Chapter
33
Australia &
Oceania
Culture and
History
Building Geography Literacy
Papua New
Guinea shares
the island of New
Guinea with the
Indonesian
province of
Papua.
Papua New
Guinea is home
to 5 million
people.
It is a little larger
than California.
Port Moresby,
the capital has
about 174,000
people.
Chapter 33:1 Objectives
1. Identify the people
who settled Australia
and Oceania.
3. Explain what
factors account
for settlement in
urban and rural
areas.
2. Discuss how
the region’s
geography affects
population
density,
distribution, and
growth.
Terms to Know
strine
pidgin
English
indigenous
Drawing from Experience
• What images come to mind when you
think of Australia?
• of the islands of the South Pacific?
• of Antarctica?
• What do you think life is like there?
• This section focuses on the population
patterns of Australia, Oceania and
Antarctica.
I. Human Characteristics (p. 811-813)
1. Australia’s indigenous people
are called Aborigines.
Aborigines is a Latin word meaning
“from the beginning.”
They came from Southeast Asia
about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago.
They lived as nomadic hunters and
gatherers.
They are 2% of the population.
Aborigines – DNA tested to be
from Sri Lanka area.
Aborigine Children
B. New Zealand’s indigenous
people are called Maori.
Are from Polynesia.
Were hunters and farmers.
Still follow many ancestral
traditions.
Many have intermarried with
Europeans.
B. Pacific Islanders
30,000 years ago,
people in Oceania
Came from Asia.
Home to many
different people
Speak hundreds of
languages.
which is under
French rule.
Melanesia includes the
countries of Papua
New Guinea, Fiji and
the Solomon Islands.
Polynesia includes
Samoa, Tonga,
Tuvalu, and a group
of islands, including
Tahiti called French
Polynesia;
Micronesia includes
Kiribati, Nauru, the
Federated States of
Micronesia and;
the U.S.
territories of
Guam and the
Marianas.
C. Europeans
Europeans first
sailed here during
the 1500s.
Established trading
settlements and
colonized.
Most of Australia &
New Zealand are
of British descent.
Some of Oceania’s
population is of
European descent.
D. Asians
Chinese
traders and
South Asian
workers
settled parts
of Oceania in
the 1880s.
Japan ruled
some of the
area from the
early 1900s to
1945.
Australia and
New Zealand
blocked nonEuropean
immigration
until the
1970s.
Many Asians
have migrated
to Australia
and New
Zealand in
search of
work.
Discussion Question
• From what regions have people migrated
to Australia, New Zealand and Oceania?
• answer: Asia, South Asia, Europe.
II. Languages (p. 813)
Geographic
barriers
separated
South
Pacific
peoples.
Pidgin English
is a blend of
English and
an indigenous
language.
English is the
chief language
of Australia &
New Zealand.
Colonization
brought
European
languages.
French is
spoken on
islands
controlled by
France.
Discussion Question
What kinds of words are peculiar
to Australian English? Why?
III. Where People Live
(p. 813-815)
The region of
Australia, Oceania
and Antarctica is
home to only 0.5%
of the world’s
population because
much of the land is
uninhabitable.
A. Population Distribution
Uneven population
is because of
variations in
physical features
and climate.
Australia has 98%
of the habitable
land and 2/3rds of
the people.
Most people
live along
the coast.
Oceania’s
population
is unevenly
distributed
among
island
countries.
Most people
live in
coastal
areas.
Antarctica is a part-time
home to between 1000 –
10,000 researchers and
scientists, depending on
the season.
The climate is too cold to
support permanent
human habitation.
B. Population Density (p. 814)
Australia’s
population density is
highest in the
coastal urban areas.
The harsh interior of
the continent is
sparsely populated.
Oceania’s
relatively young
population
increases by about
2.3% each year.
Others have
only a few
people per
square mile.
Some of its
islands are
densely
populated.
C. Urbanization
New Zealand’s large cities
include Auckland, Wellington
and Christchurch.
All are port cities.
Urban areas
draw migrants
from within
their country
70% of
Oceania’s
people live
in urban
areas.
and from
other
countries.
D. Immigration (p. 815)
Australia’s
industries
offer jobs to
immigrants.
About 26% of
Australia’s
population is
foreign-born.
They come
from Latin
America,
South Africa,
Asia and
Oceania.
Diversity enriches the cultures of the
region.
It also creates conflicts over immigration,
health benefits, employment and the
effects of colonial rule.
Discussion Question
• Why do you think Australia welcomes so
many immigrants?
