All I know is that he was Dutch.
2006-10-11 23:00:03 · 11 answers · asked by Rob_J 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
In 1642, a Dutch explorer named Abel Tasman was the first European to sight Tasmania. He initially named the island Van Diemen's Land after his employer, but parliament changed the name to Tasmania in 1856
2006-10-11 23:01:54 · answer #1 · answered by bballchick4christ22 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋
The first reported sighting of Tasmania by a European was on November 24th 1642 by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who named the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt, after his sponsor, the Governor of the Dutch East Indies. The name was later shortened to Van Diemen's Land by the British.
2006-10-12 10:52:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603 - October 10, 1659). He was a Dutch seafarer, explorer and then merchant, born in Lutjegast, a village in the province of Groningen, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the VOC (Dutch East India Company). His was the first known European expedition to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) and New Zealand and to sight the Fiji islands, which he did in 1643. Tasman, his navigator Visscher, and his Merchant Gilsemans mapped substantial portions of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands they encountered.
2006-10-13 14:33:34 · answer #3 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Abel Tasman
2006-10-13 12:44:02 · answer #4 · answered by brainstorm 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Abel Tasman.
2006-10-12 08:57:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Aborigines
2006-10-12 06:11:27 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Abel Tasman, hence the name.
2006-10-12 11:15:08 · answer #7 · answered by bot_parody 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Tiger. Since eliminated by civilisation. Alternatively it could have been van Dieman.
2006-10-12 06:04:02 · answer #8 · answered by cymry3jones 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Dont know who discovered it but who ever shaped it had a sense of humour, it looks like a womans growler
2006-10-12 08:40:47 · answer #9 · answered by poli_b2001 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
surely Tasmanians
2006-10-12 07:20:11 · answer #10 · answered by latif_1950 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