History of the Nelson Region, New Zealand region and named the sea between the North and South Island as "Cook Strait". They landed at Queen Charlotte Sound and Ship Cove, both names of which were named by the British explorer. There, they spent several weeks repairing their ship "The Endeavour" and reloading food and water supplies. Captain Cook's and his crew were to enter the "Ship Cove" in their subsequent voyages to New Zealand in 1773 and 1777 respectively. On 22 January 1827, the French explorer Dumont d'Urville along with French crew on the ship "Astrolabe " entered the Tasman Bay into what is now known today
HMS New Zealand (1904) became the 2nd Division, Home Fleet, and "New Zealand" became a Home Fleet unit in that division. To release her name for use by the new battlecruiser HMS "New Zealand", which had been presented to the Royal Navy by the government of New Zealand, it became necessary to rename "New Zealand" in 1911. At first the name "Caledonia", the Roman name for northern Great Britain, was favoured, but this met opposition in New Zealand. Eventually, the name "Zealandia", a personification of New Zealand, was agreed upon, and "New Zealand" was renamed "Zealandia" on 1 December 1911. Under a fleet reorganisation