Oceania (sometimes
Oceanica) 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 proximate
Pacific islands, 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 part of
Maritime Southeast Asia as being parts of Oceania.
, the islands that are included in Oceania are divided into the
subregions of
Melanesia,
Micronesia, and
Polynesia.
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.
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 and the lowest point is
Lake Eyre,
Australia at below sea level.
Territories and regions
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.
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.
Interpretative details and controversies
Map of Oceania
Regions of Oceania
Political map of Oceania, EEZ borders
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. (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. 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.
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 region's most popular sports. Rugby union being the national sport of New Zealand,
Samoa,
Fiji and Tonga.
Rugby League is the national sport in Papua New Guinea (the second most populous country in Oceania after Australia) and is very popular in Australia and has a significant following in New Zealand.
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
Cricket is a popular summer sport in
Australia and
New Zealand.
Australia had ruled International
cricket as the number one team for more than a decade, and have won the last three
Cricket World Cups.
New Zealand is also considered a strong competitor in the sport, with the
New Zealand Cricket Team, also called the Black Caps, enjoying success in many competitions. Both
Australia and
New Zealand are
Full members of the
ICC.
Fiji,
Vanuatu and
Papua New Guinea are some of the
Assosciate/Affiliate members of the ICC from Oceania that are governed by the
East Asia-Pacific Cricket Council.
Beach Cricket, a greatly simplified variant of Cricket played on a sand beach, is also a popular recreational sport in
Australia.
Cricket is culturally a significant sport for summer in Oceania. The
Boxing Day Test is very popular in Australia, conducted every year on December, 26th at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground,
Melbourne.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football is the national sport in
Nauru and is very popular in Australia. It is also very popular in Papua New Guinea.
Football (soccer)
The
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of six
football (soccer) confederations 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.
Currently,
Vanuatu is the only country in Oceania to call football 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
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