Chapter 14: 
Australia and Oceania (Fig. 14.1)
Learning Objectives
•	Understand the unique geography of archipelagos (island groups) and the equally unique cultural adaptations of the residents of Australia and Oceania
•	Learn about the relationships between the indigenous peoples of this region and the European peoples who have come to dominate much of Australia and Oceania
•	Become familiar with the physical, demographic, cultural, political, and economic characteristics of Australia and Oceania
•	Understand the following concepts and models:
Introduction 
•	Setting the Boundaries
•	This region is dominated by water; the countries in the region share elements of indigenous and colonial history. 
•	Australia and Oceania are dominated mostly by water
–	Oceania: a sweeping collection of islands reaching from New Guinea and New Zealand to Hawaii
•	Political unrest in Fiji between Fijians and descendents of South Asian sugarcane workers illustrates the role of globalization in this region
•	The largest countries in the region are Australia and New Zealand
–	Outback: Australia’s thinly settled, huge, dry interior
•	Melanesia – “dark islands;” Polynesia – “many islands;” Micronesia – “small islands,” west of Polynesia 
Environmental Geography: A Varied Natural and Human Habitat
•	Environments at Risk
•	Seismic hazards, periodic droughts, tropical cyclones
–	Global Resource Pressures
•	Mining operations in Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Nauru
•	Deforestation in Australia, Tasmania, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa
–	Global Warming and Rising Sea Levels
•	Rising sea levels from global warming could drown many of the region’s small, low-lying islands
–	Exotic Plants and Animals
•	Introduction of exotic plants and animals threatens native species
•	Invasion by exotics (e.g.: rabbits, brown tree snake) has led to extinction of native some native species
Environmental Geography: A Varied Natural and 
Human Habitat, cont.
•	Environments at Risk, cont.
–	Exotic Plants and Animals
•	Introduction or invasion of exotic plants and animals threatens native species
•	Some native
    species have
    become extinct
Environmental Geography: A Varied Natural and Human Habitat, cont.
•	Australian and New Zealand Environments
–	Regional Landforms
•	Australia has three landform regions
–	The Western Plateau covers more than half the continent
–	Interior Lowland Basins follow the coastlands from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Murray and Darling Valleys
–	Great Dividing Range from Cape York Peninsula to southern Victoria
•	New Zealand
–	Geologically active, mountainous
    part of “Pacific Rim of Fire”
–	North Island has active volcanoes
–	South Island mountains have
    narrow fjord-like valleys

Physical Geography (Fig. 14.4)
Environmental Geography: A Varied Natural and Human Habitat, cont.
•	Australian and New Zealand Environments, cont.
–	Climate
•	Australia
–	Arid center with higher zones of precipitation encircling the country
–	Tropical low-latitude north has monsoonal rains in summer, and bone-dry winters
•	New Zealand
–	Climates affected by latitude, moderating effects of Pacific Ocean, and proximity to local mountains
–	Most of North Island is distinctly subtropical
–	On the South Island, conditions become cooler closer to the South Pole; precipitation varies widely
Climate (Fig. 14.12)
Environmental Geography: A Varied Natural and Human Habitat, cont.
•	Australian and New Zealand Environments (cont.)
–	An Unusual Zoogeography
•	More than 120 species of marsupials inhabit  this region
–	Kangaroos, duck-billed platypuses, hairy-nosed wombats, Tasmanian Devils, and more
–	Bats are the region’s only native mammals	
•	Isolation and genetics produced Australia’s animal kingdom
Environmental Geography: A Varied Natural and Human Habitat, cont.
•	The Oceanic Realm
–	Creating Island Landforms
•	Much of the region is seismically active; volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis (seismically induced sea waves) are common
•	Large islands are geologically complex
•	Most Polynesian and Micronesian islands originated from volcanic activity on the ocean floor
–	High islands:  formed from recently geologically active volcanoes that rise to considerable height (ex: Hawaii,           Bora Bora)
–	Hot spot:  an active area where moving oceanic crust passes over a supply of magma from Earth’s interior, creating a chain of volcanic islands (ex: Hawaiian archipelago) 
–	Atoll: Low, sandy islands ringed by coral, often oriented around a central lagoon, originating with a volcano
American Samoa National Park (Fig. 14.17)
Environmental Geography: A Varied Natural and Human Habitat, cont.
•	The Oceanic Realm, cont.
–	Patterns of Climate
•	Many Pacific islands have abundant rainfall and cyclones
•	High islands get more moisture than lower islands
•	Limited stores of water may be depleted during dry season
Population and Settlement: A Diverse Cultural Landscape
•	Contemporary Population Patterns
•	Australia has one of the highest urban populations in the world
–	Most of its nearly 20 million in population reside in its eastern and southern rimland
•	70% of New Zealand’s population live on North Island
•	Population of the rest of Oceania is broadly scattered with clusters near favorable resource opportunities
Population 
(Fig. 14.19)
Population and Settlement: A Diverse Cultural Landscape
•	Legacies of Human Occupancy
–	Peopling the Pacific
•	Australia and New Guinea were settled much earlier than islands that were further from the Asian landmass
•	Around 40,000 years ago, the ancestors of today’s native Australian (Aborigine) population made their way into region
•	Eastern Melanesia settled 3,500 years ago
•	Migration to New Caledonia, Fiji Islands, and Samoa, and then to Micronesia 2,000 years ago
•	Reached New Zealand, Hawaii, and Easter Island A.D. 800

