Happy New Zealand Day
in [Cobol]
|
From: Pete Dashwood on 18 Dec 2007 16:04 "SkippyPB" <swiegand(a)nospam.neo.rr.com> wrote in message news:ggvfm3ho7codaf8llki5nnahmh7h5s8n46(a)4ax.com... > This message is aimed at Pete Dashwood who I bet is celebrating and, > if not, now has a reason to. > > On this day (I know it is tomorrow in New Zealand, but humor me) Dec. > 18th, in 1642, the first European discovered New Zealand by accident > like most great discoveries. (I'm afraid you lose your bet; it is too early for serious celebrating... :-) I have a house guest from Germany staying here for a few weeks and it is her first visit to the Southern hemisphere so we have been relaxing and enjoying local food, wine, beaches and hot pools, rather than celebrating. However, serious clebrating will start from New Year...:-)) Thanks Steve for the thought. We don't celebrate New Zealand Day (or Waitangi Day) until the 6th February, and poor old Abel Tasman's achievement goes largely unrecognised. (To be fair, he only contributed a line on the map and it was left to Captain James Cook to circumnavigate and properly map the three main islands of New Zealand over 100 years later.) > > Dutch seafarer and explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to > reach New Zealand. He may have been the first European RECORDED as reaching New Zealand. There is some ambivalent evidence that Viking ships may have been here around the 4th Century AD... It has to do with fossilized rat bones which could only have been brought on ships from Europe and which have been carbon dated to that time. Definitely not definitive but an interesting idea. If it's true it would pre-date the arrival of Maori by 5 - 6 hundred years. > After sighting and taking formal possession of > Tasmania, Tasman and his crew planned to sail north, but unfavorable > winds caused them to turn east and discover the islands of New > Zealand. > > Abel Tasman is best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the > service of the VOC (United East India Company). His was the first > known European expedition to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land > (now Tasmania) and New Zealand and to sight the Fiji islands, which he > did in 1643. Tasman, his navigator Visscher, and his Merchant > Gilsemans also mapped substantial portions of Australia, New Zealand > and the Pacific Islands. > > After landing in Tasmania, Tasman had intended to proceed in a > northerly direction but as the wind was unfavourable he steered east. > On 13 December they sighted land on the north-west coast of the South > Island, New Zealand. After some exploration he sailed further east, > and nine days later was the first European known to sight New Zealand, > which he named Staten Landt on the assumption that it was connected to > an island (Staten Island, Argentina) at the south of the tip of South > America. That simply doesn't make sense. What is the source of this, Steve? If he found the NW coast of the South Island, he was already in NZ. He couldn't sail East from there unless he went through Cook Strait and if my memory of school history serves correctly, he didn't do that. (Had he done so and sailed East, he would have been leaving NZ.) >Proceeding north and then east one of his boats was attacked > by Ma-ori in waka, and four of his men were killed. It has recently > been suggested that some of Tasman's sailors briefly landed here on 18 > December 1642. Tasman named it Murderers' Bay (now known as Golden > Bay) and sailed north, but mistook Cook Strait for a bight (naming it > Zeehaen's Bight). Golden Bay is on the NW coast of the South Island and not nine days sailing away from there. His ship was called "Zeehaen" (Sea Hen) so that makes sense. I remember learning about the Maori canoe (waka) attack and him losing some men (they killed several Maori as well). Here's a link to Golden Bay: http://www.goldenbay.net.nz/en/guide.html It is famous here for cement production. >Two names that he bestowed on New Zealand landmarks > still endure: Cape Maria van Diemen and Three Kings Islands (Cabo > Pieter Boreels is now known as Cape Egmont). (Not to mention the Tasman Sea :-)) > > Cheers to all the Kiwis and have a cold one. Thanks again for the thought, Steve :-) The weather here has deteriorated a bit today (after a week of mainly sunshine in the Bay of Plenty) so a cold one isn't such an appetizing option as it would normally be, but I'll raise a JD to you and thank you for your kind thought. Cheers! Pete.
