The visit of Abel Tasman's expedition to Nomuka

After spending several days at the island of Tongatapu, the anchor of the Heemskerck suddenly slipped. The ship could not re-anchor in the bay and drifted out to sea, forcing the Zeehaen to also depart involuntarily from Tongatapu to catch up with the Heemskerck. The ships sailed northeast for several days before encountering new islands. The ships anchored at Nomuka, the largest of these, which they named Rotterdam. Here they again made contact, managed to finally fill all their barrels with fresh water and bartered for fresh foods. Some gifts of knives, looking glasses and other items were given to local notables.-Isaac Gilsemans, supercargo on board the Zeehaen, likely drew the events of the stay of Abel Tasman’s expedition at Nomuka in the latter’s journal. ‘F’ shows where the Dutch boats obtained water. ‘G’ shows the local people the expedition encountered and their way of clothing.