Peopling the Pacific (Fig. 14.20)
Population and Settlement: A Diverse Cultural Landscape (cont.)
•	Legacies of Human Occupancy, cont.
–	European Colonization
•	Dutch explored New Zealand in 1600s
•	British explored the region in the 1700s
•	Colonization began in Australia (British penal colony) in 1788, and then into New Zealand
–	Aborigines expelled from their lands and sometimes killed
–	Maoris fought Britain, but lost most of their land
•	U.S. into Hawaii in 1800s
Population and Settlement: A Diverse Cultural Landscape (cont.)
•	Modern Settlement Landscapes
–	The Urban Transformation
•	Urbanization began in Australia and New Zealand in the 20th century
–	North American and European urban influences
•	Oceania reflects classic problems of underdevelopment (housing shortage, inadequate roads and schools, street crime)

Population and Settlement: A Diverse Cultural Landscape (cont.)
•	Modern Settlement Landscapes (cont.)
–	The Rural Scene (Australia)
•	Much of the land is too dry for farming
•	Sheep and cattle ranching; sugar came and truck farming near Perth; viticulture (grape cultivation) increasing
–	New Zealand’s Landscapes
•	Sheep ranching & dairying; livestock outnumber people 20 to 1
•	South Island has fertile soils, with fields, orchards, gardens
–	Rural Oceania
•	High Islands support agriculture
•	Fishing important on less fertile low islands
•	Subsistence crops: root crops, coconut palms, bananas, coffee
•	Some commercial agriculture: coconut, cocoa, coffee
Population and Settlement: A Diverse Cultural Landscape (cont.)
•	Diverse Demographic Paths
•	Low birthrates in Australia and New Zealand
–	Rural-to-urban migration
•	High birthrates in less-developed island nations of Oceania
–	Smaller islands have
   less flexibility for
   expansion

