TASMAN'S VOYAGE OF 1642 275 



memorial for those who shall come after us, and for the 

 natives of this country, who did not show themselves, 

 though we suspect some of them were at no great 

 distance and closely watching our proceedings." Those 

 who came after Tasman could not have failed to recognise 

 his landmarks had they come after him in reasonable 

 time ; but a century and a half was to pass before they 

 arrived. 



Next day, the 4th of December, Tasman sailed North- Eastward 

 ward to seek a better watering-place. He sailed past jf^ 111 ' 4th 

 islands to which he gave the names of Maria who was 

 the wife, not the daughter, of the Governor-General 

 and the two Councillors Schouten and Verdelius ; the 

 last of these islands has proved to be a peninsula. " At 

 this point the land fell off to the North-West, so that 

 we could no longer steer near the coast here, seeing that 

 the wind was almost ahead." A full Council was called, 

 and it was decided to resume the plan that had been 

 interrupted by the discovery of Van Diemen's Land, 

 that is, to sail due Eastward to the Longitude of the Solo- 

 mons. This decision did not please the Governor-General 

 and Council. Some censure seems to be implied in the 

 words of their Report to the Masters at Amsterdam : 

 " which land they hav.e christened Anthony Van Diemen's 

 land, without, however, being aware how far it extends 

 to North-West and North-East, and without communi- 

 cating with any of its inhabitants." Why did they not 

 insist on an interview with the giants who could climb 

 trees in five-feet strides ? Why did they not inquire 

 whether Van Diemen's Land was connected with Nuyts's 

 Land to the North-West, or with Nova Guinea to the 

 North ? Tasman sailed away, and left these problems 

 to be solved by Flinders and Bass in 1798. 



As Tasman sailed Eastward, he noted that heavy swells The dis- 

 continued from the South-West, which again proved ^Jw^ f 

 that there was no mainland in that direction. On the I3th Zealand, 

 of December, towards noon, he saw " a large high-lying I3th 

 land being South-East of us at about sixty miles distance." 

 He had reached the West coast of the South Island of New 



