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 46.3 million as of 2024. 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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New Caledonia (/ˌkælɪˈdoʊniə/ ^ⓘ KAL-ih-DOH-nee-ə; French: Nouvelle-Calédonie [nuvɛl kaledɔni] ^ⓘ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 220 km (140 mi) southwest of Vanuatu and 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia. Located 16,100 km (10,000 mi) from Metropolitan France, it forms a sui generis collectivity of the French Republic, a legal status unique in overseas France and enshrined in a dedicated chapter of the French Constitution.

The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. French people, especially locals, call Grande Terre le Caillou, a nickname also used more generally for the entire New Caledonia. Pro-independence parties refer to their country as (la) Kanaky coined in the 1980s after the Kanak, the collective name for its indigenous Melanesians who make up 41% of New Caledonia's population. New Caledonia is one of the European Union's Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), but it is not part of the European Union. (Full article...)

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Rongorongo (/ˈrɒŋɡoʊˈrɒŋɡoʊ/ or /ˈrɒŋoʊˈrɒŋoʊ/; Rapa Nui: roŋoroŋo [ˈɾoŋoˈɾoŋo]) is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that has the appearance of writing or proto-writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, but none have been successful. Although some calendrical and what might prove to be genealogical information has been identified, none of the glyphs can actually be read. If rongorongo does prove to be writing and to be an independent invention, it would be one of very few inventions of writing in human history.

Two dozen wooden objects bearing rongorongo inscriptions, some heavily weathered, burned, or otherwise damaged, were collected in the late 19th century and are now scattered in museums and private collections. None remain on Easter Island. The objects are mostly tablets shaped from irregular pieces of wood, sometimes driftwood, but include a chieftain's staff, a tangata manu statuette, and two reimiro ornaments. There are also a few petroglyphs which may include short rongorongo inscriptions. Oral history suggests that only a small elite was ever literate and that the tablets were sacred. (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 1Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 2Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 3Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 4Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 5Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 6A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 7Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 8Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 9Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 10Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 11Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 12Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 13Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 14Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 15A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 16German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 17The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 18Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 19Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 20A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 21Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 22Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 23Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 24Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 25Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 26Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 27Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 28Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 29An 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 30Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 31Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 32Outline of sovereign (orange) and dependent islands (yellow) (from Melanesia)
Image 33King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 34A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 35Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 36Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 37New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 38Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 39Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 40Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 41Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 42The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 43German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 44Map 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 45Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 46On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii. (from Polynesia)
Image 47Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 48Māori war canoe (waka) drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 49Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 50Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 51Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)