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OCEANIA is one of the most diverse and fascinating and collectively it combines all of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, as well as the thousands of coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific Ocean- including the Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian groups of islands along the northern and southern edges of the Equator. Oceania is 3,132,059 sq miles but the land area is only 5.3%. The population is 31,090,000. The Highest Point: Mt. Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea at 14,794 ft (4,509m). The Lowest Point: Lake Eyre in Central Australia which is 52ft (16m) below sea level. There are about 13 independent states in Australia and Oceania. On this page you will find the states and their capital cities with the cities population. And links to official or semi- official sites. Apia 32,000 Samoa WS Canberra 300,000. Australia AU. Honiara 32,000 Solomon Islands SB. Funafuti Fongafale Tuvalu TV .Koror 17,000 Palau PW. Majuro 27,000 Marshall Islands MH. Nuku'alofa 19,000 Tonga TO. Port Moresby 18,0000 Papua New Guinea PG. Port-Vila 19,000 Vanuatu VU. Palikir Micronesia FM. Suva 75,000 Fiji FJ. Tarawa Bairiki Kiribati ( Kiribas ) KI. Wellington (mi) 155,000 New New Zealand. The term Oceania is used to designate all the islands of the Central and the South Pacific including Australia, New Zealand, and sometimes the Malay Archipelago and Antarctica. On this Web site, the focus is on all the Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia , Polynesia Central Pacific ,Islands, and Hawai'i as well as Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. Oceania Nations is therefore a huge region from the west coast of North America to Asia. And from the North Pole to the South Pole. Oceania covers one-third of the world's surface. The first European to see the Pacific was Balboa who was later executed by his political enemies. In 1517, a Portuguese nobleman named Magellan (Magalhaes) proposed a route to the Pacific by way of America- instead of the recognized course from South Africa on the path of the trade winds. On 28th November 1520, Magellan passed through the southern tip of America which is now called the Strait of Magellan and sailed into the Pacific Ocean. Magellan gave the order for the ships to turn north-east. After incredible hardship, the first land they saw was right across the Pacific at Guam in Micronesia. They went on and Magellan was killed in a battle in the Philippines. It was not until the 17th century that Dutch merchants discovered parts of Polynesia. Tasman reached New Zealand and Roggeveen landed on Easter Island. The leaders of the early expeditions kept logs in which they recorded their impressions of those things they had seen in Oceania. These accounts are interesting in terms of the descriptions of what they actually saw, but their interpretations of native culture were not always accurate. Many of the whalers and traders who came afterwards did not fully appreciate and understand the oral literature of the people. Also, many of the missionaries who followed in their wake sought to destroy the the islands mythology and substituting their own. The island people lost their standards of value and their myths and traditions were given no commercial or spiritual recognition; and the continuity of their teaching was broken. So much of the old world thus passed away and the stone temples became ruins; and the temple drums and shell trumpets fell silent. Organisations I Facts I Issue policy I postage I ordering I Home |
