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Voyages
1642–1643

Heemskerck and Zeehaen (Abel Tasman)

The most ambitious expedition sent to discover the size and shape of the South Land began with a set of instructions issued to Abel Tasman, one of the VOC’s (Dutch East India Company) most skilful sailors, in August 1642.

For the previous 35 years, the VOC had been building a picture—accidentally and otherwise—of the unknown continent. Now it wanted to unravel the mysteries of the South Land. For reasons of expanded trading opportunities and increased Dutch power, the VOC also wanted to open up passages to the Pacific Ocean.

The ambitious and energetic Governor-General of Batavia, Anthonie van Diemen, effectively ordered Tasman to sail around the South Land. It was the first of two voyages of discovery of the continent that Tasman would undertake.

Tasman and his two ships, the Heemskerck and Zeehaen, set sail from Batavia on 13 August 1642 and headed for Mauritius. From there, they set a course for Australia’s west coast.

On 24 November 1642, Tasman sighted the west coast of Tasmania, which he named Anthonie van Diemens Landt. Following the coastline south, the ships sailed around the island as far as present-day Forestiers Peninsula, on the east coast, before bad weather prevented them from heading any further north.

Sailing east across the Tasman Sea, Tasman sighted the north-west coast of the South Island of New Zealand on 3 December 1642 and rounded the New Zealand’s most northerly point on 6 January 1643, before discovering Tonga and the Fiji islands. The squadron returned via the north coast of New Guinea, and landed in Batavia on 15 June 1643.

Although Tasman returned his ships with little loss of life (four men were killed in a skirmish with Maoris), his mission failed to excite his superiors. He proved that a workable route to Chile did exist, but had not discovered whether New Guinea was connected to the South Land. Nor did he find new and profitable markets.

The full journal of the voyage was lost, but two abridged versions or 'extracts' survived. Neither are confirmed as written in Tasman's hand. The manuscript in posession of the State Library of New South Wales includes two charts and a rare printed map by Hessel Gerritsz. Six coastal drawings of land sighted on 4 and 5 December 1642 are inserted in the volume. The journal of Tasman’s second voyage was also lost.

You can view a version of Tasman's Journal at the Dutch National Archives or download it as a pdf (44.6Mb) .

You can also view extracts from a version of the journal at the State Library of New South Wales, where an English translation can also be found.

Read more information about Tasman's Journal and voyages, translated from the Dutch National Archives website.