding south Tasman skirted the southern end of Tasmania and turned north-east.