• answer: the Australian population doesn’t
grow fast enough to keep up with the need
for workers.
Key Points of Sec. 1
• Many different people settled in the South
Pacific, resulting in diverse cultures and
lifestyles.
• The population of the South Pacific is
unevenly distributed because both the
physical geography and the climate differ
dramatically from place to place and
because many areas cannot support life.
• Migration between and within South
Pacific countries has influenced population
patterns and caused a blending of
cultures.
Chapter 33:2 Objectives
• 1. Describe the lifestyles of the region’s
indigenous peoples before colonization.
• 2. Summarize how colonial rule affected
social, economic, and political structures.
• 3. Examine how today’s governments
reflects the region’s history.
Terms to Know
clan
boomerang
trust
territory
dominion
Drawing from Experience
• What do you think Antarctica is like?
• Would you be interested in visiting this
continent?
• In the last section you read about the
population of Australia and Oceania.
• This section focuses on the history and
government of this region.
Introduction
• The lives of indigenous peoples and
cultures of the South Pacific area have
changed in the past 300 years.
• The changes have largely been the result
of European and American influences on
the region.
Indigenous People
• Various groups of people from Asia settled
Australia and Oceania 40,000 years ago.
• Some people might have migrated to
Australia over land bridges during the Ice
Ages.
• Others might have reached the South
Pacific region by using canoes and rafts.
Aborigines
• Aborigines in Australia’s dry interior led a
nomadic life.
• They traveled together in clans, or family
groups.
• To hunt animals, aboriginal men used
boomerangs, or heavy throwing sticks that
curve when thrown.
• Women and children gathered plants and
seeds.
Coastal
Boomerang
They are meant to come
back.
They are used in coastal
areas to gather birds and
direct them to nets that
are flipped in the air to
catch them.
Outback Boomerangs are
working tools.
Outback Boomerangs
• They are meant to
stun, then kill, then
gut the animals.
• They come in all
shapes and sizes.
Other Outback Tools
Oceania
• People in Oceania lived in family groups
along the island coasts.
• Their food included fish, shrimp and
coconuts.
• They also cultivated root crops.
• Pacific islanders built canoes that they
used to travel throughout the Pacific
region.
The Maori
• With increasing trade came increasing
migrations among the islands.
• The Maori left eastern Polynesia and
settled in New Zealand, where they
hunted, fished and farmed.
European Colonization
• Europeans from various countries
explored the South Pacific region from the
1500s to the 1700s.
• The most well-known explorer was British
sailor James Cook.
• He undertook three voyages and claimed
Australia for Great Britain.
Colonizing Australia
• Great Britain first used the colony to house
British convicts from overcrowded prisons.
• Eventually free settlers from Britain started
farms and settlements on the coast.
• They introduced sheep to the continent.
• These settlers profited from wool exports
to Britain.
• The discovery of gold in the mid-1880s
attracted many more settlers.
• Britain and other European countries
established settlements in Oceania and
New Zealand.
• The British settlement of Australia and
New Zealand had a disastrous impact on
the indigenous people there.
• As the British migrated to the interior, they
forcibly removed the Aborigines from their
land.
• They also denied them their rights.
• European diseases reduced the Aborigine
and Maori population.
• Europeans also brought changes to the
peoples of Oceania.
• Diseases reduced indigenous island
population.
• As a result, Europeans brought workers
from other areas, including South Asia.
• This mix led to ethnic conflicts.
?
• What contributed to rapid population
growth in Australia?
Struggle for Power
• During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the
U.S. and several other European countries
struggled for control of various Pacific
islands.
• They hoped to increase their commercial
interests and gain new sources of raw
materials.
• After World War I many of Germany’s
Pacific colonies came under Japan’s
control.
• Then in December 1941, Japanese
airplanes bombed the U.S. Naval Base at
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
• This brought the U.S. into World War II.
• After the defeat of the Japanese in WW II
by the U.S.,
• Japan’s possessions were given to the
United States as trust territories, or
dependent areas that the United Nations
placed under the temporary control of a
foreign country.
?
• Why did the U.S. and some European
countries want to control the Pacific
islands?
Independent Governments
• Australia and New Zealand gained
independence from Britain in the early
1900s.
• Both countries became dominions, or
largely self-governing countries within the
British Empire.
• Both countries established a British
parliamentary system.
• The British monarch became the head of
state.
• A prime minister actually headed the
national government.
• At first, Australia and New Zealand were
closely tied with Great Britain.
• However as British influence in the world
weakened, the two countries looked to the
U.S. for trade and protection.
