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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Landsat satellite image of Lanai

Lanai (Hawaiian: Lānaʻi, Hawaiian: [laːˈnɐʔi, naːˈnɐʔi], /ləˈnaɪ, lɑːˈnɑːi/ lə-NY, lah-NAH-ee, also US: /lɑːˈnaɪ, ləˈnɑːi/ lah-NY, lə-NAH-ee,) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island's only settlement of note is the small town of Lanai City. , the island is 98% owned by Larry Ellison, cofounder and chairman of Oracle Corporation; the remaining 2% is owned by the state of Hawaii or individual homeowners.

Lanai is a roughly apostrophe-shaped island with a width of 18 miles (29 km) in the longest direction. The land area is 140.5 square miles (364 km²), making it the 43rd largest island in the United States. It is separated from the island of Molokaʻi by the Kalohi Channel to the north, and from Maui by the Auʻau Channel to the east. The United States Census Bureau defines Lanai as Census Tract 316 of Maui County. Its total population rose to 3,367 as of the 2020 United States census, up from 3,193 as of the 2000 census and 3,131 as of the 2010 census. As visible via satellite imagery, many of the island's landmarks are accessible only by dirt roads that require a four-wheel drive vehicle due to the lack of paved roadways. (Full article...)

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Map of Espiritu Santo

Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo or Naval Base Espiritu Santo, most often just called Espiritu Santo, was a major advance Naval base that the U.S. Navy Seabees built during World War II to support the Allied effort in the Pacific. The base was located on the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, in the South Pacific. The base also supported the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and US Marine Corps. It was the first large advance base built in the Pacific. By the end of the war it had become the second-largest base in the theater. To keep ships tactically available there was a demand for bases that could repair and resupply the fleet at advance locations, rather than return them to the United States. Prior to December 7th, Pearl Harbor was the U.S. fleet's largest advance base in the Pacific. Espiritu

became capable of all aspects necessary to support the Fleet's operations from fleet logistics in fuel, food, and ammunition, to transport embarkation for combat operations or returning to the continental United States. The ship repair facilities and drydocks were capable of attending to most damage and routine maintenance. Had it not existed, ships would have had to return to Pearl Harbor, Brisbane, or Sydney for major repairs and resupply. The base became a major R and R destination for the fleet. (Full article...)

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

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