Tasman Encounters the Māori at Golden Bay
On 13 December 1642 Tasman's two ships anchored in a bay at the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island. When a small boat was dispatched between the two ships, a Māori waka (war canoe) rammed it, killing four sailors. Tasman named the bay 'Murderers' Bay' (modern Golden Bay) and sailed away without landing. He never returned to New Zealand and Cook would not visit it for another 127 years. Māori oral history records the encounter from their own perspective: a strange double-hulled vessel appeared, and the crew responded according to protocols for challenging an unknown vessel's intentions.
- Year: 1642 CE
