A Regional Overview of Oceania: Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific
![Picture](/uploads/6/3/2/8/6328541/7235481.jpg?346)
There are 13 countries in this region:
Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Soloman Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Federated Islands of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Nauru
Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Soloman Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Federated Islands of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Nauru
Physical Features
Feature 1
Great Victoria Desert
The Great Victoria Desert is the largest desert in Australia. It is more than 163,000 square miles. It is the eighth largest desert in the world. It spans over 435 miles from west to east. It is named after Queen Victoria and was first crossed by the European explorer Ernest Giles in 1875. The average rainfall is 200-250mm a year. The days in the summer are hot (between 90-105' F). Winter temperatures range in the 70's but can dip to freezing at night. The Great Victoria Desert is home to a wide array of plant and animal life. The desert is mostly unpopulated by humans. The groups that do live here are Indigenous Australians including the Kogara, Mirning and Pitjantjatjara peoples. Nuclear weapons testing conducted on the desert in the 1960's has left some areas contaminated with radioactive material. (Outback Australia, 2006)
Feature 2
Australian Alps
The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia and the highest point is Mount Kosciuszko at 7,310 feet. The Alps are part of the Great Dividing Range, which is a series of hills and plateaus that run from Queensland to central Victoria. The Alps are a huge tourist attraction for this region and brings revenue into the local economy. The Alps contain several national parks including Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales and the Alpine National Park in Victoria. Most peaks of the Australian Alps can be reached without specialized mountaineering equipment so the mountains are frequented by rock climbing enthusiasts from around the world. The Australian Alps experience a dry climate and bushfires are common. Certain types of flora have evolved to rely on these fires as a means of reproduction. In some species of eucalyptus fire causes the seed pods to open allowing germination. (Australian Alps, 2011)
Feature 3
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps are located in New Zealand's South Island. The highest peak is Aoraki at 12,283 feet. There are 16 other points in the range that exceed 9,000 feet. The Alps lie along a geological plate boundary, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The climate of the range is cold with snow and ice year-round at its highest points. The Southern Alps are home to a diverse group of flora and fauna. The Great Spotted Kiwi and the South Island Kaka can be found in the range. (New Zealand, 2011)
Feature 4
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the world. It is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space. The marine park stretches more than 1800 miles parallel to the Queensland Coast of Australia. The reef is home to more than 400 different types of coral, over 1500 species of tropical fish, more than 200 types of birds, 20 types of reptiles and giant clams over 120 years old. The reef is a breeding area for humpback whales, migrating from the Artic and is also the habitat of a few endangered species. It is the world's largest reef system and is composed of over 2,900 individual coral reef. The Great Barrier Reef has more than 900 islands that occupy its stretch. Tourism to the Great Barrier Reef provides Australia with over four billion dollars annually in tourist revenue. (The Great Barrier Reef, 2011)
Feature 5
Great Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater in inland Australia. The Basin covers more the 660,000 square miles, which is more than 23% of the Australian continent. The total volume of water stored is estimated at 8,700 million megaliters. A megaliter is one million liters and will fill about half an Olympic sized swimming pool. Created between 100 and 250 million years ago the Great Artesian Basin consists of alternating layers of water bearing sandstone aquifers and non water bearing siltstones and mudstones. The waters are held in a sandstone layer covered by a layer of marine sedimentary rock. The waters discharge through a number of springs, mostly in the southern portion of the basin. The Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee (GABCC) coordinates and regulates the resource from community organizations and agencies of the state and government. The Basin is being polluted by chemicals from coal gas extraction. The Federal Government through the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative (GSBSI), has committed 31.8 million dollars over 5 years to encourage rehabilitation of the Basin. (Department of Water Resources, 2011)
Climate:
Most of this region is situated in the tropical and subtropical latitiude of the Pacific Ocean. The deserts of Australia experience arid climates and Eastern Australia is a temperate climate. The Roaring Forties are powerful air and ocean currents that speed around the far Southern Hemisphere unpeded by land masses. They contain westerly winds that blow west to east and deposit more than 130 inches of rain a year in New Zealand. Two thirds of Australia is very dry. The Great Dividing Range blocks movement of moisture from easterly winds (blowing east to west) so rain does not reach it. A large portion of Australia receives less than twenty inches of rain per year. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
Resources:
Resource 1
Coal and other Minerals
Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal, bauxite, and a number of other minerals and metals. For decades, this natural resource has supported the economy of Australia. In the last thirty years, there has been a massive expansion of coal mining, predominantly for export, in Australia. In 2009-2010 Australia's total raw coal production was approximately 539.79 million tons. Experts are concerned that Australia may be the first to collapse due to global warming because it has higher carbon dioxide emmission per capita than any other country on earth. (Source Watch, 2011)
Resource 2
Sheep and Wool
In 1999, the Australian sheep and wool industry occupied an area in excess of 85 million acres. These production areas are generally located in the inland, central and southern areas of Australia. Sheep and wool production occurs across much of central Australia, but is split geographically into three zones. These zones are the high rainfall zone, the wheat/sheep zone and the pastoral zone. The pastoral zone supports more than 80% of the sheep. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that sheep and lamb numbers vary annually in response to markets and seasons. The industry greatly increases Australia's annual revenue and provides numerous jobs to its citizens. (Australian Natural Resources Atlas, 2007)
Environmental Issues:
Issue 1
Nuclear Pollution
Nuclear Pollution became a problem in this region during World War II. During the war nuclear bomb experiments destroyed the island of Bikini in the Marshall Islands and caused cancer among local islanders. Mururoa in the French Polynesia has been the site of 180 nuclear weapons tests and has received numerous shipments from France of nuclear waste. Resulting in cancer, birth defects, infertility and miscarriages among islanders. In 1985 the Treaty of Rarotonga established the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone-in response to the pollution and its effects. The Treaty has been signed by most independent countries in Oceania. Treaty bans nuclear weapon testing and nuclear waste dumping in the lands-French Polynesia and the United States territories have not signed the treaty. Dumping of this waste continues in the Marshall Islands which is a US territory by Japan, North and South Korea, France and the US. In the 1990's the United Nations Working Group (UNWGIP) was formed by Pacific island leaders to stop waste dumping and nuclear testing. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
Issue 2
Global Warming and Ozone Depletion
Global warming is a concern because many of the islands barely rise above sea level. If sea levels rise the 4 inches per decade predicted by the International Panel on Climate Change many of the islands will disappear underwater and other populated islands will severely reduce in size. Many islanders are migrating to Australia and New Zealand and some are threatening legal action against the US and Australia for their enormous green house gas emissions. Ozone layer depletion is another environmental problem in Oceania. Since the 1980's the ozone has been thinning and a hole appears periodically over Antartica. Ozone is a type of oxygen molecule that is normally heavily concentrated in a layer of the upper atmosphere of earth. It filters out biologically harmful ultraviolent radiation emitted from the sun. The increasing amounts of ultraviolent radiation are likely the cause of skin cancer. Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
Population Patterns:
Aborigines migrated from Southeast Asia 50,000 to 70,000 years ago. Aborigines are the longest surviving inhabitants of this region. Melanesians settled this area after the Aborigines and spread throughout New Guinea and other area islands giving them their name. Austronesians migrated much later, about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, and continued the settlement of this region. They were hunter gatherers and by 1,000 years ago they reached the most far flung islands of the region. Europeans arrived around 1521 and continued the colonization. The population of this region today is around 34 million people-Hawaii has 4 million, Australia 20 million, Papua New Guinea 5.9 million, New Zealand 4 million. Australia is mostly populated on the Southeastern coastal regions. Australia and New Zealand have among the highest percentages of city dwellers outside Europe. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
![Picture](/uploads/6/3/2/8/6328541/896452.jpg)
Role of Gender:
Women is this region often exercised power in the family and their power increased with motherhood and advancing age. Polynesia women could become ruling chiefs and in Micronesia lineage was established by women. Today women's access to jobs and policy-making positions has improved and many more young women are choosing careers and postponing marriage and children. New Zealand and Australia continue to see women in homemaking positions. Pacific women contribute significantly to the formal and informal economies. Men traditionally were cultivators, fishermen and masters of seafaring. They were responsible for meal prep and cooking. Men today continue to be associated with male dominated activities but are slowly breaking that mold. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
Religions:
Religion 1
Indigenous Beliefs
The Aborigines of Oceania base their way of life on the idea that the spiritual and physical worlds are intricately related. The dead are everywhere present in spirit, and they guide the living in how to relate to the physical environment. The time of creation is referred to as Dreamtime. During Dreamtime the human spiritual connections were made to rocks, rivers, plants, animals and deserts. Aboriginal people read the landscape as a complex sign system conveying spiritual meaning. Particular groups of aboriginal people associate themselves with an element of nature. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
