abel tasman memorial

Tasman Memorial
Photo: Vom Menschlichen im neuen Bauen, p.189

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Designed & Built: 1942

Commissioned by the NZ Government to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Tasman's arrival in 1642 and the death of four of his crew at the hands of the locals.

Location: Wainui Road, Tarakohe

Construction Details:

Concrete pillar. Plaque text by J.C. Beaglehole, typography by Janet Wilkinson (later Janet Paul). The memorial was unveiled on 18 December 1942 on land which had been donated by the Golden Bay Cement Company, and which became a reserve under the Scenery Protection Act. The cement used in its construction was also donated by the company.

The text, originally picked out in scarlet and grey-green, reads:
"REMEMBER ABEL JANSZOON TASMAN
A COMMANDER IN THE SERVICE OF THE DUTCH UNITED
EAST INDIA COMPANY WHO DISCOVERED NEW ZEALAND
AND ON 18 & 19 DECEMBER 1642 ANCHORED IN THIS BAY
REMEMBER ALSO FRANCHOYS JACOBSZOON VISSCHER
PILOT MAJOR & THE COMPANY OF THE SHIPS HEEMSKERCK &
ZEEHAEN + ALSO JAN TYSSEN OF OUEVEN TOBIAS PIETERZ
OF DELFT JAN ISBRANTSZ & A SAILOR OF NAME UNKNOWN
KILLED BY THE NATIVES OF THIS COUNTRY"

Current Status:

An additional bronze plaque was donated by Queen Juliana in 1970 and incorporated into the column. Problems were experienced with dust filling the text when the marble plinth was mounted horizontally, so this was relocated to a vertical position and incorporated into the safety fence. Safety railings were added, and a new wooden deck and railings were introduced prior to the 350-year celebration in 1994. The memorial is currently managed by DOC.

Design Features:

Stark, white, strongly geometric and abstract form. The marble plaque was originally painted but has been taken back to the plain off-white marble finish.

Sources:

E.A. Plischke, Ein Leben mit Architektur, 1989, pp.258-267
Abel Tasman Area History, p.33
Janet Paul, Our Missed Opportunities: Ernst Plischke in New Zealand 1939-1963. (Typescript draft of article, c.1998, Alexander Turnbull Library MS-Papers-6499-10)