He was the first European to discover New Zealand on 13 December 1642 while on an expedition for the Dutch East India Company.

According to tradition, the Māori waka Uruao brought ancestors of the Waitaha people to Tasman Bay in the 12th century.

Archaeological evidence suggests that early Māori settlers explored the region thoroughly, settling mainly along the coast where there was ample food.

The succession of tribes into the area suggests considerable warfare interrupted the settlement process.

British immigrant ships from England arrived in Nelson in 1842 and European settlement of the region began under the leadership of Captain Arthur Wakefield.

In the 1850s, agriculture and pastoral farming started and villages developed on the Waimea Plains and at Motueka.

As an administrative unit of local government, the Tasman District formed on 1 November 1989 within the Nelson-Marlborough Region.

Tasman District is a large area at the western corner of the north end of the South Island of New Zealand.

The Victoria Ranges form Tasman's southern boundary and the district's highest point is Mount Franklin, at 2,340 metres.

The landscape is diverse, from large mountainous areas to valleys and plains, and is sliced by such major rivers as the Buller, Motueka, Aorere, Tākaka and Wairoa.

[2] Other towns and settlements include the following: Tasman District Council (unitary authority) headquarters are at Richmond, close to the adjoining Nelson City, which is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) further north.

Community Boards exist to serve outlying areas in Motueka and Golden Bay.