Welcome kicks off 375th anniversary celebration since Abel Tasman encounterNINA HINDMARSH Visitors from the Netherlands gather outside the Onetahua Marae in Golden Bay, where they are about to be welcomed. Dutch visitors were officially welcomed into Golden Bay on Saturday as the 375th anniversary celebration kicked off for the weekend. The historic event is one of the area's biggest heritage celebrations, and marks the violent 1642 encounter when explorer Abel Tasman first met Māori on Golden Bay shores. Also present were descendents of the original iwi who first met Tasman, Ngāti Tamatakokori. He visited Abel Tasman's birthplace three years ago, and saw what was thought to be Tasman's home, and the church where he was baptised.

Source: Stuff December 16, 2017 04:41 UTC