DUTCH IN THE.PACIFIC

Evening Star, Issue 17955, 28 April 1922, Page 3

DUTCH IN THE.PACIFIC

VOYAGES OF TASMAN. LECTURE BY CIV ELDER. Dr Elder gave another address yesterday evening in the series of university lectures on 1110° history of Pacific exploration. The professor said that just as the English and Spanish achievements at sea in the sixteenth century had been contemporary with the genius of Shakespeare and Cervantes, so the flulden Age of Holland was the era of Grotius, Spinoza, and Rembrandt. The Dutch adventurers were, tycd with the same enthusiasm that bad find the seafarers of England and Spain. He traced the expansion of Dutch trade, consequent on the victories of Van Tromp and Loos over the Spaniards and Portuguese, to Formosa, Japan, Persia. Arabia, and Capo Colony, and to the colonies in the Yew Netherlands and the Carribeau Sea Coming to the voyages of Tasman in the interests of the Dutch East Inf ia Company, ho pointed out that the rerl object behind them was tho discovery at i.ew markets and of the wealth ’hat was mr.posed to be in Australia, f Jo first described Tasman’s voyage as second in command of Qnasa's expedition in ‘ha Engel and Graft to seek the mysterious Southern Land that was supposed to le about 40f miles cast of Japan, with a great stoic of gold and silver. They reached tho B“i»m Islands, but these were probaoly already known to the Spaniards. Tasman set sail in August, 1642, on his most famous voyage. He was supposed to ascertain tho best way for navigators to use the sea route to - the East Indies, to find new land for Dutch expansion, and to ascertain if there was a passage into tho Southern Sea. His sailing instruct,ions were, to make for Mauritius, to sail to about the longitude of New Guinea, and then to sail cast and north to see if there was a passage between New Ouinea—which v as thou supposed to be connected to E.eendrachtsland (North Australia) and tho Southern Land, and ho was given a "ear to do it in. The lecturer described Tasman's hostile reception by the, Maoris, which prevented him from landing. He had then no idea that he had discovered an island, hut thought it was part of the great Southern Land. Ho intended to sail round tho north, and so came to Capo Maria Van Diemen mid the Three Kings, which, the lecturer explained, was named on the anniversary of the visit of Eastern kings to Bethlehem. Tasman thought ho had discovered the passage, and went on to Tonga and Fiji. He failed to discover Dampior Bay, ami ended at Batavia. Dealing with the results of Tasman's voyage, Dr Elder pointed out that v-lile he was ignorant of tho real int ire of New Zealand and of the existence, of Torres Strait. Tasman had at least shown that New Holland (Australia) was an island, and had added the discovery of the mainland of New Zealand. Tasman, however. had committed the unpardonable sin of not fiudiim new markets for the company, and it was not satisfied. The commander and chief officers received two months’ pay for their daring, and the common sailors and soldiers one month's. To be censured for lack of enthusiasm and enterprise was all his reward for his great contribution to Australasian discovery. Tho lecturer traced the effect of tho struggle with England amt the Treaty of Utrecht, which gave England l power at sea and limited tho Dutch to tho land. Tasman’s discoveries were the culmination of the period from 1606-1644. The east coast of Australia remained much as he had left it for 100 years, and it was a quarter of a century before the discoveries of (look niacin tho English the heirs of Tasman’s work. Tho next lecture will deal with eighteenth century exploration.