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 Mainland Australia is regarded as its continental landmass. 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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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. Australia has a total area of 7,688,287 km² (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest country by area in Oceania. It is the world's oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with some of the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast.

The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages and had the oldest living culture in the world. Australia's written history commenced with Dutch exploration of most of the coastline in the 17th-century. 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 13th South Pacific Games (Samoan: Taʻaloga Lona-Sefulu-Tolu a le Pasefika i Saute), also known as Apia 2007, were held from 25 August to 8 September 2007 in Apia, Samoa. 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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... 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 1Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 2Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 3Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 4A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 5Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 6German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 7Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 8Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 9Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 10Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 11Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 12Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 13Map 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 14Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 15Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 16New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 17Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 18Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 19Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 20Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 21The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 22King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 23Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 24German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 25A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 26Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 27Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 28Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 29Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 30Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 31Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 32A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 33Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 34An 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 35Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 36The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 37On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 38Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 39Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 40Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 41Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 42Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 43Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 44Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 45A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 46Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 47Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 48Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 49Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 50Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 51Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)