What did Abel Tasman call New Zealand?

Answer 1

Although the Maori had been living in New Zealand for hundreds of years, Tasman is considered the first European explorer to discover New Zealand, and why he came across it was something of a fluke. In 1634 Tasman joined the Dutch East India Company and, after gaining further experience and promotions, was ordered to explore the south-east waters in order to find a new sea trade route to Chile in South America.

He was on an expedition to find the "Great South Land" which was marked, but undefined, on maps of the area. This still-hypothetical land was believed to be rich in minerals, and the Dutch hoped it would provide more trade opportunities for them. It was, of course, Australia that he was unknowingly seeking, but he never found the great continent he expected. This was, however, the catalyst for his discovery of New Zealand.

Late in November 1642, Tasman discovered a previously unknown island on his voyage past the "Great South Land", or "New Holland", as the Dutch called Australia. He named the island "Antony Van Diemen's Land" (now Tasmania).

He continued to sail east and, on 13 December 1642, sighted a new land which he described as 'large high-lying land', mountainous and covered in cloud in the south, but more barren in the north. This was New Zealand. However, he did not choose to explore further, assuming that the two lands were part of a larger continent. Tasman originally named New Zealand as Staten Landt, for he thought it might have been linked to a Staten Land close to Cape Horn which had been discovered by navigator Jacob Le Maire in 1616. Dutch cartographers subsequently named the islands New Zeeland after that province in Holland, and on English maps it became New Zealand, literally "sea land".

Answer 2

Abel Tasman gave New Zealand the name 'New Zealand', named after a province in Holland called Zeeland.

Answer 3

Like all the Dutch explorers, Abel Tasman called Australia "New Holland".