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Story: Place names

Tasman and Cook place names

Choose name:

  • James Cook

  • Abel Tasman

Place names commemorating Abel Tasman and James Cook are found today in many parts of New Zealand. Tasman names are clustered in Nelson and the highest part of the Southern Alps. Tasman Bay was named by Dumont d’Urville in 1827 and Mount Tasman was named by Julius von Haast in 1862. Cook names are found throughout New Zealand, from north to south.

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How to cite this page

Malcolm McKinnon, Place names – Early explorers, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/19333/tasman-and-cook-place-names (accessed 23 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 1 March 2009.

Comments

Cambelle
09 August 2017
My sisters name is Tasman cook (after the Abel Tasman) and my name (Cambelle) was a family name for the first born boys -spelt Campbell- but when I turned out to be a girl my parents decided to make it more feminine by spelling it Cambelle