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 including the United States, the 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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Swains Island as seen from space

Swains Island (/ˈsweɪnz/; Tokelauan: Olohega [oloˈhɛŋa]; Samoan: Olosega [oloˈsɛŋa]) is a remote coral atoll in the Tokelau volcanic island group in the South Pacific Ocean. Administered as part of American Samoa since 1925, the island is subject to an ongoing territorial dispute between Tokelau and the United States.

Privately owned by the family of Eli Hutchinson Jennings since 1856, Swains Island was used as a copra plantation until 1967. It has not been permanently inhabited since 2008, but continues to be visited by members of the Jennings family, scientific researchers, and amateur radio operators. (Full article...)

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Serevi in 2014

Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi (born 20 May 1968) is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game. A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018.

In the 15-man game, he played for Fiji 39 times between 1989 and 2003, and scored 376 points. This included representing Fiji in the 1991, 1999, and 2003 Rugby World Cups. He also played professionally for the Mitsubishi, Leicester, Stade Montois, Stade Bordelais and Staines rugby teams. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.

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