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Chapter 12 Lecture

World Regional Geography

A Developmental Approach

11th Edition

Australia, New Zealand,

and thePacific Islands

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Chapter Learning Outcomes

• Outline the environmental advantages and disadvantages of the Australian continent.

• Explain the settlement history of Australia and New Zealand.

• Compare the situation of Aborigines and Māoris in the contemporary societies of Australia and New Zealand.

• Identify why Australia and New Zealand are among the most well-off and stable countries in the world.

• Characterize the challenges facing the Pacific Islands.• Show how remoteness influences the region’s economic

opportunities and choices.• Explain the importance of Australia’s growing relationship

with it Asian neighbors.

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Map

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Map

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Regions

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Environment of Australia

• Five natural regions1.Humid highlands—The core

2.Mediterranean southwest and east—Most populated

3.Tropical savannas in northern fringe

4. Interior is desert (outback) and steppe.

5.Ancient rocks in West

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Environmental Challenges / Australia

• Shortage of arable land (10%)• Most land requires irrigation for farming.• 5% used for food crops• 40% of country has ranching as its major

economic use

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Early Settlement

• Until 1788—Inhabited by aborigines• Numbered up to one million• 300 distinct “nations”• 1770—Captain James Cook sails by

eastern shore.• 1778—First British ships disembark at

Sydney Cove beginning “white” settlement.

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Australia

• 3 million square miles• 21 million population

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Australia Migration

• Immigration encouraged by Britain through land grants.

• White Australia policy– Restricted Immigration Policy—Official term– Strong preference for people of British origin– Exclusion of non-whites– After WWII, amended to allow other European

and Anglo-American settlers as long as they were white

– Quietly shelved in 1970s

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Australia’s Minorities

• New immigration policy focuses on economic and social skills.

• Now a considerable Asian influx due to proximity• Aborigines

– 450,000 or 2 percent of population– Heavily concentrated in Northern Territory– Movement now to big cities– Bottom of socioeconomic ladder– Government has not apologized for the “stolen

generation.”– Aboriginal art has caught on as an economic

development potential.

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Australian Economy

• High standard of living• Well-developed and diversified export

economy• Production of agricultural, mineral, and

industrial goods• Agriculture• EU tariffs place some constraints on

exports.• Manufacturing is a weaker link.

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Resources of Australia

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Australia Agriculture

• Sheep and cattle farming• Wheat farming• Sugarcane on northern fringe

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Australia Trade

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Australia Trade

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Australia Tourism

• In 1980s tourism began to grow behind services, mining, and agriculture

• More than six million visitors per year• Sydney, Great Barrier Reef, and Uhuru are

biggest draws

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Future of Australia

• Has enjoyed remarkable economic growth in recent years

• It has a small population relative to land size.

• Isolation is another problem in the way of continued growth.

• Possible ending of its association with the British monarchy

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New Zealand

• Two main islands• Located entirely in temperate zone• Formed from Ring of Fire• Discovered by Captain James Cook—1769• 80% of population has European origins

– British– German– Others

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New Zealand Economy

• Pastoral economy– Production of livestock and livestock products– One of the highest proportions of livestock

(cattle and sheep) to human population• Heavy dependence on trade• Some coal, gold, natural gas, and iron ore—

Much less than Australia• Extensive soil erosion

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The Maori

• Indigenous population• Polynesian group that has resided there for

1,000 years• Largest minority group at 14–15 percent• Long decline under European settlement after

Treaty of Waitangi signed in 1840• Upsurge since 1970s• Still socioeconomically marginal• See films Once Were Warriors and Whale Rider.

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Political Structure of Australia and New Zealand

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Population Density

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Pacific Islands

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Pacific Islands

• Known as Oceania• Only 10.5 million population• Scattered islands (30,000 total)• Regional groupings

– Melanesia—Islands from northern perimeter of Australia eastward

– Micronesia (small islands)—Groups of islands north of Melanesia

– Polynesia (many islands)—Largest grouping• From Hawaii to New Zealand• New Zealand, however, has begun to establish its own

distinctive character in spite of Maori heritage.

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Pacific Islands

• Twenty-three political entities• Four self-governing territories in free

association with colonial rulers• Seven continuing dependencies of France• New Zealand• One U.S. state (Hawaii)• Mosaic of political structures is the result

of the region’s complex colonial history and post-independence struggles

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Pacific Islands / Challenges

• Adapting to global economy while being geographically distant

• Low levels of health and income• Social inequities• Weak governments• Uncertain national identities

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Papua New Guinea

• Covers parts of three large islands, as well as many smaller ones

• Collection of many clans with over 700 languages

• Population is indigenous Papuans and more recent arrivals

• Most live in very rural settings• Rich resources that have not been used

effectively

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Hawaii

• 50th U.S. state• String of mountainous volcanic islands• Most transformed population that is

struggling to keep Polynesian culture• Largely tourist in nature, although some

manufacturing is occurring• Large population, especially in Oahu• Decent agricultural base• Increasing Asian presence in population

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Guam

• Largest island in Micronesia• Transformed by foreign occupation• “Unincorporated” territory of the United

States. • Large military presence• Popular tourist destination for Japanese

who want to experience “America in Asia”

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New Caledonia

• Political and environmentally challenged• Located on the parts of multiple islands• Colonized by France in 1853 as a penal

colony• Asian and Polynesian settlers came for

large mining wealth

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Summary of Chapter

• Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands are quite unlike any other world regions in the nature of their diversity – In Australia, there is far too much land with too little water.– In the Pacific Islands, there are vast amounts of water, but in most

cases far too little land. – In New Zealand, where water exists in frozen, liquid, and thermal-

heated states, paradise is threatened by tectonic hazards.

• The region occupies a remote but strategically significant part of the planet.

• Although far from the Western world in location, Australia and New Zealand are now Western in culture.

• Past trade relationships with the United Kingdom were strong historically. Both Australia and New Zealand, however, are in the process of reorienting their economic relationships, largely toward the Pacific Rim.