Page:Captain Cook's Journal during His First Voyage Round the World.djvu/308

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The above list was taken from a Chart of the Islands drawn by Tupia's own hands. He at one time gave us an account of near 130 Islands, but in his Chart he laid down only 74; and this is about the number that some others of the Natives of Otaheite gave us an account of; but the account taken by and from different people differ sencibly one from another both in names and numbers. The first is owing to the want of rightly knowing how to pronounce the names of the Islands after them; but be this as it may, it is very certain that there are these number of Islands, and very Probably a great many more, laying some where in the Great South Sea, the greatest part of which have never been seen by any European.

As already stated by Cook in the Journal, New Zealand was first discovered by Abel Tasman, a Dutch navigator, in the year 1642. Sailing from Tasmania, he sighted the northern part of the Middle island, and anchored a little east of Cape Farewell in Massacre (Golden) Bay, so called by him because the Maoris cut off one of his boats, and killed three of the crew.

Tasman never landed anywhere, but coasted from Massacre Bay along the western side of the North Island to the north point. He passed outside the Three Kings, and thence away into the Pacific, to discover the Friendly Group.