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In 1633 Dutchman Abel Tasman sailed to Batavia as an able seaman, but by May, 1934, he was commanding a Dutch East India Company trading vessel.
In 1639 he was appointed second in command of an expedition to the North Pacific. Three years later he was chosen by Duch East India Company Governor-General Anthony Van Dieman to command an expedition to explore the rich southern and eastern lands believed to exist in the Pacific.
He is perhaps best remembered for the discovery and naming of Van Dieman's land (Tasmania) and the discovery of the South Island of New Zealand which he called Staten Island. He also discovered some of the Fiji islands and Tonga.
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His 1644 explorations of the coasts of Western Australia and Queensland proved they were part of the same land mass and that New Guinea was separated from the Great South Land.
Tasman displayed a considerable talent for navigation and seamanship given the technological limitations of the time. His explorations of the Australian land mass added significantly to early European understanding of the location of the continent.
Source: Certificate accompanying the 1993 Masterpieces in Silver - The Explorers - Set.
Abel Tasman is featured on the following coins:
Australian 1993 Five Dollars,
New Zealand 1992 Five Dollars
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Last modified: 05 December, 2007
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