Religion 2
Buddhism
In Australia Buddhism is a small but very fast growing religion. According to the 2006 census, 2.1 percent of the total population of Australia, or 418,749 people practiced the religion. The biggest reliquary-burial mound, a stupa, is being built in Bendigo, which is not far from Melbourne. Australia contains 570 listed Buddhist organizations, including monasteries, temples, retreat centers, meditation centers, and meeting places for Buddhist societies. Buddhism was originally brought to Australia in 1851 when the Chinese began arriving in Adelaide to walk to the Victorian goldfields. Many of these Chinese were Buddhist. Later 500 Sri Lankans further spread the religion when they arrived from the Galle area in southern Sri Lanka. They came to work as contract labor in the Queensland sugar plantations. Today Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in this region by percentage, having increased its followers by 80 percent in 10 years. Buddhism is now the second largest religion in the country after Christianity. (Wisdom Quarterly, 2011)
Transportation:
Oceania uses all modes of transportation. There is a rail system throughout Australia that include a public transit system and dozens of air carriers that go through the Australian and Oceania airports. The urban expressway is the roadway system throughout Australia with many interconnecting highways. The islands of Oceania independently manage their own roadway systems and many of the islands support their own airline and airport. Public busing is a popular mode of transportation that increases revenue on the islands due to the large influx of tourists. The waterways are also a mode of transportation for shipping, public transport and tourism. (Virtual Tourist, 2010)
HDI and GDP
This region has a wide variation of GDP. Australia and New Zealand have a high standard of living and feature publicly enhanced social programs such as health care and housing. Generally the islands of the region have a low GDP. HDI statistics are missing for several places in the region. Australia and New Zealand rank high. Hawaii is not ranked because it is a US territory. The HDI are because of the difficulty the islands have in providing quality health care. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
Country of Focus:
Samoa
Samoans, along with Tongans and Fijians were the superpowers of the Pacific before the arrival of Europeans. European whalers and traders started to arrive in the late 1700's. In 1899 after years of civil war, the islands of the Samoan archipelago were divided-the Germans taking the islands to the west and the Americans taking the islands to the east, now known as American Samoa. After the outbreak of World War I, New Zealand captured Western Samoa from the small German company stationed on the islands and following the end of the war took over its control until its independence in January of 1962. Western Samoa became the first Pacific nation to gain independence. From 1962 to 1997, the nation was known as Western Samoa, until it dropped the title "Western" from its name to become Somoa. Today there are 362 villages found throughout the island. Christianity has been one of the western influences to be accepted into the indigenous culture. This country relies on tourism for portion of its local economy. The cuisine consists of fish, vegetables, tropical fruits and meats. (Samoa, 2008)
Resources:
Pulsipher, A. & Pulsipher, L. (2008) World Regional Geography: Global Patterns, Local Lives (4th Edition). New York: W.H. Freeman Company
New Zealand. (2011) Southern Alps. Retrieved from: http://www.newzealand.com/travel/about-nz/features/southern-alps-feature/
The Great Barrier Reef. (2011) The Great Barrier Reef Facts. Retrieved from: http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/great-barrier-reef-facts/php
Outback Australia. (2006) Great Victoria Desert, Australia: The Largest Desert in Australia. Retrieved from: http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/great-victoria-desert.html
Australian Alps. (2011) Australian Alps National Parks. Retrieved from: http://www.australianalps.environment/gov/au/
Samoa. (2008) Fa'a Samoa-The Samoan Way. Retrieved from: http://www.samoa.travel/about/a10/Fa
Department of Water Resources. (2011) Great Artesian Basin. Retrieved from: http://www.departmentofwaterresources.com/GABSA/
Virtual Tourist. (2010) Australia and Oceania Transport. Retrieved from: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Australia_and_Oceania-Transportation
Source Watch. (2011) Australia and Coal. Retrieved from: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Australia_and_coal
Australian Natural Resources Atlas. (2007) Agriculture-Sheep/Wool Industry-Australia. Retrieved from: http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/agriculture/sheep-wool/index.htm
Wisdom Quarterly. (2011) Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal. Retrieved from: http://www.wisdomquarterly.com/2011/04/buddhism-fastest-growing-religion-in.html
Photos: Creative Commons. (2011) Retrieved from: http://www.weebly.com/
Women is this region often exercised power in the family and their power increased with motherhood and advancing age. Polynesia women could become ruling chiefs and in Micronesia lineage was established by women. Today women's access to jobs and policy-making positions has improved and many more young women are choosing careers and postponing marriage and children. New Zealand and Australia continue to see women in homemaking positions. Pacific women contribute significantly to the formal and informal economies. Men traditionally were cultivators, fishermen and masters of seafaring. They were responsible for meal prep and cooking. Men today continue to be associated with male dominated activities but are slowly breaking that mold. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
