Three forces—dwindling British power, rising American influence, and nationalism in a variety of forms—have transformed Australia, New Zealand, and the adjacent islands since 1919. In this volume, some of the most distinguished scholars of the Pacific region assess these significant historical changes. These essays deal with international relations, politics, changing social structures, and literature since World War I. The themes of the volume as a whole are social and humanistic; they concern the evolution of both a regional identity and separate national identities in the Southwest Pacific. The unique areal and thematic concentration of this book makes it essential reading for all those interested in the history, politics, and culture of the Pacific.
"During World War One over 1,000 men from Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Samoa and Norfolk Island volunteered to join the New Zealand Military Forces. Their service included Gallipoli, France, Egypt and Palestine. Despite the fact that 107 of these men died of disease or enemy action, 73 were wounded in action and three became prisoners of war, regrettably their story has yet to be told. They served New Zealand and this is their story"--Back cover.
Itinerary 14 of Cruise through History's latest release includes tales found in ports of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. In this collection are tales of explorers, who mapped Australia, New Zealand and Polynesia, and of the indigenous peoples they encountered. Follow Able Tasman in Tasmania and James Cook as he stops along routes in New Zealand and Australia. Infamous Captain William Bligh has his own story in this collection. Contrary to Hollywood movies, Bligh is heroic in real history. He came to Polynesia to collect breadfruit, a fool's errand for slave-owning Englishmen, and a mission made infamous in the Mutiny on the Bounty. Bligh lived through the mutiny, on the force of will and excellent skills as a mariner, to become part of history in Australia, as governor of New South Wales. In the final story in this Itinerary, follow the Bounty mutineers to Pitcairn Island, for an unsolved mystery. Did Fletcher Christian end his days, on an island in the middle of the South Pacific, or in Portsmouth, England, home of the Royal Navy, which traversed the seas hunting for him? In each port, indigenous people are part of the ongoing story, integral to history and future of each place. Endearing is the Aboriginal Heart of Australia, told in Songlines, the literal dots of cultural understanding. In New Zealand, the Maori are Strong and Resilient, through times of the Treaty of Waitangi and its ambiguous translation. In New Zealand, the Treaty began a war, rather than came at its conclusion. The story here, is the evolution of Maori and European co-existence from the incident at Wairu, that led from War to a New, New Zealand of today. In Polynesia, experience the Island Gods, never fully vanquished when the French colonized French Polynesia. The story of the French in French Polynesia is an ode to the lack of virtue in colonization and to the leadership of Polynesian kings and queens. Paul Gauguin sought primitive people in Tahiti, yet found a complex culture, through whom he channeled his passion in art. The story of Bora Bora is a short story of party-loving Arioi warriors of ancient history, to Operation Bobcat in World War II, and the continuous party at Bloody Mary's today. On Easter Island, learn secrets of Walking Moai and the Rapa Nui people for whom stone giants protected their mana. Then sail on the Mana, the schooner of Katherine Routledge, who spent more than a year on Easter Island, prior to World War I, documenting genealogies of the remnants of Rapa Nui people. Routledge began a personal adventure in science, which brought world-wide attention to the importance of preserving Rapa Nui culture, through the emerging field of ethnography. Travel around Australia to Marvelous Melbourne, built by new wealth of a gold rush and sustained today by an environment devoted to the arts. In Hobart, Tasmania, visit Port Arthur for the story of the Transportation Era in Australia. Not all emigres from Europe were transportees. In Adelaide, Hahndorf is A Little Bit of Germany in South Australia. The Wild West of Australia lives on in Fremantle, home of the World Heritage Site Transportation Era prison and a streetscape of territorial pubs, cafés and coffee bars. Broome, an outpost of pearl divers, is the ideal location for mystery stories Of Pearls and Poets. History of Darwin was made by flyers of double winged and single engine aircraft. Then Darwin became famous as a port in the airplane race of the century. End the Australia tour with Independent Queenslanders of Brisbane. Brisbane, begun as a Transportation Era prison site, grew into a desirable, multicultural city.
