Gilsemans is most noted for joining the explorer Abel Tasman on his expedition in 1642-43 during which Tasmania, New Zealand and several Pacific Islands became known to Europeans. Gilsemans produced a number of drawings that documented island and native life. His depictions of the Māori people were the first for Europeans.[1][3]
A sketcher and cartographer, he is thought to have been responsible for the coastal profiles in Tasman's journal and therefore the first European to make an image of Van Diemen's Land.[4] Gilsemans' chart is responsible for documenting the first European landing in Tasmania in 1642,[5] as a result of which Gilsemans Bay near Dunalley is named after him.
^ abAnderson, Grahame Anderson (2001). The merchant of the Zeehaen : Isaac Gilsemans and the voyages of Abel Tasman. Te Papa Press. pp. VII, 88–89. ISBN9780909010751.