From: billious on 18 Dec 2007 20:18 "Pete Dashwood" <dashwood(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote in message news:5sqqusF1a9fjsU1(a)mid.individual.net... [sn] it was left to Captain James Cook to circumnavigate and properly map > the three main islands of New Zealand over 100 years later [sn] Cheers! > > Pete. > So that'd be North Island, South Island and er, "West Island" no doubt? :)
From: Richard on 18 Dec 2007 21:41 On Dec 19, 2:18 pm, "billious" <billious_1...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > "Pete Dashwood" <dashw...(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote in message > > news:5sqqusF1a9fjsU1(a)mid.individual.net... > [sn] > it was left to Captain James Cook to circumnavigate and properly map> the three main islands of New Zealand over 100 years later > > [sn] > Cheers! > > > Pete. > > So that'd be North Island, South Island and er, "West Island" no doubt? :) Stewart Island actually. Cook got it wrong and thought it was 'Stewart Peninsular', otherwise they may have been called North, Middle and South. He also thought that the place named after his botanist was 'Banks Island'. If you are in London you can go to Soho Square where Banks lived and there is a garden of NZ plants started by Banks.
From: Richard Maher on 19 Dec 2007 07:10 > Stewart Island actually. I thinks ye missed the point. After numerous posts about under arm bowling and "Honestly officer I was only helping it over the fence" you might pick it up :-) Cheers Richard Maher PS. I think dessert-island is the more common expression. (Having lived many glorious months in CHCH I never liked "pig-islander", and you know what all those JAFA Sydney-wannabes can do!) "Richard" <riplin(a)azonic.co.nz> wrote in message news:7821f6bd-a51f-458b-9c9a-77f89239546e(a)b40g2000prf.googlegroups.com... > On Dec 19, 2:18 pm, "billious" <billious_1...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > > "Pete Dashwood" <dashw...(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote in message > > > > news:5sqqusF1a9fjsU1(a)mid.individual.net... > > [sn] > > it was left to Captain James Cook to circumnavigate and properly map> the three main islands of New Zealand over 100 years later > > > > [sn] > > Cheers! > > > > > Pete. > > > > So that'd be North Island, South Island and er, "West Island" no doubt? :) > > Stewart Island actually. Cook got it wrong and thought it was 'Stewart > Peninsular', otherwise they may have been called North, Middle and > South. > > He also thought that the place named after his botanist was 'Banks > Island'. If you are in London you can go to Soho Square where Banks > lived and there is a garden of NZ plants started by Banks. >
From: SkippyPB on 19 Dec 2007 10:57
On Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:04:27 +1300, "Pete Dashwood" <dashwood(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote: > > >"SkippyPB" <swiegand(a)nospam.neo.rr.com> wrote in message >news:ggvfm3ho7codaf8llki5nnahmh7h5s8n46(a)4ax.com... >> This message is aimed at Pete Dashwood who I bet is celebrating and, >> if not, now has a reason to. >> >> On this day (I know it is tomorrow in New Zealand, but humor me) Dec. >> 18th, in 1642, the first European discovered New Zealand by accident >> like most great discoveries. > >(I'm afraid you lose your bet; it is too early for serious celebrating... >:-) I have a house guest from Germany staying here for a few weeks and it is >her first visit to the Southern hemisphere so we have been relaxing and >enjoying local food, wine, beaches and hot pools, rather than celebrating. >However, serious clebrating will start from New Year...:-)) > >Thanks Steve for the thought. We don't celebrate New Zealand Day (or >Waitangi Day) until the 6th February, and poor old Abel Tasman's achievement >goes largely unrecognised. (To be fair, he only contributed a line on the >map and it was left to Captain James Cook to circumnavigate and properly map >the three main islands of New Zealand over 100 years later.) > > >> >> Dutch seafarer and explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to >> reach New Zealand. > >He may have been the first European RECORDED as reaching New Zealand. There >is some ambivalent evidence that Viking ships may have been here around the >4th Century AD... It has to do with fossilized rat bones which could only >have been brought on ships from Europe and which have been carbon dated to >that time. Definitely not definitive but an interesting idea. If it's true >it would pre-date the arrival of Maori by 5 - 6 hundred years. > > Those pesky Vikings! They are also credited with discovering North America long