Dutch royals Crown Prince Willem and Princess Maxima will spend a week in New Zealand. Picture / Mark Mitchell
Dutch explorer Abel Tasman may never have set foot in New Zealand, but today Prime Minister Helen Clark acknowledged his place in New Zealand history by dedicating a statue to him at Parliament.
Tasman is widely accepted as the first European to sight New Zealand, during his South
Pacific voyage of exploration in 1642.
Helen Clark officially re-dedicated the statue, gifted to New Zealand by Dutch Queen Beatrice in 1992, at a reception in Parliament yesterday.
Helen Clark said Tasman's voyage should rank alongside Christopher Columbus' discovery of North America. "They both discovered land masses that were simply unknown at the time."
The dedication also marked the start of Dutch Crown Prince Willem and Princess Maxima's week-long state tour of New Zealand.
Helen Clark said it was "wonderful" to have the statue in Parliament, "the focus of our small democracy".
"It is important to acknowledge the contribution that [the Dutch community] has made to our economy and society over the years."
Helen Clark noted that New Zealand is named after a Dutch province.
Boyd Klapp, speaking on behalf of the Dutch community, said the ties between New Zealand and the Netherlands were "as strong as ever".
Mr Klapp, who opened his address in Dutch, then joked that it was a "shame" Tasman had not set foot in New Zealand.
"Then I would have been able to continue in my mother tongue."
Crowd taken aback by royal snub
The heir to the Dutch throne, Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange, shocked well-wishers with an apparent snub as he and his wife Princess Maxima started an official visit to New Zealand yesterday.
As they left a hotel after ending a three-day private holiday in Queenstown before starting their official programme, a radio reporter asked them how they enjoyed their stay in New Zealand.
"It's none of your business - it's private," the prince replied, drawing gasps from onlookers.
"Don't come back," shouted one man as the royal pair were driven away.
- NZPA
