Abel Janszoon Tasman (Dutch: [ˈaːbəl ˈjɑnsoːn ˈtɑsmɑn]; 1603 – 10 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer and explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

Abel Tasman (born 1603?, Lutjegast, Netherlands—died probably before October 22, 1659; certainly before February 5, 1661) was the greatest of the Dutch navigators and explorers, who was the first European to sight Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga, and the Fiji Islands.

Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603 – October 10, 1659), was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant. Tasman is best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the VOC (United East India Company).

Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman became the first European to discover what we call today New Zealand, and Tasmania, the island state off Australia’s southern coast. While Tasman’s voyages were regarded as a failure by the Dutch East India Company, he was the first to map and explore the coastlines of these new territories.

The dutch explorer Abel Tasman is officially recognised as the first European to ‘discover’ New Zealand in 1642. His men were the first Europeans to have a confirmed encounter with Māori.

A captain in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), Tasman was commanding a trading vessel out of Amboina in the Moluccas (Spice Islands) when, in 1639, he was tapped for a voyage of exploration to the North Pacific Ocean.

Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603–1659) was a Dutch sea explorer. He found Tasmania and New Zealand while on voyages in 1642 and 1644, in the service of the VOC (Dutch East India Company). He also made the first historical sightings of large parts of Australia. He was born in Lutjegast, Netherlands.

May 17, 2018 · Abel Janszoon Tasman (ca. 1603-1659) was a Dutch navigator who discovered Tasmania and New Zealand's South Island and charted the northwest Australian coastline. Abel Tasman was born at Lutjegast near Groningen.

Abel Janszoon Tasman, (born 1603?, Lutjegast, Neth.—died probably before Oct. 22, 1659, certainly before Feb. 5, 1661), Dutch explorer. In the service of the Dutch East India Company, he made exploratory and trading voyages to East and Southeast Asia (1634–39).

Seafarer, explorer and merchant Abel Janszoon Tasman was the first European to discover Tasmania and confirm Australia as an island continent. Born in the Netherlands around 1602, he was raised and educated in Lutjegast, Gronigen.