Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, was one of the first Europeans to discover New Zealand on the 13th of December 1642, in his search for the Great Southern Continent. Tasman noted in his journal that it was a large land, uplifted high (the area he sighted was near the Southern Alps). He called New Zealand 'Staten Landt' which refers to the 'Land of the (Dutch) States-General'.
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