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 including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Australia is regarded as an island or a continental landmass within that continent. 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. Oceania is the smallest continent 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. The largest and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, and the largest city is Sydney. Puncak Jaya in Indonesia is the highest peak in Oceania at 4,884 m (16,024 ft).

The rock art of Aboriginal Australians is the longest continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world. Most Oceanian countries are parliamentary democracies, with tourism serving as a large source of income for the Pacific island nations. (Full article...)

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Tokelau (/ˈtoʊkəlaʊ/; lit. 'north-northeast' or 'north wind'; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo. They have a combined land area of 10 km² (4 sq mi). In addition to these three, Swains Island (Olohega), which forms part of the same archipelago, is the subject of an ongoing territorial dispute; it is currently administered by the United States as part of American Samoa. Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands.

Tokelau has a population of approximately 1,500 people; it has the fourth-smallest population of any sovereign state or dependency in the world. As of the 2016 census, around 45% of its residents had been born overseas, mostly in Samoa or New Zealand. The populace has a life expectancy of 69, which is comparable to that of other Oceanian island nations. Approximately 94% of the population speak Tokelauan as their first language. Tokelau has the smallest economy of any nation. It is a leader in renewable energy, being the first 100% solar-powered nation in the world. (Full article...)

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A Carolinian wa in Pohnpei with a single outrigger typical of Pacific proas

Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the double-ended single-outrigger boats of Oceania, the double-outrigger boats of Island Southeast Asia, and sometimes ships with no outriggers or sails at all.

In its most common usage, the term proa refers to the Pacific proas which consist of two (usually) unequal-length parallel hulls. It is sailed so that one hull is kept to windward, and the other to leeward. It is double-ended, since it needs to "shunt" to reverse direction when tacking. It is most famously used for the sakman ships of the Chamorro people of the Northern Marianas, which were known as the "flying proas" for their remarkable speed. (Full article...)

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... that Michaela Foster, a New Zealand footballer playing in the 2023 World Cup, is known for her mana?

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

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