Oceania

Abstract Oceania is defined here as the islands of the southern Pacific Ocean and of the adjacent seas to the west; in cultural/linguistic terms these are the islands of Polynesia, Micronesia, and eastern Melanesia (Fig. 9.1). The Polynesian islands lie within a vast triangle with sides 3,500-4,000 nautical miles in length, and with apexes in New Zealand, Hawaii, and Easter island. The east Melanesian islands lie to the west of Polynesia and east south-east of island south-east Asia; whilst Micronesia, with its nearly 3,000 islands, is to the north of Melanesia and east of the Philippines. These islands can be divided into two physical groups by reference to the Jndesite Line’ which runs northwards to the east of New Zealand and Tonga; generally north-westwards between Melanesia and Micronesia, passing to the north of Fiji, the Solomons, and the Bismarck archipelago; then northwards to the west of most of Micronesia (R. Green, 1991: fig. 1, 495; Irwin, 1992: fig. 1).