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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 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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Port Moresby (/ˈmɔːrzbi/; Tok Pisin: Pot Mosbi), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the south-western coast of the Papuan Peninsula of the island of New Guinea. The city emerged as a trade centre in the second half of the 19th century. During World War II, it was a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43 as a staging point and air base to cut off Australia from Southeast Asia and the Americas.

As of the 2011 census, Port Moresby had 364,145 inhabitants. An unofficial 2020 estimate gives the population as 383,000. The place where the city was founded has been inhabited by the Motu-Koitabu people for centuries. The first Briton to see it was Royal Navy Captain John Moresby in 1873. It was named in honour of his father, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Fairfax Moresby. (Full article...)

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Samoan canoe performers

Samoans or Samoan people (Samoan: tagata Sāmoa) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between the Independent State of Samoa and American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. Though divided by national border, the culture and language are the same.

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