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Australia: 'Anthony Van Diemens Landt' (Tasmania), from Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal, Amsterdam, 1898

Australia: 'Anthony Van Diemens Landt' (Tasmania), from Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal, Amsterdam, 1898

The state is named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who made the first reported European sighting of the island on 24 November 1642. Tasman named the island 'Anthony van Diemen's Land' after his sponsor Anthony van Diemen, the Governor of the Dutch East Indies.

The name was later shortened to Van Diemen's Land by the British. It was officially renamed Tasmania in honour of its first European discoverer on 1 January 1856.

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