Page Title

OCEANIA

Oceania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

       Area 9,008,458 km2 (3,478,185.1 sq mi)
Population 32,000,000 (6th)

Countries 15:

Australia
Fiji
Indonesia
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Nauru
New Zealand
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

Dependencies 16:

American Samoa
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Cook Islands
Coral Sea Islands
Easter Island
French Polynesia
Guam
Hawaii
New Caledonia
Rotuma
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Pitcairn Islands
Tokelau
Wallis and Futuna

Languages 25 Official:

Bislama
Carolinian
Chamorro
Cook Islands Maori
English
Fijian
French
Futunan
Gilbertese
Hindi
Hiri Motu
Indonesian
Māori
Marshallese
Nauruan
Niuean
Palauan
Pitkern
Rotuman
Samoan
Tahitian
Tokelauan
Tongan
Tok Pisin
Tuvaluan
Wallisian
also many unofficial ones

Time Zones UTC+8 (Australian Western Standard Time)
to UTC-6 (Easter Island) (West to East)

Oceania (sometimes Oceanica[1]) is a geographical, often
geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—
mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term
"Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer
Dumont d'Urville. The term is used today in many
languages to denote a continent comprising Australia and
approximate Pacific islands,[2][3][4] and is one of eight
terrestrial ecozones.

The boundaries of Oceania are defined in a
number of ways. Most definitions recognize parts
of Australasia such as Australia, New Zealand, and
New Guinea, and all or part of the Malay
Archipelago as being parts of Oceania.[5][6][7]

Ethnologically, the islands that are included in
Oceania are divided into the subregions of
Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.[8]

Contents:

1 Extent
2 Territories and regions
2.1 Interpretative details and controversies
3 Ecogeography
4 Sport
4.1 Pacific Games
4.2 Rugby codes
4.3 Cricket
4.4 Australian rules football
4.5 Association Football
5 See also
6 Notes
7 External links

Extent:

Oceania is traditionally understood as being composed of
three regions: Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. As with
any region, however, interpretations vary; increasingly,
geographers and scientists divide Oceania into Near Oceania
and Remote Oceania.[9]

Most of Oceania consists of island nations comprising
thousands of coral atolls and volcanic islands, with small
human populations. Australia is the only continental country
but Indonesia has land borders with Papua New Guinea, East
Timor, and Malaysia. If the Australia-New Guinea continent is
included then the highest point is Puncak Jaya in Papua at
4,884 m (16,024 ft) and the lowest point is Lake Eyre,
Australia at 16 m (52 ft) below sea level.[citation needed]

Territories and regions:

                   Map of Oceania

Regions of Oceania:

Political map of Oceania; Descriptions of the
regions; and constituents of Oceania vary
according to source. The table below shows the
subregions and countries of Oceania as broadly
categorised according to the scheme for
geographic subregions used by the United
Nations.[7] The information shown follows
sources in cross-referenced articles; where
sources differ, provisos have been clearly
indicated. These territories and regions are subject
to various additional categorisations, of course,
depending on the source and purpose of each
description.

Name of region, followed by countries. [10]
(km²) Population Population density...

Australasia[11]...

Australia 7,686,850 21,828,704 2.7 Canberra

New Zealand[12] 268,680 4,108,037 14.5 Wellington
Dependencies/Territories of Australia:

Christmas Island[13] 135 1,493 3.5 Flying Fish Cove

Cocos (Keeling) Islands[13] 14 632 45.1 West Island
Norfolk Island 35 1,866 53.3 Kingston

Melanesia[14]

Fiji 18,270 856,346 46.9 Suva

Indonesia (Oceanian part only)[15] 499,852 4,211,532 8.4
Jakarta

New Caledonia (France) 19,060 240,390 12.6 Nouméa

Papua New Guinea[16] 462,840 5,172,033 11.2 Port
Moresby

Solomon Islands 28,450 494,786 17.4 Honiara

Vanuatu 12,200 196,178 16.1 Port Vila

Micronesia:

Federated States of Micronesia 702 135,869 193.5 Palikir

Guam (USA) 549 160,796 292.9 Hagåtña

Kiribati 811 96,335 118.8 South Tarawa

Marshall Islands 181 73,630 406.8 Majuro

Nauru 21 12,329 587.1 Yaren (de facto)

Northern Mariana Islands (USA) 477 77,311 162.1 Saipan

Palau 458 19,409 42.4 Melekeok[17]

Wake Island (USA) 2   Wake Island

Polynesia:

American Samoa (USA) 199 68,688 345.2 Pago Pago,
Fagatogo[18]

Chatham Islands (NZ) 966 609 0.6 Waitangi

Cook Islands (NZ) 240 20,811 86.7 Avarua

Easter Island (Chile) 163.6 3,791 23.1 Hanga Roa

French Polynesia (France) 3,961 257,847 61.9 Papeete

Hawaii (USA) 28,311 1,283,388 72.8 Honolulu

Niue (NZ) 260 2,134 8.2 Alofi

Pitcairn Islands (UK) 5 47 10 Adamstown

Samoa 2,944 214,265 60.7 Apia

Tokelau (NZ) 10 1,431 143.1 —[19]

Tonga 748 106,137 141.9 Nukuʻalofa

Tuvalu 26 11,146 428.7 Funafuti

Wallis and Futuna (France) 274 15,585 56.9 Mata-Utu

Total 9,037,695 38,894,851 4.3

Total minus mainland Australia 1,350,845 17,844,851 13.2

See also: List of Oceanian countries by population

Interpretative details and controversies:

New Zealand is the western corner of the Polynesian
Triangle. Its indigenous Māori constitute one of the major
cultures of Polynesia. It is also, however, considered part
of Australasia.[7] More restricted definitions of the region
may exclude New Zealand.[20]

Hawaii is the northern corner of the Polynesian Triangle
and is generally included in Oceania, though politically it
is part of the United States. The Hawaiian language is a
Polynesian member of the Oceanic language family, and
Hawaiian culture is one of the major cultures of Polynesia.

The U.S. territories in the North Pacific are generally
considered part of Oceania.

Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, is the eastern corner of the
Polynesian triangle. A Polynesian island in the eastern
Pacific Ocean and part of the territory of Chile, it is
generally included in Oceania, in which case the most
easterly place in Polynesia and Oceania is its dependency
Isla Salas y Gómez 415 km to the East.

The line in Indonesia dividing Oceania from Asia varies in
location and is sometimes considered to be the Wallace
Line. See the transcontinental country article.

East Timor is often reckoned as a part of Oceania due to its
location to the east of the Wallace Line and its cultural ties to
Pacific peoples.[21] (See transcontinental country)

Biogeographically, East Timor lies within Wallacea, an
ecological transition zone between Asia and Australasia. This
transition is less known and less favoured these days as a
continental boundary.

Australia is sometimes not included in Oceania. Terms such
as Pacific Islands or South Sea Islands might be used to
describe Oceania without Australia (and New Zealand). The
term "Australasia" invariably includes Australia, and usually
includes New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and some other
parts of Oceania. This term is sometimes controversial,
though, as it may may be interpreted as implying an
association with Asia — a separate continent — or too great
an association with Australia.[However, Australia, is a self-
governing country with political ties to Great Britain;
maintaining it's own constitution, regulations, and is also self-
governing.] The term is actually derived from the word
"Austral", meaning "of, relating to, or coming from the south".
This word represents the common root of both names:
Australia and Australasia.

Although Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
belong to the Commonwealth of Australia, they are west of
Sumatra and are commonly associated with Asia, and not
with Oceania.[Probably because they are located within the
sphere of influence of the continent of Asia because of its
location]

In its widest sense, the term may embrace the entire insular
region between Asia and the Americas, thereby including
other islands in the Pacific Rim such as the Ryukyu, Kuril and
Aleutian islands, the Japanese Archipelago and Taiwan.[22]

Ecogeography:

Oceania is one of eight terrestrial ecozones, which
constitute the major ecological regions of the planet. The
Oceania ecozone includes all of Micronesia, Fiji, and all of
Polynesia except New Zealand. New Zealand, New
Guinea and nearby islands, Australia, the Solomon
Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia constitute the
separate Australasia ecozone.

