What was New Zealand first known as?

Friar Tuck

According to Brewer's Dictionary of Names it was known as Staaten Landt after being named that by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasmania Jul 16 02, 11:11 PM

kiwi in oz

I know this cos I'm a Kiwi. It depends on by whom? Surprising as it may be, the nation existed long before there was a white face in sight, be it Dutch, British or whatever. The Maori call New Zealand Aotearoa (pronounced Ar o tay ar raw a) meaning "Land of the long white cloud." And so do a lot of us Pakehas. Because it is such a little land in a vast ocean, from way out at sea the southern alps can look like a cloud bank. Sadly with the history being recorded verbally we do not know what the Moriori called it. They were there long before the Maori came down from Hawaiki in their big canoes. The Maori all but eliminated the Moriori with the remaining descendants now living in the Chatham Islands. It was Abel Tasman who named it New Zealand after Zeeland in Holland, but the Dutch did not land. Jul 16 02, 11:39 PM

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