Building Geography Literacy

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.

2. Discuss how the region’s geography affects population

density, distribution, and growth.

3. Explain what factors account for settlement in urban

and rural areas.

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.

Melanesia includes the countries of Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.Micronesia includes Kiribati, Nauru, the Federated States of

Micronesia and;the U.S. territories of Guam and the Marianas.Polynesia includes Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and a group of islands,

including Tahiti called French Polynesia;which is under French rule.

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 non-

European 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.

Many different

languages developed.

The people of

Oceania speak a

total of 1200

languages.

Colonization brought European languages.French is spoken on islands controlled

by France.English is the chief language of Australia

& New Zealand.Pidgin English is a blend of English and

an indigenous language.

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.

Some of its islands are

densely populated.

Others have only a few people per

square mile.

C. Urbanization

1. Each

of the port

cities o

f Syd

ney and

Melbourne,

Australia

, is home to

more than 3 m

illion

Few live in the

desert interior.

New Zealand’s large cities include Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

All are port cities.

Urban areas draw migrants

from within their country

and from other countries.

70% of Oceania’s

people live in urban areas.

D. Immigration (p. 815)

Australia’s industries

offer jobs to immigrants.

They come from Latin America,

South Africa, Asia and Oceania.

About 26% of Australia’s

population is foreign-born.

It also creates conflicts over immigration, health benefits, employment and the

effects of colonial rule.

Diversity enriches the cultures of the region.

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.


• 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 Knowclan

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 BoomerangThey 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?


• 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.


• 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?


• 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

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