Sport:

[Pacific Games:

The Pacific Games (formerly known as the South Pacific
Games) is a multi-sport event, much like the Olympics,
(albeit on a much smaller scale), with participation
exclusively from countries around the Pacific. It is held
every four years and began in 1963.

Rugby codes:

Rugby League and Rugby Union are two of the regions
most popular sports.[23] Rugby union being the national
sport of New Zealand,[24] Samoa,[24] Fiji and Tonga.[24]
Rugby League is the national sport in Papua New Guinea
[25] (the second most populous country in Oceania after
Australia) and is very popular in Australia[26] and has a
significant following in New Zealand.[27]

Australia has won the Rugby League World Cup a record
9 times. New Zealand won their first World Cup in 2008.
Australia hosted the second tournament in 1957.
Australia and New Zealand jointly hosted it in 1968 and
1977. New Zealand hosted the final for the first time
during the worldwide 1985-1988 tournament and
Australia hosted the most recent one in 2008.

Australia has won the Rugby World Cup a record 2 times.
New Zealand won the inaugural World Cup in 1987.
Australia and New Zealand jointly hosted the World Cup
in 1987. Australia hosted it in 2003 and New Zealand is to
host it in 2011.

Cricket:

Fans' welcome to the Australian team after winning 2007
world cupCricket is a popular summer sport in Australia
and New Zealand. Australia has ruled the cricket world as
the number one team for more than a decade. Australia
have won the last three Cricket World Cups. New
Zealand is one the strong teams in Cricket and has
produced many famous cricketers. New Zealand Cricket
Team are also called Black Caps. Both Australia and New
Zealand are the Full members of ICC. Fiji, Vanuatu and
Papua New Guinea are some of the Assosciate/Affiliate
members of ICC from Oceania that are governed by East
Asia-Pacific Cricket Council. Beach Cricket is also a
popular recreational sport in Australia.

Cricket is culturally a significant sport for summer in
Oceania. Boxing Day Test is very popular in Australia
which is conducted every year on December, 26th at
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne.

Australian rules football in Oceania:

Australian rules football is the national sport in Nauru[28]
and is most popular in Australia.[29] It is also very
popular in Papua New Guinea.[30]

Association Football:

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of six
football (soccer) confederations[31] under the auspices
of FIFA, the international governing body of the sport.
The OFC is the only confederation without an automatic
qualification to the World Cup Finals. Currently the winner
of the OFC qualification tournament must play off against
an Asian confederation side to qualify for the World Cup.
[32][33]

Currently, Vanuatu is the only country in Oceania to call
soccer its national sport.

Oceania has only been represented at three World Cup
Finals — Australia in 1974 and 2006 and New Zealand in
1982. However, Australia is now no longer a member of
the Oceania Football Confederation, having joined the
Asian Football Confederation in 2006.

See also:

Oceania portal
Art of Oceania
Economy of Oceania
Europeans in Oceania
Festival of Pacific Arts
Flags of Oceania
Geography of Oceania
History of Oceania
List of cities in Oceania
Military history of Oceania
Oceania (journal)
Pacific Games
Pacific Islands Forum
Pacific Union
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
United Nations geoscheme for Oceania

Notes:

^ ""Oceanica" defined by Memidex/WordNet". Memidex.
com. 2009-03-20. http://www.memidex.com/oceanica.
Retrieved on 2009-04-17.

^ Atlas of Canada Web Master (2004-08-17). "The Atlas of
Canada - The World - Continents". Atlas.nrcan.gc.ca. http:
//atlas.nrcan.gc.
ca/site/english/maps/reference/international/world/referen
cemap_image_view. Retrieved on 2009-04-17.

^ List of IOC members (122) by continent. International
Olympic Committee: 112th session, Moscow 2001

^ "Encarta Mexico "Oceanía"". Mx.encarta.msn.com. http:
//mx.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557382/Ocean%
C3%ADa.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-17.

^ Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary (based on
Collegiate vol., 11th ed.) 2006. Springfield, MA: Merriam-
Webster, Inc.

^ See, e.g., The Atlas of Canada - The World - Continents

^ a b c "United Nations Statistics Division - Countries of
Oceania". Millenniumindicators.un.org. http:
//millenniumindicators.un.
org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#oceania. Retrieved
on 2009-04-17.

^ "Oceania". 2005. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.
Columbia University Press.

^ Ben Finney, The Other One-Third of the Globe, Journal
of World History, Vol. 5, No. 2, Fall, 1994.

^ Regions and constituents as per UN
categorisations/map except notes 2-3, 6. Depending on
definitions, various territories cited below (notes 3, 5-7, 9)
may be in one or both of Oceania and Asia or North
America.

^ The use and scope of this term varies. The UN
designation for this subregion is "Australia and New
Zealand."

^ New Zealand is often considered part of Polynesia
rather than Australasia.

^ a b Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are
Australian external territories in the Indian Ocean
southwest of Indonesia.

^ Excludes parts of Indonesia, island territories in
Southeast Asia (UN region) frequently reckoned in this
region.

^ Indonesia is generally considered a territory of
Southeastern Asia (UN region); wholly or partially, it is
also frequently included in Australasia or Melanesia.
Figures include Indonesian portion of New Guinea (Irian
Jaya) and Maluku Islands.

^ Papua New Guinea is often considered part of
Australasia as well as Melanesia.

^ On 7 October 2006, government officials moved their
offices in the former capital of Koror to Melekeok, located
20 km northeast of Koror on Babelthuap Island.

^ Fagatogo is the seat of government of American Samoa.

^ Tokelau, a domain of New Zealand, has no capital: each
atoll has its own administrative centre.

^ Max Cryer, Curious Kiwi Words, 2002, p153 - "A larger
portion of the rest of the world calmly refers to this
geographic area as Oceania, a term many New
Zealanders have never heard, let alone used."

^ http://www.world-gazetteer.com/

^ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9056698/Oceania

^ "Oceania Rugby Vacations". Real Travel. http:
//realtravel.com/tag-z3461145-314.html. Retrieved on
2009-04-17.

^ a b c "How many national sports are there".
WikiAnswers. http://wiki.answers.
com/Q/How_many_national_sports_are_there. Retrieved
on 2009-04-17.

^ "MSN Groups Closure Notice". Groups.msn.com. 2008-
10-23. http://groups.msn.com/PNGKumuls/history.msnw?
pgmarket=en-us. Retrieved on 2009-04-17.

^ "Football in Australia - Australia's Culture Portal".
Cultureandrecreation.gov.au. 2008-03-28. http://www.
cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/football/. Retrieved
on 2009-04-17.

^ "RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL - RUGBY LEAGUE
FOOTBALL - 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand". Teara.
govt.nz. 1908-06-13. http://www.teara.govt.
nz/1966/R/RugbyLeagueFootball/RugbyLeagueFootball/en
. Retrieved on 2009-04-17.

^ "Nauru AFL team to play in International Cup".
solomonstarnews.com. 2008-04-16. http:
//solomonstarnews.com/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=1023&change=100&
changeown=101&Itemid=42. Retrieved on 2009-04-17.

^ "Australian rules football (sport) - Britannica Online
Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. http://www.britannica.
com/EBchecked/topic/44079/Australian-rules-football.
Retrieved on 2009-04-17.

^ "pure AFL . . . purely Papua New Guinea". Afl Png. http:
//www.afl-png.com/aboutus.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-
17.

^ "''FIFA confederations''". Fifa.com. http://www.fifa.
com/aboutfifa/federation/confederations/index.html.
Retrieved on 2009-04-17.

^ FIFA world cup 2010 - Oceania preliminary competition

^ "''FIFA world cup 2010 - qualifying rounds and places
available by confederation''". Fifa.com. 2009-04-03. http:
//www.fifa.com/worldcup/tournament/index.html.
Retrieved on 2009-04-17.

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