Quick answer
How was this voyage completed?
Tasman's two ships sailed from Batavia through Mauritius into the southern Indian Ocean, then east to present-day Tasmania and New Zealand. From New Zealand they turned north through Tonga and near Fiji, returning along New Guinea's northern side. The route added major coastlines to Dutch charts but found neither a profitable market nor the complete outline of the southern continent.
- Years
- 1642—1643
- Command
- Abel Tasman, with pilot-major Frans Visscher
- Ships
- Heemskerck and Zeehaen
- Objective
- Search for southern lands, trade and a possible route toward South America
- Result
- European records of Tasmania, New Zealand and Pacific islands without resolving the continent's shape
Itinerary
Principal route stops
Stops come from verifiable voyage records. Open-ocean segments show sequence; daily coordinates remain unknown.
- 01August 1642
Batavia
Two ships depart
- 02September—October 1642
Mauritius
Provisioning before the higher southern latitudes
- 03November—December 1642
Van Diemen's Land
The ships chart part of present-day Tasmania
- 04December 1642—January 1643
New Zealand
A west-coast passage and deadly encounter with Māori
- 05January—February 1643
Tonga and Fiji region
The route turns north and northwest through island waters
- 06June 1643
Batavia
The ships return north of New Guinea
Southern westerlies carried the ships east
From Mauritius, the expedition moved into higher latitudes where prevailing winds could drive a fast eastward passage. Too far south meant cold and storms; turning north too early risked missing unknown land.
The balance brought the ships to Tasmania and then New Zealand, coastlines Dutch maps could record without yet understanding how they related to Australia.
Violence shortened the New Zealand stage
At Mohua/Golden Bay, Dutch boats and Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri waka exchanged signals before an encounter killed four crew members. The ships fired and withdrew without a sustained landing.
Tasman's name 'Murderers' Bay' recorded the expedition's judgement, not a neutral explanation. Dutch sources do not fully preserve Māori intentions, authority or reading of the newcomers' actions.
A map could succeed while a company mission disappointed
Tonga offered provisioning and the route passed near Fiji before returning north of New Guinea. Yet the voyage found no silver source, dense market or direct Chile route to justify rapid VOC expansion.
Coastal information increased while continental relationships remained uncertain. Corporate investment followed expected profit more closely than cartographic prestige.
Route reading
What is known—and what remains uncertain?
Reliable waypoints, disputed details and the voyage’s effects on trade, empire and local societies form separate parts of the record.
Two ships completed a southern ocean arc
Logs and charts support the sequence from Mauritius to Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga and the route home near New Guinea.
The Dutch journal preserves only one side of the conflict
Crew deaths and withdrawal are documented; Māori signals, maritime authority and decisions require local histories too.
Coastlines did not solve the continental outline
The voyage increased chart knowledge without establishing how Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand related to a hypothetical southern continent.
Questions
Common questions
How many ships sailed?
Two: Heemskerck and Zeehaen.
Did Tasman land in New Zealand?
The expedition anchored and sent boats, but made no stable shore visit before leaving after the violent encounter.
Did the voyage prove New Zealand was made of islands?
No. It charted part of the west coast. Cook's later surveys clarified the principal island relationships for European maps.
Why did Tasman call Golden Bay Murderers' Bay?
The name expressed the Dutch response to the crew deaths. Mohua and Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri history provide essential local context.
Sources
Sources and further verification
The museums, archives, research institutions and international organizations below support this account.
- Abel Janszoon TasmanThe Mariners’ Museum and Park
- Abel TasmanNew Zealand History
- First contact between Māori and EuropeansNew Zealand History
- Te Tau Ihu tribes: Ngāti TūmatakōkiriTe Ara — The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Age of Seas editorial research records verifiable route sequence while leaving unknown daily coordinates unresolved.Editorial standards and corrections ↗