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PENNSVALLEY
Lesson 36:
Peoples of Australia andOceania
The region of Australia and the rest of Oceania covers about one-third of the earth’s surface.
Because the regionwas isolated from the rest of theworld, it was the last on our planet to be settled
and populated.
The first settlers to the area were the Aboriginals who migrated to Australia from Papua New
Guineamore than 50,000 years ago.The settlers of the Pacific Islands arrived over 7,000 years ago
when peoples from Southeast Asia began to migrate to the islands. Other parts of Oceania were
settledmore than1,000yearsago.For example, the first settlers toNewZealandwere theMaoris from
Polynesia in about 950AD.
In more recent times, Great Britain established Australia and New Zealand as colonies of their
huge empire. The Europeans, mainly the British, began to arrive in the late 1780s. Because of
overcrowdedprisons, theBritish sent prisoners from their jails to colonizeAustralia. In the1840s, New
Zealandwas colonized by freeBritish settlers.
In the last few decades, many new settlers have been allowed to migrate from Asian countries.
Today, New Zealand and Australia have integrated many cultures into their societies. The various
groups havebrought their customs and traditionswith them.These countries havedevelopedmodern,
successful economies.
Today, theMaoris and Aboriginals are represented in their governments. There are laws tomake
sure they receive equal treatment in health, education, and employment. These conditions were
lacking in the past.
There are 14 countries in Oceania. Australia is the least populated country as well as the least
populated continent, with only six people per square mile on the average. However, many of your
Pacific island countries have a much higher population density. For example, Nauru has one of the
highest population densities in theworld.There are 1,461 people per squaremile living there.That is
because you have about 12,000 people squeezed into a tiny area of land, eight squaremiles.
PapuaNewGuinea is one of the least developed, most primitive countries in theworld.Themany
mountains and forests have kept the people living in small, isolated villages. As a result, about 1,000
tribes have developedmore than 700 languages.
Some Pacific Islanders live in towns, but most people in Oceania live off the land they farm, also
known as subsistence farming.Many prefer to live in small villages growing yams and fishing from the
sea.They live in their traditional one room homes.The coconut tree provides themwith food, milk and
fiber fromwhich rope ismade.
Australia
andNew
Zealand
produce about
1/2 of the world’s wool.
Click
&
Learn
Using library and
Internet resources,
conduct reasearch on
New Zealand, theMaori
people, kiwi fruit, kiwi
bird, etc.You could even
research bungee
jumping, a sport
invented inNew
Zealand.Write down
three facts and three
opinions about your
topic.
Australia/Oceania
