Abel+Tasman

By Chris Butts, Dale Clark & Darragh Tate = **Abel Tasman** = = **An Overview** =

Abel Janszoon Tasman was born in 1603 in Lutjegast; a small humble town in the Netherlands. Abel didn't receive much education as a child but received sufficient enough education to become a skilled navigator and a brilliant sailor. Abel Tasman travelled on two significant voyages both to the Pacific coasts of now modern day Oceania and also to the Great Southern Land.

Through Abel’s long years he only travelled on 2 significant voyages around the pacific. In 1642-1643 Abel left Portugal in 1639 and travelled down past Africa and South America then hit the roaring trade winds and kept sailing under what is Australia and hit the Southernmost point of Tasmania in 1642. Abel declared the uninhabited lands New Holland. After leaving New Holland Abel travelled east and hit the islands of New Zealand. Abel charted all his findings of these new lands then travelled through the Indonesian islands. After a successful voyage Abel headed to Batavia, Jakarta to report his findings of the new world to an established Dutch colony.

In 1644 Abel returned to Australia but travelled from Cape York along the North West Coast of what is Darwin, Broome and further west towards Port Headland. Through this voyage Abel was able to understand and explain that between these points that this land mass was one big country that wasn't separated by water. From Abel's voyages around the South Pacific and Indian OCean lead to the landing of Captain Cook in 1788.

In 1648 Abel wanted intercept Spanish ships headed towards America that had been carrying some silver. This was unsuccessful so he headed back to the Dutch colony in Batavia, Jakarta.

In October 1659 Abel laid at rest in Batavia, Jakarta at the age of 66.

= **An Overveiw of Tasman's Voyage's** = In 1642, Anthony Van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, commissioned Abel Tasman, a sea captain employed by the Dutch East India Company, to undertake his first voyage to the unknown southern seas.

Leaving Jakarta in August, 1642, Abel Tasman set off on his journey with only two ships in his fleet the Engel and the Gracht. Tasman first set a course towards Mauritius, here he found food a plenty, and timber to repair the ships. Then sailing southward, he reached in November, 1642, the west coast of Tasmania, which he named Van Diemen's Land after his employer and governor, Anthony Van Diemen. After some exploration of the new lands, Tasman had intended to proceed in a northerly direction but as the wind was unfavourable he steered east. So effectively, on 13 December they sighted land on the north-west coast of the South Island, New Zealand, becoming the first Europeans to do so- by complete accident. On returning to Indonesia, Tasman was nearly wrecked on the Fiji Islands; he charted North West and eventually arrived back at Jakarta on 15th of June 1643.

Two years later, sometime in 1644, Tasman started a second voyage- this time with three ships the Limmen, Zeemeeuw and the Braek. He started off by following the south coast of New Guinea eastwards. Though he missed the Torres Strait between New Guinea and Australia, and continued his voyage along the Australian coast. He became the first to map the north coast of Australia making observations on the land, now called New Holland, and its people.

= **Discovery of Tasmania** = Abel Tasman is man that was born in Holland what is now known as the Netherlands. His trip started in Portugal and then arrived in Jakarta in 1642. Tasman then set sail towards Mauritius. He landed in Mauritius where he then got supplies, got his ships fixed and mended and his crew had a relaxing four week rest. On the 24th of November he set sight on the West coast of Tasmania just north of Macquarie Harbour. On the 2rd of December he then set foot on Tasmania. Abel Tasman was officially the first white European settler to discover Tasmania. Tasman then named this land that he discovered Van Diemen’s Land after his Governor General of the Dutch East Indies Anthony Van Diemen. The team of sailors were only a few hundred metres away from the land when they saw very big waves, the captain Abel Tasman saw that if they went any closer to the land then they would risk the chance of sinking the ship and killing everyone on board, which would then end up being a waste of an expedition and money in trying to find the new southern land that every once thought did not exist. They ended up asking a few of the crew on board to swim down and plant a flag in-between two trees.