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 other continents, 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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Fiji (/ˈfiːdʒi/ ^ⓘ FEE-jee, /fiːˈdʒiː/ fee-JEE; Fijian: Viti, [ˈβitʃi]; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, Fijī), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population of 924,610 live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of Suva, or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi (where tourism is the major local industry) or Lautoka (where the sugar-cane industry is dominant). The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain.

The majority of Fiji's islands were formed by volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Some geothermal activity still occurs today on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. The geothermal systems on Viti Levu are non-volcanic in origin and have low-temperature surface discharges (of between roughly 35 and 60 degrees Celsius (95 and 140 °F)). (Full article...)

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Hōkūleʻa arrival in Honolulu from Tahiti in 1976

Hōkūleʻa is a performance-accurate waʻa kaulua, a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe. Launched on 8 March 1975 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, it is best known for its 1976 Hawaiʻi to Tahiti voyage completed with exclusively traditional navigation techniques. The primary goal of the voyage was to explore the anthropological theory of the Asiatic origin of native Oceanic people (Polynesians and Hawaiians in particular) as the result of purposeful trips through the Pacific, as opposed to passive drifting on currents or sailing from the Americas. DNA analysis supports this theory. A secondary project goal was to have the canoe and voyage "serve as vehicles for the cultural revitalization of Hawaiians and other Polynesians."

Between the 1976 voyage and 2009, Hōkūle‘a completed additional voyages to Micronesia, Polynesia, Japan, Canada and the mainland United States, all using ancient wayfinding techniques of celestial navigation. On 19 January 2007, Hōkūle‘a left Hawaiʻi with the voyaging canoe Alingano Maisu on a voyage through Micronesia (map) and ports in southern Japan.^[a] The voyage was expected to take five months. On 9 June 2007, Hōkūle‘a completed the "One Ocean, One People" voyage to Yokohama, Japan. On 5 April 2009, Hōkūle‘a returned to Honolulu following a roundtrip training sail to Palmyra Atoll, undertaken to develop skills of potential crewmembers for Hōkūle‘a's eventual circumnavigation of the Earth. (Full article...)

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

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