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Abel Tasman discovered the North Island
Abel Tasman is officially recognized as the first European to ‘discover’ New Zealand in 1642. His men were the first Europeans to have a confirmed encounter with Māori. -
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Captain Cook maps whole of New Zealand
This map of New Zealand as Cook charted it on his first visit in 1769–70 was published in Journal of a voyage to the South Seas (1773) by Sydney Parkinson, an artist who had accompanied Cook. Although there were some inaccuracies in Cook’s map, few countries had been charted so well so early after their discovery by Europeans.