• Today, most South Pacific islands are
independent.
Expeditions to Antarctica
• Didn’t start until the early 1900s.
• Until then, people believed that continent
had little commercial value.
• In 1911, a Norwegian and a British
explorer started a race to be the first to
reach the South Pole.
• The Norwegians, led by Roald Amundsen
were the first to reach it.
• The race opened Antarctica for exploration
of economic resources.
• By the 1960s, scientists from 12 countries
had set up research centers in Antarctica.
• They signed the Antarctic Treaty to
preserve Antarctica as a peaceful scientific
research center.
• In 1991 the 12 countries as well as other
countries that signed the treaty also
agreed to ban mining and to protect the
environment of Antarctica.
?
• What did the signers of the Antarctic
Treaty agree to do?
Key Points of Sec. 2
• Many of the area’s earliest inhabitants
came from Southeast Asia and survived
by hunting, gathering, and, in some cases,
farming.
• European countries were attracted to the
area by its raw materials, rich fishing areas
and fertile coastal land.
• During the late 1800s and early 1900s,
European countries, Japan, and the U.S.
sought possessions in the region.
• Australia, New Zealand, and a number of
Pacific islands are independent; a few
island groups are still under foreign rule.
Chapter 33:3 Objectives
• 1. Discuss the role that religion plays in
the region’s culture.
• 2. Describe how the people of Australia
and Oceania expressed their heritage
through the arts.
• 3. Analyze how everyday life in the region
reflects cultural diversity.
Terms to Know
subsistence
farming
fale
Introduction
• The cultures of many South Pacific
countries blend both European and
indigenous elements.
• Asian influences have increased in recent
years.
?
• What elements have influenced the culture
of many South Pacific countries?
A Blend of Cultures -- Religion
• Indigenous peoples built lifestyles that
were in harmony with their natural
environment.
• Their religious beliefs focus on the
relationship of humans to nature.
• Australia’s Aborigines believe that all
natural things have a spiritual nature and
are interrelated – called Dreamtime.
Dreamtime – Uluru Rock
Rock Art
• Europeans later brought Christianity.
• It is the most widely practiced religion in
the region today.
Art
• The people of the South Pacific used the
arts to pass on knowledge from one
generation to the next.
• For example, Aborigines recorded their
past in rock paintings.
• Maori artisans developed skills in canoe
making and woodcarving.
• Many Maori meetinghouses are decorated
with elaborate wooden carvings.
Music -- Didgeridoo
?
• What kind of lifestyles did indigenous
peoples in the South Pacific produce?
Everyday Life
• Traditional lifestyles are part of some
Pacific islands.
• Many people in these islands practice
subsistence farming, producing only
enough food for their own needs.
• Traditional life in the South Pacific is
based on kinship ties.
• Although many young people have left the
islands for better job opportunities in other
countries, they are still drawn back to their
families to celebrate important events and
ceremonies.
• A typical traditional South Pacific home is
simple in design.
• On Samoa, this dwelling is called a fale.
• It has a thatched roof and open side to let
the cool ocean breeze circulate.
Life in Urban Areas
• is fast paced.
• In parts of Australia and New Zealand,
people are linked to cities by roads and
communications technology.
• Education is free and mandatory until the
age of 15.
• Literacy rates in these two countries is
high.
• Many students in Australia’s outback
receive and turn in assignments by mail
and communicate with teachers through
two-way radio.
• Of course it is now by satellite.
Education for Outback Students
Health Care
• Quality health care is widely available in
Australia and New Zealand, particularly in
urban areas.
• Indigenous peoples in these countries,
however, have suffered from malnutrition
and poverty.
• In recent years the Australian government
has been trying to improve the living
standards of Aborigines.
• Many Pacific Islanders also do not have
an adequate standard of living due to their
remote location.
• The region’s leisure activities reflect the
diversity of the region.
• Some activities reflect the colonial
background of the region.
• For example, people in Australia and New
Zealand enjoy some of the sports that
people in Great Britain enjoy; cricket and
rugby.
• Traditional sports such as outrigger canoe
racing are popular in the region.
• People also enjoy many water sports.
Bondi Beach
?
• How does the standard of living in the
urban areas of Australia and New Zealand
compare with that of the Pacific islands?
Key Points of Sec. 3
• The culture of the South Pacific is a
mixture of Western and indigenous
lifestyles.
• Some people in the area still live in
traditional villages; others live in modern
urban areas.
• Modern technology helps provide services
to people in some remote areas.
End of Slide Show