Cultural Coherence and Diversity: A Global Crossroads 
•	Multicultural Australia
–	Aboriginal Imprints
•	Aborigines dominated Australia for thousands of years
–	Isolated bands of hunters and gatherers, with 250 languages
•	European colonists pushed Aborigines to arid regions
•	Today, Aborigines are Christian, work in cities, and most speak English
–	A Land of Immigrants
•	70% of Aussies have English or Irish roots 
•	Many Greeks, Germans, Italians live in Australia
•	Workers came from other Pacific islands (kanakas)
•	“White Australia Policy” favored Europeans & North American immigration
•	Many of today’s immigrants from Asian countries
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: A Global Crossroads, cont.
•	Cultural Patterns in New Zealand
–	Native Maori populations are more numerically important and culturally visible
•	Comprise 15% of the country’s population 
•	Otherwise, very similar to Australia
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: A Global Crossroads, cont.
•	The Mosaic of Pacific Cultures
–	Language Geography
•	Most languages of Oceania are Austronesian
•	Many different languages,
    some spoken by fewer
    than 500 people
•	New Guinea may hold
    some of the world’s few
    remaining “uncontacted
    peoples” (who are
    yet to be “discovered”)
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: A Global Crossroads (cont.)
•	The Mosaic of Pacific Cultures (cont.)
–	Village Life
•	Settlements in Melanesia usually have fewer than 500 people, and revolve around farming
•	Polynesian society is class-based; violent warfare was common before Europeans arrived
–	External Cultural Influences
•	Settlers from the U.S., Europe, and Asia have brought values and technological innovations to the region
•	Hawaii’s King entertained whalers, Christian
    missionaries, traders, navy officers from the
    U.S. and Europe
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: A Global Crossroads (cont.)
•	The Mosaic of Pacific Cultures, cont.
–	External Cultural Influences, cont.
–	 Haoles: light-skinned American and European foreigners  who profited from commercial sugarcane plantation and Pacific shipping contracts
•	Pidgin English (a largely English vocabulary that is blended with Melanesian grammar) developed to
   facilitate trade among the islands;
   has supplanted some local languages
•	Tourism brings wealthy Europeans,
   North Americans, Asians, Australians
Geopolitical Framework: A Land of Changing Boundaries
•	Roads to Independence
•	Australia and New Zealand gradually creating their own identity
–	New Zealand broke its ties with Great Britain in 1947
–	Australia retains ties to Great Britain
•	U.S. turned over most of its Micronesian territories to local governments, but is still influential
•	Some of the political states of the region are currently independent and some remain colonies
–	Some microstates retain special political and economic ties with Western countries
Geopolitical Issues (Fig. 14.35)
Geopolitical Framework: A Land of Changing Boundaries, cont.
•	Persisting Geopolitical Tensions 
–	Native Rights in Australia and New Zealand
•	Indigenous peoples in both Australia and New Zealand have used the political process to gain more control over land resources in their two countries
–	Native Title Bill, 1993 – compensated Aborigines for already ceded lands, gave them right to gain title to unclaimed lands they still occupied, and legally entitled them in dealings with mining companies on native-settled areas
•	In New Zealand, the Maori have
    called to return the country to its
    native name, Aotearoa
    (“land of the white cloud”)
Economic and Social Development: A Hard Path to Paradise
•	The Australian and New Zealand Economies
•	In terms of development, Australia and New Zealand are grouped with other Western nations 
–	Australia
•	Past economic wealth was made possible by the cheap extraction and export of abundant raw materials
–	Mining has grown since 1970
•	Australia has export-oriented agriculture
•	Concern with manufacturing sector; new policies encourage investment, higher savings, more rapid economic growth
•	Expanding tourist industry
•	Most wealth concentrated in cities
Geopolitical Framework: A Land of Changing Boundaries, cont.
•	Persisting Geopolitical Tensions, cont. 
–	Conflicts in Oceania
•	Ethnic tensions between Fijians and South Asians
•	Tribal skirmishes among peoples in Papua New Guinea
•	Local opposition to French rule in New Caledonia
•	A Regional and Global Identity?
•	Australia’s and New Zealand’s size, wealth, and political clout in the region make them regional political leaders
–	Often involved in negotiating peace settlements in the region
–	Australia, New Zealand, and U.S. strategic alliance (ANZUS)
–	Association of South-East Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF)
Economic and Social Development: A Hard Path to Paradise, cont.
•	The Australian and New Zealand Economies (cont.)
–	New Zealand
•	Wealthy, but less well-off than Australia
•	Before 1970, NZ relied heavily on exports to Great Britain
•	State industries sold to private firms, stimulated the economy
–	Oceania’s Economic Diversity
•	Varied from subsistence-based activities to commercial extraction of resources to tourism
–	Melanesia is the least developed, poorest in Oceania
–	The Economic Impact of Mining: New Caledonia and Nauru have nickel, phosphate, but environmental degradation results
–	Micronesia and Polynesian Economies: Subsistence farming, foreign aid, Japan’s spaceport (Christmas Island)
–	Tourism important in Hawaii, French Polynesia, Guam
Economic and Social Development: A Hard Path to Paradise, cont.
•	The Global Economic Setting
•	Will future trade patterns shift from North America and Europe more toward Asia?
–	Australia and New Zealand dominate global trade patterns in the region
–	Both Australia and New Zealand participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Group (APEC)
»	Organization designed
    to foster economic
   development in
   Southeast Asia and
   the Pacific Basin
Economic and Social Development: A Hard Path to Paradise, cont.
•	Enduring Social Challenges
•	Lifespan averages around 80 years in Australia and New Zealand 
–	High rates of cancer and alcoholism 
–	Social conditions of indigenous groups are worse than for European descendants 
•	Aborigines and Maoris have more problems
–	Educational levels lower than national average
–	Discrimination continues to be a problem
•	Levels of social welfare in Oceania vary with the region’s economic circumstances
–	Life expectancy in the Solomon Islands is 62
–	Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea is 55

Conclusions