Portal:Oceania

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The Oceania Portal

An orthographic projection of Oceania

Oceania (UK: /ˌoʊsiˈɑːniə, ˌoʊʃi-, -ˈeɪn-/ OH-s(h)ee-AH-nee-ə, -⁠AY-, US: /ˌoʊʃiˈæniə, -ˈɑːn-/ ^ⓘ OH-shee-A(H)N-ee-ə) is a geographical region comprising Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, at the centre of the water hemisphere, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of about 9,000,000 square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi) and a population of around 44.4 million as of 2022. When compared to the continents (which it is often compared to, not including Australia), Oceania is the smallest in land area and the second-least populated after Antarctica.

Oceania has a diverse mix of economies from the highly developed and globally competitive financial markets of Australia, French Polynesia, Hawaii, New Caledonia, and New Zealand, which rank high in quality of life and Human Development Index, to the much less developed economies of Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Western New Guinea, while also including medium-sized economies of Pacific islands such as Fiji, Palau, and Tonga. The largest and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, and the largest city is Sydney. Puncak Jaya in Highland Papua, Indonesia, is the highest peak in Oceania at 4,884 m (16,024 ft).

The arrival of European settlers in subsequent centuries resulted in a significant alteration in the social and political landscape of Oceania. The Pacific theatre saw major action during the First World War with the Japanese occupying many German territories. During the Second World War, Allied powers the United States, Philippines (a U.S. Commonwealth at the time) and Australia fought against Axis power Japan across various locations in Oceania. (Full article...)

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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, tropical savannas in the north, and mountain ranges in the south-east.

The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. They settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with European maritime exploration. The Dutch were the first known Europeans to reach Australia, in 1606. British colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal colony of New South Wales. By the mid-19th century, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and five additional self-governing British colonies were established, each gaining responsible government by 1890. The colonies federated in 1901, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. This continued a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, and culminating in the Australia Acts of 1986. (Full article...)

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The 2007 South Pacific Games were held in Apia, Samoa, from 25 August to 8 September 2007. The Games were the thirteenth to be held since the inception of the South Pacific Games in 1963, and included traditional multi-sport event disciplines, such as athletics and swimming, alongside region-specific and smaller events such as outrigger canoeing, surfing and lawn bowls.

The principal venue for the Games was Apia Park, with other events taking place at the Faleata Sporting Complex and at other locations around Samoa. The cost of the games was reported to be US$92 million and resulted in significant government debt for Samoa due to infrastructure projects which included replacement bridges and roads. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 2Map showing the migration and expansion of the Austronesians which began at about 3000 BC from Taiwan. The Polynesian branch is shown in green. (from Polynesia)
Image 3Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 4Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 5An illustration of the Cross Spikes Club of the US Navy on Bikini Atoll, one of several Marshall Islands used for atomic bomb tests. (from Micronesia)
Image 6Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 7Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 8Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 9Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea (from Melanesia)
Image 10Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 11Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 12Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 13German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 14Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 15Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 16Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 17Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 18Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 19King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 20Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 21Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 22Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 23On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 24Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 25A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 26German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 27Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 28Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 29Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 30A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 31Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 32Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 33Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 34Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 35Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 36Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 37Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 38Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 39New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 40Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 41The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 42Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 43The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 44Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 45Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 46Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 47A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 48Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 49Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 50Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 51A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 52Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)