Kōrero: Nelson region

Abel Tasman and his crew were the first Europeans to see New Zealand. In 1642 they anchored in eastern Golden Bay, offshore from Wainui Inlet, where four of the crew were killed in a skirmish with Māori. Tasman named the place Murderers’ Bay and sailed off without making landfall. In the Nelson region he is commemorated by the names Abel Head, Abel Tasman Point, the Tasman Mountains, Abel Tasman National Park, Tasman district and the settlement of Tasman.