before Christopher Columbus landed here. In fact there is plenty of historical evidence that Eric the Red landed in Greenland in 982 AD. He was outlawed from Iceland and exiled to a great land to the north. Eric spent three years exploring the country where he and his men marked sites for their future farms. He called it Greenland and sailed with 25 ships to settle there. But in the 1400s, the settlers left because it became too cold. There is some evidence and speculation that they sailed south and discovered the rest of North America, but nothing concrete. However, there is some archeological evidence they may have gone to Newfoundland. Dr. Helge Ingstad and his wife Anne Stine Ingstad discovered the remains of an 11th-Century Norse community at L'anse Aux Meadows on the northern peninsula of Newfoundland. They were working from a 16th-Century Icelandic map showing part of North America. >> After sighting and taking formal possession of >> Tasmania, Tasman and his crew planned to sail north, but unfavorable >> winds caused them to turn east and discover the islands of New >> Zealand. >> >> Abel Tasman is best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the >> service of the VOC (United East India Company). His was the first >> known European expedition to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land >> (now Tasmania) and New Zealand and to sight the Fiji islands, which he >> did in 1643. Tasman, his navigator Visscher, and his Merchant >> Gilsemans also mapped substantial portions of Australia, New Zealand >> and the Pacific Islands. >> >> After landing in Tasmania, Tasman had intended to proceed in a >> northerly direction but as the wind was unfavourable he steered east. >> On 13 December they sighted land on the north-west coast of the South >> Island, New Zealand. After some exploration he sailed further east, >> and nine days later was the first European known to sight New Zealand, >> which he named Staten Landt on the assumption that it was connected to >> an island (Staten Island, Argentina) at the south of the tip of South >> America. > >That simply doesn't make sense. What is the source of this, Steve? > Unfortunately, I cannot find the source now. On my Google Home Page, I have a "This Day In History" box and it points to various sources including The Free Dictionary. However, I cannot seem to get back to that page where I derived the description. Wikipedia has a similar description at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Tasman >If he found the NW coast of the South Island, he was already in NZ. He >couldn't sail East from there unless he went through Cook Strait and if my >memory of school history serves correctly, he didn't do that. (Had he done >so and sailed East, he would have been leaving NZ.) > Well seeing as how Able thought he was near Argentina, I could see where he might sail around in an obtuse manner for a time. >>Proceeding north and then east one of his boats was attacked >> by Ma-ori in waka, and four of his men were killed. It has recently >> been suggested that some of Tasman's sailors briefly landed here on 18 >> December 1642. Tasman named it Murderers' Bay (now known as Golden >> Bay) and sailed north, but mistook Cook Strait for a bight (naming it >> Zeehaen's Bight). > >Golden Bay is on the NW coast of the South Island and not nine days sailing >away from there. His ship was called "Zeehaen" (Sea Hen) so that makes >sense. I remember learning about the Maori canoe (waka) attack and him >losing some men (they killed several Maori as well). > >Here's a link to Golden Bay: http://www.goldenbay.net.nz/en/guide.html > >It is famous here for cement production. > > >>Two names that he bestowed on New Zealand landmarks >> still endure: Cape Maria van Diemen and Three Kings Islands (Cabo >> Pieter Boreels is now known as Cape Egmont). > >(Not to mention the Tasman Sea :-)) > >> >> Cheers to all the Kiwis and have a cold one. > >Thanks again for the thought, Steve :-) > >The weather here has deteriorated a bit today (after a week of mainly >sunshine in the Bay of Plenty) so a cold one isn't such an appetizing option >as it would normally be, but I'll raise a JD to you and thank you for your >kind thought. > >Cheers! > >Pete. > Enjoy your day and your house guest and have some hot tea with a little lemon and your finest whiskey if the weather is not conducive to a "cold one" :) Regards, //// (o o) -oOO--(_)--OOo- "Bart, a woman is like a beer. They look good, they smell good, and you'd step over your own mother just to get one." ---Homer Simpson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remove nospam to email me. Steve |