Australasia

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Short description: Subregion of Oceania
Regions of Oceania

Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia , New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologically, where the term covers several slightly different but related regions.

Derivation and definitions

Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia

Charles de Brosses coined the term (as French Australasie) in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes[1] (1756). He derived it from the Latin for "south of Asia" and differentiated the area from Polynesia (to the east) and the southeast Pacific (Magellanica).[2]

In the late 19th century, the term Australasia was used in reference to the "Australasian colonies". In this sense it related specifically to the British colonies south of Asia: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, Victoria (i.e., the Australian colonies) and New Zealand.[3] Australasia found continued geopolitical attention in the early 20th century. Historian Hansong Li finds that against the backdrop of British colonialism, German geopoliticians considered "Australasia" as a counterweight to the former German South Sea Edge (Südseerand), both of which form the "Indo-Pacific" region.[4]

The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary gives two meanings of "Australasia". One, especially in Australian use, is "Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the neighbouring islands of the Pacific". The other, especially in New Zealand use, is just Australia and New Zealand.[5]

Two Merriam-Webster dictionaries online (Collegiate and Unabridged) define Australasia as "Australia, New Zealand, and Melanesia". The American Heritage Dictionary online recognizes two senses in use: one more precise, being similar to the aforementioned senses,[clarification needed] and the other broader, loosely covering all of Oceania.

Demographics

Arms Flag Name of region, followed by countries Area
(km2)
Population
(2018)[6][7]
Population density
(per km2)
Capital ISO 3166-1
Australasia
Australia Template:Country data Ashmore and Cartier Islands Ashmore and Cartier Islands (Australia) 199
Australia Australia Australia 7,686,850 24,898,152 3.1 Canberra AU
Australia Christmas Island Christmas Island (Australia) 135 1,692 12.5 Flying Fish Cove CX
Australia Template:Country data Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia) 14 593 42.4 West Island CC
Australia Template:Country data Coral Sea Islands Coral Sea Islands (Australia) 10 4 0.4
New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand 268,680 4,743,131 17.3 Wellington NZ
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (Australia) 35 2,302 65.8 Kingston NF
Australasia (total) 7,955,923 29,645,874 3.7

See also

References

  1. de Brosses, Charles (1756) (in fr). Histoire des navigations aux terres Australes. Contenant ce que l'on sçait des moeurs & des productions des contrées découvertes jusqu'à ce jour; & où il est traité de l'utilité d'y faire de plus amples découvertes, & des moyens d'y former un établissement. Paris: Durand. https://books.google.com/books?id=o3x_MaYZVJQC. Retrieved 2013-12-08. 
  2. Douglas, Bronwen (2014). Science, Voyages, and Encounters in Oceania, 1511-1850. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 6. 
  3. Lee, Joseph (1889). "Anti-Chinese Legislation in Australasia". The Quarterly Journal of Economics 3 (2): p. 220. doi:10.2307/1879468. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1879468. 
  4. Li, Hansong (2021). "The "Indo-Pacific": Intellectual Origins and International Visions in Global Contexts". Modern Intellectual History 19 (3): 20–23. doi:10.1017/S1479244321000214. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/hansongli/files/li_hansong-the-indo-pacific-intellectual-origins-and-international-visions-in-global-contexts.pdf. Retrieved 30 July 2022. 
  5. Deverson, Tony; Kennedy, Graeme, eds (2005). "Australasia". New Zealand Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195584516.001.0001. ISBN 9780195584516. 
  6. ""World Population prospects – Population division"". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. https://population.un.org/wpp/. 
  7. ""Overall total population" – World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision" (xslx). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2019_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx. 

External links

[ ⚑ ] 28°06′32″S 146°18′00″E / 28.10889°S 146.3°E / -28.10889; 146.3




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