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Abel Tasman Facts & Worksheets

Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant who was the first European to discover Tasmania and confirm Australia as an island continent.

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Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant who was the first European to discover Tasmania and confirm Australia as an island continent. He was notable for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

See the fact file below for more information on the Abel Tasman or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Abel Tasman worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

  • Abel Tasman was born around 1603 in the small town of Lutjegast, a northeast province of the Netherlands.
  • Very little is known about his family or childhood.
  • Tasman’s parents were most possibly of the working class.
  • At that time, most working-class children were uneducated, but Tasman was literate when he started working as a sailor.
  • The first definitive information about the life of Tasman prior to his voyages comes from the early 1630s.
  • Tasman was married to Claesgie Heyndrix, and had a daughter named Claesjen Tasman, who would be his only child. He was residing in a poor Amsterdam neighborhood by the time Claesgie Heyndrix died.
  • Indicated in the historical records, Tasman married his second wife, Jannetjie Tjaers, on December 27, 1631. He then moved to a more suitable Amsterdam neighborhood.
  • Soon after, he became connected in the profitable spice trade, promptly rising from the rank of being a sailor to being a master of the ship.
  • During his years in the spice trade, he took various trips to the Spice Islands, becoming quite familiar with the many islands that made up the East Indies.
  • At the beginning of 1638, Tasman entered a 10-year contract with the Dutch East India Company.
  • He moved his family to the capital of the spice trade, Batavia, now known as Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • During the first few years of Tasman living in Batavia, he worked as a skipper and served as second in command on a voyage in 1639 to discover fabled islands that were thought to be located near modern-day Japan.

FIRST MAJOR VOYAGE

  • In August 1642, he was called by the Dutch East India Company to command a two-ship expedition to explore the seas to the south and east. He was accompanied by Franchoijs Visscher, an experienced pilot. His task was to investigate the country of Australia, known before as New Holland, to determine if it was part of Terra Australis.
  • It was expected by the VOC that Tasman would thus locate a new unexploited continent for trade.
  • To do so, on his first voyage (1642 to 1643), Tasman set sail from Jakarta (then known as Batavia) with two small ships, the Heemskerck and the Zeehaen.
  • He first sailed to Mauritius, and from there, he traveled east at a higher latitude than the Dutch had ever done before. This way, he ultimately missed Australia but finally located land on the island of Tasmania. He named it Van Diemen’s Land, but the English later changed its name in his honor.
  • He resumed his continent-hunting and eventually sighted land on the north-west coast of the South Island, New Zealand. Being the first Europeans to sight the region, he called it Staten Landt “in honour of the States-General” (Dutch parliament).
  • At the northern end of the South Island, he anchored the ships in a bay, where they decided to put in for water.
  • One of his boats was attacked by Maori people, and four of his men were killed with clubs. He named it Murderers’ Bay and sailed north.
  • This was the first encounter between Europeans and the Māori people.
  • Abel Tasman sailed northeast, and on January 21, 1643, he landed at the Tonga Islands, where they were able to replenish their supplies.
  • Continuing on, they passed the Fiji Islands before traveling part of the north coast of New Guinea and arriving back at Batavia on June 15, 1643.
  • Though Tasman found new lands, the expedition was not successful in its goal to discover promising areas for trade nor a useful new shipping route.

SECOND MAJOR VOYAGE

  • Tasman was still sent out again for his second major voyage by the Company to discover a sea passage from Batavia to Chile.
  • He was given three ships, namely the Limmen, Zeemeeuw, and Bracq, and he departed from Batavia on January 30, 1644.
  • He followed the south coast of New Guinea even though he was instructed to sail eastward.
  • He missed Strait Torres between New Guinea and Australia, which is the sea passage to Chile.
  • He mapped the northern coast of Australia, doing observations on New Holland and its people.
  • Having convinced himself that the route didn’t exist, he led his men back along the coast of New Guinea and back home to Batavia.
  • In August 1644, he arrived back in Batavia and reported his disappointing results to the Company.

LATER LIFE

  • Abel Tasman was appointed a member of the Council of Justice at Batavia on November 2, 1644.
  • He went to Sumatra in 1646, and he successfully delivered letters to the King of Siam (now Thailand) in August 1647.
  • In May 1648, he was in charge of a voyage sent to Manila trying to intercept and loot the Spanish silver ships coming from America, but he failed to achieve it and turned back to Batavia in January 1649.
  • He died being a landowner at Batavia on October 10, 1659. His wealth was distributed between his wife and his daughter from his first marriage.

LEGACY

  • Some of Tasman’s charts and maps were in general distribution and used by following explorers.
  • He proved that the small fifth continent was not attached to any larger sixth continent, such as the long-imagined Southern Continent.
  • He has been honored in the identifying of other geographical features in both Australia and New Zealand.
  • Multiple places have been named after him, including Abel Tasman National Park.

Abel Tasman Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Abel Tasman across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Abel Tasman worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Abel Janszoon Tasman who was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant who was the first European to discover Tasmania and confirm Australia as an island continent. He was notable for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Abel Tasman Facts
  • Quick Info
  • Brief Bio
  • Fast Facts
  • Major Voyages
  • Before and After Voyage
  • Maori People
  • Life of Tasman
  • Importance of Map
  • Tasmanian Locations
  • Tasmanian Stamp

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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