Peter Trickett in Beyond Capricorn, 2007, linked the Portuguese Navigator Cristovão Mendonça with the discovery of the North Island of New Zeeland in the searching of Islands of Gold and Silver (Chryse and Argyre) mencioned by Pliny in him Natural History.
João de Barros in Décadas da Ásia (Decades of Asia), published between 1552–1615, wrote:
At the end of June of the year 1520, a ship arrived that had departed the Kingdom that year, the Captain and Pilot being Pedro Eanes, nicknamed the Frenchman, who being a diligent man and one well versed in matters of the sea, King Manuel had entrusted with letters for Diogo Lopez concerning service matters. And among other things that the King ordered Diogo Lopez to do that year, was to send some person in the same ship with Pedro Eanes, to who would be entrusted to go to discover the Isles of Gold beyond Sumatra, of which we have already written above, for many persons who had gone to these parts of India had given him great hope that they could be discovered. Diogo Lopez then gave this to do to Christovão de Mendoça, the son of Pero Mendoça the lord mayor of Mourão; of whose voyage we will make mention below.
(...)
And there came to the port of Pedir Raphael Catanho and Christovão de Mendoça with his three ships for the discovery of the Isles of Gold… Antonio de Brito was still commanding there… as the construction of the fortress had taken much time, and Raphael Catanho, Raphael Perstrello, and Christovão de Mendoça had to provision and take on pepper and other things for their voyages, and also as the monsoon season by which they each had to go, principally Christovão de Mendoça, had already passed, they were all ordered to stay there to assist and support the fortress, as it was not yet in a state where it could be defend itself… After putting the fort in a good state of defence, Christovão de Mendoça and Dinis Fernandez departed for Malacca.
(...)
Diogo Pacheco came there a little before Manuel Pacheco from Malacca, and brought much information on the Isles of Gold that were generally known in India to be to the south of Sumatra. For the discovery of which Diogo Lopez ordered him to go, for he, Diogo Pacheco was most knowledgeable in matters of the sea and had great ability as a discoverer, besides being himself a gentleman… The weather was such that the sea swallowed the bargantine, and the ship came onto the coast ... this destruction of Diogo Pacheco, was the first of those of us who lost their lives for the discovery of this Isle of Gold.»
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