Religions:
Religion 1
Indigenous Beliefs
The Aborigines of Oceania base their way of life on the idea that the spiritual and physical worlds are intricately related. The dead are everywhere present in spirit, and they guide the living in how to relate to the physical environment. The time of creation is referred to as Dreamtime. During Dreamtime the human spiritual connections were made to rocks, rivers, plants, animals and deserts. Aboriginal people read the landscape as a complex sign system conveying spiritual meaning. Particular groups of aboriginal people associate themselves with an element of nature. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
Religion 2
Buddhism
In Australia Buddhism is a small but very fast growing religion. According to the 2006 census, 2.1 percent of the total population of Australia, or 418,749 people practiced the religion. The biggest reliquary-burial mound, a stupa, is being built in Bendigo, which is not far from Melbourne. Australia contains 570 listed Buddhist organizations, including monasteries, temples, retreat centers, meditation centers, and meeting places for Buddhist societies. Buddhism was originally brought to Australia in 1851 when the Chinese began arriving in Adelaide to walk to the Victorian goldfields. Many of these Chinese were Buddhist. Later 500 Sri Lankans further spread the religion when they arrived from the Galle area in southern Sri Lanka. They came to work as contract labor in the Queensland sugar plantations. Today Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in this region by percentage, having increased its followers by 80 percent in 10 years. Buddhism is now the second largest religion in the country after Christianity. (Wisdom Quarterly, 2011)
Transportation:
Oceania uses all modes of transportation. There is a rail system throughout Australia that include a public transit system and dozens of air carriers that go through the Australian and Oceania airports. The urban expressway is the roadway system throughout Australia with many interconnecting highways. The islands of Oceania independently manage their own roadway systems and many of the islands support their own airline and airport. Public busing is a popular mode of transportation that increases revenue on the islands due to the large influx of tourists. The waterways are also a mode of transportation for shipping, public transport and tourism. (Virtual Tourist, 2010)
HDI and GDP
This region has a wide variation of GDP. Australia and New Zealand have a high standard of living and feature publicly enhanced social programs such as health care and housing. Generally the islands of the region have a low GDP. HDI statistics are missing for several places in the region. Australia and New Zealand rank high. Hawaii is not ranked because it is a US territory. The HDI are because of the difficulty the islands have in providing quality health care. (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008)
Country of Focus:
Samoa
Samoans, along with Tongans and Fijians were the superpowers of the Pacific before the arrival of Europeans. European whalers and traders started to arrive in the late 1700's. In 1899 after years of civil war, the islands of the Samoan archipelago were divided-the Germans taking the islands to the west and the Americans taking the islands to the east, now known as American Samoa. After the outbreak of World War I, New Zealand captured Western Samoa from the small German company stationed on the islands and following the end of the war took over its control until its independence in January of 1962. Western Samoa became the first Pacific nation to gain independence. From 1962 to 1997, the nation was known as Western Samoa, until it dropped the title "Western" from its name to become Somoa. Today there are 362 villages found throughout the island. Christianity has been one of the western influences to be accepted into the indigenous culture. This country relies on tourism for portion of its local economy. The cuisine consists of fish, vegetables, tropical fruits and meats. (Samoa, 2008)
Resources:
Pulsipher, A. & Pulsipher, L. (2008) World Regional Geography: Global Patterns, Local Lives (4th Edition). New York: W.H. Freeman Company
New Zealand. (2011) Southern Alps. Retrieved from: http://www.newzealand.com/travel/about-nz/features/southern-alps-feature/
The Great Barrier Reef. (2011) The Great Barrier Reef Facts. Retrieved from: http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/great-barrier-reef-facts/php
Outback Australia. (2006) Great Victoria Desert, Australia: The Largest Desert in Australia. Retrieved from: http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/great-victoria-desert.html
Australian Alps. (2011) Australian Alps National Parks. Retrieved from: http://www.australianalps.environment/gov/au/
Samoa. (2008) Fa'a Samoa-The Samoan Way. Retrieved from: http://www.samoa.travel/about/a10/Fa
Department of Water Resources. (2011) Great Artesian Basin. Retrieved from: http://www.departmentofwaterresources.com/GABSA/
Virtual Tourist. (2010) Australia and Oceania Transport. Retrieved from: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Australia_and_Oceania-Transportation
Source Watch. (2011) Australia and Coal. Retrieved from: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Australia_and_coal
Australian Natural Resources Atlas. (2007) Agriculture-Sheep/Wool Industry-Australia. Retrieved from: http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/agriculture/sheep-wool/index.htm
Wisdom Quarterly. (2011) Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal. Retrieved from: http://www.wisdomquarterly.com/2011/04/buddhism-fastest-growing-religion-in.html
Photos: Creative Commons. (2011) Retrieved from: http://www.weebly.com/