oceania - coffinblog · 2013. 2. 21. · polynesia (“many islands”) melanesia (“black...
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2/21/2013
1
The continent really is composed of Australia and Oceania together.
◦ Geographers differ on what the continent should be called.
Australia is usually combined with New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Regarding Australia:
◦ Date of Independence: January 1, 1901.
◦ Percent Urban Population: 85%
◦ GDP per Capita: $27,000
◦ Largest City by Population: Sydney (approximately 4 million)
◦ It is the smallest continent, but is the sixth largest nation.
◦ Its land is millions of years old.
2/21/2013
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Australia’s ABORIGINES were hunters
and gatherers moving with the
seasons. Their society was based on
a complex network of kinship.
Social control was maintained by a
system of beliefs called THE
DREAMING (meaning the time of
creation).
The MAORI - indigenous Polynesian
people of New Zealand - arrived in
the 14th Century.
Australia dominates this region
economically.
It has strong economic ties to Asia
and the Pacific Rim (countries and
economies bordering the Pacific
Ocean).
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Geographers divide Oceania into
three major ethno-geographic
regions:
◦ Polynesia (“many islands”)
◦ Melanesia (“black islands”)
◦ Micronesia (“tiny islands”).
The largest regaion is Polynesia,
which forms a triangle with Hawaii
in the north, Easter Island in the
east, and New Zealand in the
southwest.
The best known island groups are
Hawaii, French Polynesia, Samoa,
the Cook Islands, and Easter Island
(made famous for its gigantic stone
statues in human form).
Micronesia’s most famous island
group is called the Mariana
Islands, which includes Guam, a
territory of the USA.
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Captain James Cook, a British
seaman, made three voyages of
discovery to the Pacific. The Cook
Islands are named for him.
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