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 Australia is regarded as an island or a continental landmass contained inside of the larger continent of Oceania. 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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East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor - of which the western half is administered by Indonesia - the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-western half, and the minor islands of Atauro and Jaco. Australia is the country's southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea. The country's size is 14,950 square kilometres (5,770 sq mi). Dili, on the north coast of Timor, is its capital and largest city.

East Timor was settled by waves of Austronesian and Papuan peoples, which are reflected in the country's diverse mix of cultures and languages reflecting its links to Southeast Asia and Melanesia despite its small area. East Timor came under Portuguese influence in the sixteenth century, remaining a Portuguese colony until 1975. Internal conflict preceded a unilateral declaration of independence and an Indonesian invasion and annexation. Resistance continued throughout Indonesian rule, and, in 1999, a United Nations–sponsored act of self-determination led to Indonesia relinquishing control of the territory. On 20 May 2002, as Timor-Leste, it became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. That same year, relations with Indonesia were established and normalized, with Indonesia also supporting East Timor's accession into ASEAN. (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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The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.

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