New Zealand S Earliest Inhabitants Were Members of the Maori Tribe

OCEANIA

NEW ZEALAND

History

·  New Zealand’s earliest inhabitants were members of the Maori tribe.

·  Captain Cook landed there in 1769 and British missionaries and settlers came soon thereafter.

·  The Maori called them Pakeha (“white strangers”)

·  In 1840 the British and several Maori tribes signed the Treaty of Waitangi, giving Britain control over New Zealand.

·  Some Maori did not want to live under British rule or give up their land to British farmers.

o  As a result, fighting broke out between the two groups in 1860 and lasted more than 10 years.

o  This was known as the Land Wars

·  Gold was discovered in 1861, kicking off a gold rush, leading to many new settlers.

·  Today the Maori and the Pakeha get along well and old disagreements have been settled.

·  Historical Fun Fact:

o  In 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world to allow women to vote.

Culture

·  Economy- New Zealand is the world’s largest producer of Kiwi Fruit

o  In fact, people from New Zealand are nicknamed “Kiwis”

(though they are named after the kiwi bird rather than the fruit)

·  It also is a major exporter of butter, cheese, meat, and wool

o  Fun Fact: There are 15 times more farm animals than people!

§  Roughly 4 million people and 60 million cattle & sheep

·  Frying Pan Lake is the world’s largest hot spring.

o  The water temperature is around 140°F

·  The Lord of the Rings movies (and The Hobbit trilogy) were filmed entirely in New Zealand

o  The director, Peter Jackson, is from there

o  Tourists visit new Zealand to go on a tour of “Middle Earth”

WHAT IS OCEANIA?

·  Oceania is mostly made up of groups of islands.

·  These include Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, The Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, The Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

o  They also include various territories from other countries

§  For example, Guam and American Samoa belong to the U.S.

·  Throughout Oceania there are two main types of islands

o  High islands are islands that were formed by volcanic activity

o  Low islands are islands that were formed from sediment or coral

·  The economies of many islands center on fishing, farming, and tourism.

o  Taro is a starchy root that is widely grown

·  These islands are generally tropical, and because they haven’t had much interaction with the rest of the world until recently, they each developed their own particular island culture.

Oceania’s History

·  In the 1800’s, European explorers claimed many of these islands on behalf of their homelands.

·  Missionaries converted many natives to Christianity.

·  Plantations were established to grow coconuts, coffee, sugarcane, pineapple, and other tropical fruits.

·  Native culture was often replaced with Western culture, though some aspects have remained

·  During WWII, many of these islands were fought over between the Allies and Japan

·  Some also served as nuclear test sites after the war

·  Today, many are independent, while others are still territories

Culture

·  Religion- Christianity is a very important part of daily life for many islanders (though some still practice traditional animistic religions)

·  Arts- Baskets, woven mats made from palm leaves, wooden masks

Geography

·  There are 3 main physical/cultural regions- Micronesia, Melanesia, & Polynesia.

·  Micronesia means “Little Islands”

o  Guam is a U.S. territory in Micronesia.

§  We won it in the Spanish American war, and it was an important base in WWII.

§  Fun fact: After World War II, one Japanese soldier remained hidden in Guam's jungle for nearly 30 years before learning, in 1972, that the war was over.

·  Melanesia means “Black Islands” (probably because of the dark-skinned natives)

o  Fiji was once called the Cannibal Islands because the locals were known for being fierce warriors and cannibals.

§  It is one of the top surfing spots in the world.

§  Fiji sits on the International Date Line (the imaginary line that runs from the North to the South Pole across the surface of the earth and separates one calendar day from the next).

·  Fun Fact: On the island of Tavueni, a marker indicates a spot where you can stand with one foot in the current day and the other foot in the day before!

·  •Polynesia means “Many Islands”

o  Samoa is one of the best known islands in Polynesia and is a center of Polynesian culture.

o  Polynesian culture includes

§  Strong family/clan connections

§  Storytelling

§  Tattoos

§  Canoes

§  Thatched houses

§  Things you might associate with Hawaii (which has a Polynesian heritage), such as luaus, pig roasts, ukuleles, and hula dancing

ANTARCTICA (Not technically part of Oceania, but let’s throw it in there anyway!)

·  Antarctica is home to the South Pole and is the southernmost continent on earth.

o  It is also the coldest, driest, and windiest continent.

·  Antarctica is considered a desert. The majority of Antarctica is covered in ice over 1 mile thick.

·  The coldest natural temperature ever recorded on earth occurred at Vostok Station on 21 July 1983.

o  The temperature measured -128.6˚F

·  Antarctica has no land mammals. It is believed that no human set foot in Antarctica until the 1800s.

o  The first recorded and confirmed landing was by Norwegian Henryk Bull at Cape Adare in 1895.

o  Roald Amundsen of Norway was the first to reach the South Pole

·  •No one owns Antarctica, and there are no countries there.

o  The continent is governed by an international treaty that guarantees it is only used for peaceful research activities.