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The accompanying records are, with one exception, taken from the official translation of Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal and papers, published in Amsterdam in 1898 to meet demands from the Australian Colonies for reliable information about the great Dutch explorer and his movements. The originals are preserved among the State archives at The Hague, and leave to reproduce them here was, at the request of the editor, kindly granted to the New Zealand Government.

The exception above referred to is the second journal of the expedition herein set forth. It is known as the “Sailor's Journal,” and is supposed to have been kept on board the “Heemskerck.” So far as can be ascertained, it has never before been translated into English. It should be noted that the date is exactly one month in error throughout.

For what may be regarded as the last word on Tasman, the reader is directed to Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal, by J. E. Heeres, Amsterdam, 1898; and, for an identification of the places referred to in the journal, a paper contributed by Dr. T. M. Hocken to the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Vol. xxviii, pp. 117–140, will supply excellent material. The subject of places is also discussed in a minor degree by the editor in “Murihiku” (1909), Chapter i.