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 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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Vanuatu and New Caledonia, Matthew and Hunter Islands on the bottom right.

Hunter Island and Matthew Island are two small and uninhabited volcanic islands in the South Pacific, located 300 kilometres (190 mi) east of New Caledonia and south-east of Vanuatu archipelago. Hunter Island and Matthew Island, 70 km (43 mi) apart, are claimed by Vanuatu as part of Tafea Province, and considered by the people of Aneityum part of their custom ownership, and were claimed by France as part of New Caledonia.

Small, arid, without fresh water and not easily accessible, the islands had no interest for Britain or France during their colonisation of the Pacific in the course of the 18th and 19th centuries. France officially annexed both islands in 1929. In 1965, the United Kingdom also claimed the two islands, as part of the New Hebrides. France conducted a symbolic occupation in 1975. In 1980, on its independence, Vanuatu claimed sovereignty, but made no occupation of the islands. In 1979, Météo-France set up an automatic weather station on one of the islands, and the French Navy regularly visits both of them. (Full article...)

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Cyclone Percy prior to peak intensity on March 1

Severe Tropical Cyclone Percy was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone which was the third and last Category 5 cyclone to form in the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season. The seventh named storm and the fourth and final severe tropical cyclone to form during the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season. Percy originated as a tropical disturbance on February 23. Over the course of the next few days, the system organized while moving east-southeastward, before intensifying into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian region scale on February 26. The system quickly intensified, reaching Category 4 status later that day. On the next day, Percy was steered southward by a blocking ridge of high pressure, while stretched out the structure of the storm into an elliptical shape, weakening it back to Category 3 status. Afterward, the storm rapidly reintensified, reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 tropical cyclone on March 2. Afterward, Percy encountered increasing wind shear and weakened once again, turning southeastward on the next day. On March 5, Percy transitioned into an extratropical storm, before dissipating soon afterward.

Percy was also the most damaging of the South Pacific February cyclones that year, as it battered the Cook Islands, which were still recovering from the impacts of Cyclones Meena, Nancy and Olaf. Percy then devastated the island of Tokelau, leaving many homeless and millions in dollars in property damages (although exact damage figures are unavailable). Because of warnings in anticipation of the storm, there were no deaths and there were only a few injuries. (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 1Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 2Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 3Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 4Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 5Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 6The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 7Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 8Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 9German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 10Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 11Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 12On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 13Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 14A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 15Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 16Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 17German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 18Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 19Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 20Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 21A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 22King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 23Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 24Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 25Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 26New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 27Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea (from Melanesia)
Image 28Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 29A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 30Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 31The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 32Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 33Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 34Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 35Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 36Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 37Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 38Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 39Map 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 40Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 41Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 42Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 43Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 44Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 45An 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 46Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 47Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 48Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 49Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 50Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 51A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 52Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)