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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New Guinea Island

New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Niugini; Hiri Motu: Niu Gini; Indonesian: Papua, fossilized Nugini, or historically Irian) is the world's second-largest island, with an area of 785,753 km² (303,381 sq mi). Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the 150-kilometre (81-nautical-mile; 93-mile) wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf, and were united during episodes of low sea level in the Pleistocene glaciations as the combined landmass of Sahul. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The island's name was given by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez during his maritime expedition of 1545 due to the resemblance of the indigenous peoples of the island to those in the African region of Guinea.

The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent nation of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and West Papua. The two major cities on the island are Port Moresby and Jayapura. (Full article...)

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United States Marines wade ashore on Tulagi Island on 7 August 1942.

The Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, between the forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied (mainly United States Marine Corps) ground forces. It took place 7–9 August 1942 on the Solomon Islands, during the initial Allied landings in the Guadalcanal campaign.

U.S. Marines (USMC) of the 1st Marine Division, under the overall command of U.S. Major General Alexander Vandegrift, with the USMC invasion force under the direct command of Brigadier General William Rupertus, captured the islands of Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo among which the Japanese Navy had constructed a naval and seaplane base. The landings were fiercely resisted by the Japanese Navy troops who, heavily outnumbered and outgunned by the Allied forces, fought and died almost to the last man. (Full article...)

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

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