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. 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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Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, is the western, Indonesian half of the island of New Guinea, granted to Indonesia in 1962. Given the island is alternatively named Papua, the region is also called West Papua (Indonesian: Papua Barat).

Lying to the west of Papua New Guinea and geographically a part of the Australian continent, the territory is almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere and includes the Biak and Raja Ampat archipelagoes. The region is predominantly covered with rainforest where traditional peoples live, including the Dani of the Baliem Valley. A large proportion of the population live in or near coastal areas. The largest city is Jayapura. (Full article...)

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Ancient Hawaiʻi is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporadically between 400 and 1100 CE by Polynesian long-distance navigators from the Samoan, Marquesas, and Tahiti islands within what is now French Polynesia. In 2010, a study was published based on radiocarbon dating of more reliable samples which suggests that the islands were settled much later, within a short timeframe, in about 1219 to 1266.

The islands in Eastern Polynesia have been characterized by the continuities among their cultures, and the short migration period would be an explanation of this result. Diversified agroforestry and aquaculture provided sustenance for Native Hawaiian cuisine. Tropical materials were adopted for housing. Elaborate temples (called heiau) were constructed from the lava rocks available. (Full article...)

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

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