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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Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (/ˈwɒlɪs ... fuːˈtuːnə/), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, and Tokelau to the northeast.

Mata Utu is its capital and largest city. The territory's land area is 142.42 km² (54.99 sq mi). It had a population of 11,151 at the July 2023 census (down from 14,944 at the 2003 census). The territory is made up of three main volcanic tropical islands and a number of tiny islets. It is divided into two island groups that lie about 260 km (160 mi) apart: the Wallis Islands (also known as Uvea) in the northeast; and the Hoorn Islands (also known as the Futuna Islands) in the southwest, including Futuna Island proper and the mostly uninhabited Alofi Island. (Full article...)

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The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Oceania on 25 January 2020 with the first confirmed case reported in Melbourne, Australia. The virus has spread to all sovereign states and territories in the region. Australia and New Zealand were praised for their handling of the pandemic in comparison to other Western nations, with New Zealand and each state in Australia wiping out all community transmission of the virus several times even after re-introduction in the community.

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