Ship model of the HEEMSERCK
Maker
Paul de Wit
Date2016
Object number00054948
NameModel
MediumMaple, fabric, twine
DimensionsOverall: 890 × 1030 × 420 mm
Copyright© Paul de Wit
ClassificationsModels
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Paul de Wit
Collections
DescriptionThis model of the HEEMSKERCK relates to the 1642 voyage of VOC explorer Abel Tasman during which he 'discovered' Tasmania (Van Diemen’s Land).HistoryAbel Tasman (1606 - 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant. He is best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company, during which time his expeditioners became the first known Europeans to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand. In 1643 he also became the first European to sight the Fiji Islands. Tasman's expeditions produced important charts of parts of Van Diemen's Land, New Zealand and some Pacific Islands.
In August 1642 Tasman left Batavia in command of the VOC ships ZEEHAEN and HEEMSKERCK. Both vessels had been built in 1639 in the company's shipyards in Amsterdam. An expedition to explore the unknown southern oceans had been in the VOC's plans for some time, and as a respected navigator and skipper, Tasman was a logical choice for the command. The expedition sailed south of the Australian continent and on 24 November sighted land which Tasman named Van Diemen's Land in honour of Anthony van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
Once Tasman reached Van Diemen's Land, he followed the coastline until the winds made it difficult to continue. He sailed east across the Tasman Sea, and on 13 December the expedition sighted land on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Tasman referred to this new land as 'Staten Landt' wrongly believing it to be connected to Isla de los Estados (Staten Island) off the southern tip of South America.
Tasman then proceeded north and then east and it was here that one of his ships was attacked by a group of Maori. Four of Tasman's crew were killed in the confrontation, earning the bay the title of Murderers Bay - now called Golden Bay. Nevertheless, the expedition went on, and Tasman explored Tonga and Fiji, and returned to Batavia on 15 June 1643.
From the Dutch East India Company's perspective, Tasman's 1642 expedition had failed to locate any useful new trade areas and for over a century, until the voyages of James Cook, Tasmania and New Zealand were not visited by Europeans.SignificanceThe HEEMSKERCK is significant for its role in Dutch efforts to define the Australian continent and are associated with the 1642 voyage of Abel Tasman during which he discovered and named Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). Captain James Cook benefitted from Tasman's information and surveys over a century later when he sailed across the Tasman and sighted the east coast of Australia.
