Australasiais asubregionofOceania,comprisingAustralia,New Zealand(overlapping withPolynesia), and sometimes includingNew Guineaand surrounding islands (overlapping withMelanesia). The term is used in a number of different contexts, includinggeopolitically,physiogeographically,philologically,andecologically,where the term covers several slightly different but related regions.
Derivation and definitions
editCharles de Brossescoined the term (as FrenchAustralasie) inHistoire des navigations aux terres australes[1](1756). He derived it from theLatinfor "south ofAsia"and differentiated the area fromPolynesia(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]
TheNew Zealand Oxford Dictionarygives 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 (CollegiateandUnabridged) define Australasia as "Australia, New Zealand, andMelanesia".TheAmerican Heritage Dictionaryonline recognizes twosensesin use: one more precise and the other broader, loosely covering all ofOceania.
Demographics
edit| Arms | Flag | Name of region, followed by countries | Area (km2) |
Population (2021)[6][7] |
Population density (per km2) |
Capital | ISO 3166-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australasia | |||||||
|
|
Ashmore and Cartier Islands(Australia) | 199 | — | |||
|
|
|
Australia | 7,686,850 | 25,921,089 | 3.1 | Canberra | AU |
|
|
|
Christmas Island(Australia) | 135 | 1,692 | 12.5 | Flying Fish Cove | CX |
|
|
|
Cocos (Keeling) Islands(Australia) | 14 | 593 | 42.4 | West Island | CC |
|
|
|
Coral Sea Islands(Australia) | 10 | 4 | 0.4 | — | |
|
|
New Zealand | 268,680 | 5,129,727 | 17.3 | Wellington | NZ |
|
|
Norfolk Island(Australia) | 35 | 2,302 | 65.8 | Kingston | NF |
|
|
Papua New Guinea | 462,840 | 9,949,437 | 22 | Port Moresby | PG |
| Total | |||||||
| Australasia | 8,418,763 | 42,836,966 | 5.1 | — | |||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ de Brosses, Charles(1756).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[History of voyages to the Southern Lands. Containing what is known concerning the customs and products...] (in French). Paris: Durand.Retrieved2013-12-08.
- ^Douglas, Bronwen (2014).Science, Voyages, and Encounters in Oceania, 1511–1850.Palgrave Macmillan. p. 6.
- ^Lee, Joseph (1889)."Anti-Chinese Legislation in Australasia".The Quarterly Journal of Economics.3(2). p. 220.doi:10.2307/1879468.JSTOR1879468.
- ^Li, Hansong (2021)."The" Indo-Pacific ": Intellectual Origins and International Visions in Global Contexts"(PDF).Modern Intellectual History.19(3): 20–23.doi:10.1017/S1479244321000214.S2CID236226422.Retrieved30 July2022.
- ^Deverson, Tony; Kennedy, Graeme, eds. (2005). "Australasia".New Zealand Oxford Dictionary.Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/acref/9780195584516.001.0001.ISBN9780195584516.
- ^"World Population Prospects 2022".United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs,Population Division.RetrievedJuly 17,2022.
- ^"World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100"(XSLX)( "Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)" ).United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs,Population Division.RetrievedJuly 17,2022.
- Richards, Kel (2006)."Australasia".Wordwatch.ABC News Radio. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-03-18.Retrieved2006-09-30.
External links
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Media related toAustralasiaat Wikimedia Commons