Covering all Pacific islands involved in World War II military operations, this book is a detailed, single source of information on virtually every geo-military aspect of the Pacific Theater. Arranged regionally and, to the extent possible, chronologically according to when islands entered the war, entries provide complete background information. Along with island names, nicknames, Allied code names, location, and wartime time zones, the entries include such topics as the island's physical characteristics, weather, health hazards, historical background, native population, natural resources, and military value. Japanese and Allied strategies and operations, military problems caused by terrain, military installations, Japanese units and key commanders, Allied units and key commanders, and brief battle descriptions are also covered along with the island's postwar status. A valuable resource for researchers, historians, military history enthusiasts, and war gamers, the book provides complete background information on the geo-military aspects of the Pacific Ocean region, its islands, and the roles they played in the war. 108 maps provide specific information. Until now, geo-military information could only be found by searching four to ten publications on each island.
The nations of the Pacific Basin - in East and Southeast Asia, Australasia, the Pacific islands and the Americas - make up the world's largest economic zone, and its most culturally diverse region. In recent years its Asian 'Tiger Economies' have suffered economic collapse and unfinished business from the Cold War has produced continuing conflict and instability. The new edition of this pioneering book traces the postwar inter-relationships of all the rim and island nations. It gives a unique impression of the make-up of the region, and the tensions within it. The book integrates a wide range of information from books and articles; from published and unpublished sources, including recently opened Russian and American archives; and from the first-hand experiences of participants, including those of the author, in Pacific Basin affairs. Vigorously written and strongly argued, no other account brings together all the threads of the development of international relations in this complex and fascinating region.
A fascinating study of the environmental history of Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of the Pacific, from the time of the dinosaurs to the present day. Of interest to students and academics alike, this book provides a much-needed synthesis of the recent literature on the environmental history of Australia and Oceania. Part of ABC-CLIO's Nature and Human Societies series, this book maps out the key trends in the region's environmental history, charting the creation of the Australian continent from the ancient land mass of Gondwanaland to the arrival of humans. Especially fascinating are the chapters highlighting how successive waves of human migration created environmental havoc throughout the region, leading to the collapse of the Easter Island civilization and the spread of nonindigenous flora and fauna. From the controversies over the reasons why creatures such as the marsupial lion and the giant kangaroo became extinct to such contemporary problems as deforestation and global warming, this book contains sobering lessons for us all.
This book provides an arresting interpretation of the history of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific from the earliest settlements to the present. Usually viewed in isolation, these societies are covered here in a single account, in which the authors show how the peoples of the region constructed their own identities and influenced those of their neighbours. By broadening the focus to the regional level, this volume develops analyses - of economic, social and political history - which transcend national boundaries. The result is a compelling work which both describes the aspirations of European settlers and reveals how the dispossessed and marginalized indigenous peoples negotiated their own lives as best they could. The authors demonstrate that these stories are not separate but rather strands of a single history.
Offering exhaustive coverage, detailed analyses, and the latest historical interpretations of events, this expansive, five-volume encyclopedia is the most comprehensive and detailed reference source on the First World War available today. One hundred years after the beginning of World War I in 1914, this conflict still stands as perhaps the most important event of the 20th century. World War I toppled all of the existing empires at the time, transformed the Middle East, and vaulted the United States to becoming the world's leading economic power. Its effects were profound and lasting—and included outcomes that led to World War II. This multivolume encyclopedia provides a wide-ranging examination of World War I that covers all of the important battles; key individuals, both civilian and military; weapons and technologies; and diplomatic, social, political, cultural, military, and economic developments. Suitable as a reference tool for high school and undergraduate students as well as faculty members and graduate-level researchers, World War I: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection offers accessible, in-depth information and up-to-date analyses in a format that lends itself to quick and easy use. The set comprises alphabetically arranged, cross-referenced entries accompanied by further reading selections as well as a comprehensive bibliography. A fifth volume provides chronologically arranged documents and an A–Z index.
