Story: European ideas about Māori

Murderers Bay

Murderers Bay

This hand-coloured engraving by Jakob van der Schley was based on an original work by Isaac Gilsemans, the artist on Abel Tasman's voyage to New Zealand in 1642. It shows (in the background) Māori waka surrounding Tasman's ships during a violent exchange which led to the deaths of four of his men. Tasman named the place Murderers Bay and by the mid-18th century, when van der Schley engraved the scene, the event had become so notorious that the name was prominently displayed in both French and Dutch.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-353-003
Hand-coloured engraving after a drawing by Isaac Gilsemans

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

James Belich, 'European ideas about Māori - Explorers and Māori to 1800', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/29866/murderers-bay (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by James Belich, published 5 May 2011