Cook

As captain on three voyages of discovery in the late eighteenth century, Captain James Cook became the first European to draw the outline of New Zealand. Thanks to Cook’s detailed charts accurate knowledge of New Zealand was available in Europe for the first time from the 1770s. Captain Cook had help making the maps from the scientists he had on board.

Cook initiated the first Māori-European interaction since Abel Tasman’s brief encounter in 1642. In his remarkably accurate charting of New Zealand and his dealings with Māori, Cook displayed his excellence as a navigator and his essential humanity.