Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands

Land in Southeast Asia

• Archipelagoes and peninsulas abound.
• Philippines and Indonesia are archipelagoes
• Indochinese Peninsula and Malay Peninsula are the largest.
• Philippines has over 7,000 islands.
• Indonesia has over 13,000 islands.
• Mekong River is longest in Southeast Asia, beginning in China.
• Mekong Delta is fertile agricultural area.
• The coastlines of Southeast Asia are long and irregular.
• Islands stretch from Indonesia to the Pacific Islands of Oceania and from the
Malay Peninsula to New Zealand.
Oceania
• Oceania is the area of Pacific islands.
• There are over 20,000.
• They stretch from New Guinea into the Pacific and south to New Zealand.
• Resources are few. Soil is poor.
• Tourists support the economy.
New Zealand
• There are two main islands.
• Mountains run north-south down South Island.
• North Island has lower ranges and more fertile land.
• Swift rivers for dams to create power.
Australia
• Australia is the smallest continent.
• It is flat with a mountain range on the east coast.
• Nearly all of the interior is semi dry and/or desert.
• Off the northeast coast is the Great Barrier Reef.
Climate and Vegetation
• Climates are tropical wet and tropical wet and dry in most of Southeast Asia.
• Temperatures are warm.
• There are monsoons.
• Vegetation is tropical.
• Singapore has a rainforest!
Australia’s Climate
• Mediterranean along southwest and southeast
• Marine west coast on southeast coast
• Humid subtropical along northeast coast
• Tropical wet/dry in north
• North, east, and south semiarid
• Desert in interior (outback)
Rabbit Invasion-Nuclear Testing
• Nuclear testing began in the 1940s.
• Bikini Atoll was site for US tests.
• More than 60 tests were made.
• Radiation exposure still ongoing.
New Zealand’s Climate
• Marine west coast
• Mild temperatures
• Rainfall year-round
• Eastern slope of mountains is dry and cool
Southeast Asian History
• China and India influenced history.
• Hinduism and Buddhism are important.
• Women have traditionally had more rights.
• Mandalas were areas of rule.
• 5 mandalas became Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Java and Malaysia.
Colonialism and SE Asia
• Europeans came during Age of Exploration.
• Spanish ruled Philippines.
• Other European nations set up colonies to gain wealth.
• Japan occupied SE Asia during WWII.
Indochina
• Indochina was the French colony of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
• French lost control in 1954.
• US got involved to keep USSR out.
• The Vietnam War was the result.
• In 1975 Vietnam was under Communist rule.
Economies
• SE Asia is mostly agricultural.
• Lack of industries led to political problems.
• Malay Peninsula and Indonesia are more industrialized and part of ASEAN.
• Singapore is a leader economically.
Culture-Oceania
• Oceania is in 3 regions: Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.
• Age of Exploration brought the first European contact.
• Islanders began to decline.
• Western ways replace traditions.
Australia
• Aboriginal people from Asia nearly 40,000 years ago
• Maori first settled New Zealand from Polynesia more than 1,000 years ago
• Captain Cook explored the Pacific Islands, Australia, and New Zealand in the
1770s
• Australia founded as a penal colony in 1788
• New Zealand colonized by hunters and whalers
• Treaty of Waitangi gave Britain control of New Zealand according to the British
• Maori thought it gave Britain “governorship”
• Land Wars lasted from 1845-1847 and from 1860-1872
• 1851 gold in Australia
• 1861 gold in New Zealand
• 1893 New Zealand gave women the right to vote
• 1959 treaty for research in Antarctica
• 1999 Australia voted to remain part of the Commonwealth
Economy
• Agriculture in Australia and New Zealand
• Cattle and sheep
• Australia is world’s largest wool exporter
• Mining is important in Australia.
• Not much manufacturing in Australia except food processing
• Wood and paper products in New Zealand
Culture
• Australia-most British descent
• 20% are foreign born
• Most Christian
• Most New Zealanders-British descent
• Pakehas-Maori term for white people
• 15% are Maori
• Most Christian
• Native art important to both cultures.
School
• Shorts-stubbies
• Hats-slouch are required
• Sandals-acceptable in summer
• When adult enters room, students stand and say “Good morning” or “Good
afternoon.”
• Wearing hats outside is required.
