Portal:Oceania Knowpia

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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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Bougainville and neighbouring islands

Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: Bogenvil) is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is 9,300 km² (3,600 sq mi). The population of the whole province, including nearby islets such as the Carterets, is approximately 300,000 (2019 census). The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at 2,715 m (8,907 ft).

The much smaller Buka Island, c. 500 km² (190 sq mi), lies to the north, across the 400–500 m (1,300–1,600 ft) wide Buka Strait. Even though the strait is narrow, there is no bridge across it, but there is a regular ferry service between the key settlements on either side. The main airstrip in the north is in the town of Buka. Buka has an outcropping that is 175 km (109 mi) from New Ireland. Among the large islands of Papua New Guinea, New Ireland is the closest to Buka. (Full article...)

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Moai facing inland at Ahu Tongariki, restored by Chilean archaeologist Claudio Cristino in the 1990s

Moai or moʻai (/ˈmoʊ.aɪ/ ^ⓘ MOH-eye; Spanish: moái; Rapa Nui: moʻai, lit. 'statue') are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the island's perimeter. Almost all moai have overly large heads, which account for three-eighths of the size of the whole statue. They also have no legs. The moai are chiefly the living faces (aringa ora) of deified ancestors (aringa ora ata tepuna).

The statues still gazed inland across their clan lands when Europeans first visited the island in 1722, but all of them had fallen by the latter part of the 19th century. The moai were toppled in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, possibly as a result of European contact or internecine tribal wars. (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 1King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 2Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 3A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 4German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 5Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 6Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 7Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 8Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 9Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 10A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 11Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 12Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 13German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 14Map 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 15Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 16Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 17Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 18Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea (from Melanesia)
Image 19New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 20Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 21An 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 22Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 23Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 24Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 25A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 26Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 27Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 28On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 29The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 30Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 31Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 32Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 33Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 34Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 35Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 36Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 37Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 38A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 39Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 40Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 41Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 42Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 43The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 44Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 45Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 46Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 47Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 48Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 49Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 50Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 51Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 52Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)