Where does this come from, and can I check it?

The Dutch explorer sailed west from Batavia and missed the strait between two islands. The figure is taken from Royal Museums Greenwich, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a history fact?

Yes. It sits on the History shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

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The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642

The Dutch explorer sailed west from Batavia and missed the strait between two islands Tasman left Batavia in August 1642, reached Tasmania, then sailed east and sighted the South Island of New Zealand in December. He assumed it joined a great southern continent and never learned that it was two islands separated by a strait, later named after him. His voyage also charted Tonga and Fiji before returning to Java. It sits in Mondo's history collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Royal Museums Greenwich

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Tags: tasman, new-zealand, exploration

Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The Dutch explorer sailed west from Batavia and missed the strait between two islands. The figure is taken from Royal Museums Greenwich, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a history fact?: Yes. It sits on the History shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.