41. It is said that the first European to sight the island was Abel Tasman in 1644, although this is now disputed. 42. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman got only as far as the beach before being driven away in a bloody skirmish. 43. She is credited with being almost single-handedly responsible for setting aside land that would eventually be the Abel Tasman National Park. 44. Subsequently, in 1642, Abel Tasman showed that even New Holland ( Australia ) was separated by sea from any continuous southern continent. 45. With the help of a Tahitian named Europeans to do so ( after Abel Tasman over a century earlier, in 1642 ). 46. It was a Dutchman, explorer Abel Tasman , who discovered New Zealand in 1642 and named it after his home province of Zeeland. 47. When Dutch explorer Abel Tasman first saw New Zealand in 1642, he thought Cook Strait was a bight closed to the east. 48. New Zealand, first seen by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642, was regarded by some as a part of the continent. 49. It was named in April 1644 by Abel Tasman for one of his ships on his voyage of exploration along the northern Australian coast. 50. The name stood until 1642 when Dutch explorer Abel Tasman arrived and changed it to New Zealand in honor of his home in the Netherlands.