• No jewelry is allowed
• No fingernail polish is appropriate.
School
• Term 1-end of January to April
• Term 2-April through June
• Easter Break
• Winter vacation to mid July
• Term 3-mid July to mid September
• Spring vacation to first of October
• Term 4-October to mid December
• Summer vacation to the end of January
Life in Australia and New Zealand
• 85% live in cities
• Transportation better in New Zealand because doesn’t have the distances.
• Both prize outdoor activities
• Hiking, swimming, skiing, football
• 2000 summer Olympics were in Sydney
Aboriginal People
• Life controlled by the Law and
the Dreaming
• Law covered everything in life
• Dreaming explained spiritual life and the group’s history.
• Only the Elders know both the Law and the Dreaming
• Live life in balance with nature
Aboriginals A to Z
• Aboriginal-first people of Australia
• Boomerang-Aboriginal tool, weapon, percussion instrument
• Burial Poles-totem poles, sacred symbols of the dead
• Canoes-transport of Aboriginals to Australia some 50,000 years ago; bark,
sewn, or dugouts
• Coolamon-utensils for carrying women’s possessions; cut from tree hollowed
out by termites
• Corroboree-dance which may have spiritual purpose; body decoration
essential for this dance of thanks to spirits
• Didgeridoo-popular Aboriginal instrument; plays one note; made of hollowed
log; women banned from touching it
• Dilly bags-woven string bags to store and carry food
• Dreaming stories-tell of actions of ancestral spirits in the Dreaming; basic to
Aboriginal beliefs
• Echidna-one of two monotreme mammals (platypus is other) that only live in
Australia; lays eggs but feeds young milk
• Fire-one of Aboriginal people’s main weapons and tools
• Fish-most Aboriginal people ate fish except Tasmanian Aboriginal people who,
from 3000 years ago, did not because fish were taboo; used nets, spears,
stunning
• Frog-Aboriginal food for thousands of years
• Galah-colorful, medium sized, pink and gray cockatoos found in drier areas;
unique to Australia
• Hands-popular form of painted rock art; spiritual statement of identify
• Homes-Aboriginal homes differ according to location, climate, and purpose;
more rough shelter
• Honey ants-in dry areas they store honeydew and nectar in swollen stomachs;
women dig to suck the honey from the stomach
• Invasion-Captain Cook had been ordered to take possession of the continent
only “with the consent of the natives”. He said it was terra nullius, belonging to
no one.
• Kangaroo-major source of meat, except in desert
• Kookaburras-sacred bird, never hunted
• Lizards-important source of meat; women and children caught and killed
• Mimi spirits-small, thin spirit people who live in cracks in cave walls; painted in
red ochre on cave walls
• Nulla-nulla-hardwood club used for striking game or an enemy; used in battle,
and as a means of punishment, or as club to kill trapped animal
• Octopus-important in destroying doctrine of terra nullius’. Murray Island people
lead by Eddie Mabo organized 8 island groups like arms of octopus; showed
belief system, land ownership, social organization. Mabo case recognized
Aboriginal ownership before British came.
• Pelican-source of food, tools, and decorations to Aboriginals
• Quinkan spirits-regional style of art in Cape York district of Queensland;
centered around activities of 3 spirits.
• Rainbow Snake-most important spirit in all Dreaming stories; represents rain
and water, essential part of life
• Spears-used for hunting, fishing, fighting and ceremonial activities; death
spear with 3-6 prongs for hunting kangaroo
• Turtles-popular additions to Aboriginal diet, especially along northern coast
• Uluru-the most sacred site for Aboriginal people of Australia; huge rock that
Aboriginal people do not climb (25 have died climbing it since 1965)
• Vegetables, fruits and seeds..or ‘bush tucker’-major part of traditional
Aboriginal diet; 60-80% of daily diet gathered by women
• Wandjina-creative beings found in paintings under rock shelters; spirit of cloud,
responsible for life-cycle
• Women-women providers of bush food; men could not observe women’s
activities and sacred ceremonies, men thought they were more important;
Aboriginals believed women and spirits created the children and the group;
men maintained it. Women were sole creators so land is female.
• X-ray art-from Arnhem Land; shows internal parts of animal; usually done on
rock
• Yams-most important source of carbohydrates
• Zig zag-pattern found in Aboriginal art