1. Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica
History and Government

2. Indigenous People
Scientists believe that various peoples from Asia settled the region of Australia and Oceania more than 40,000 years ago
Some are assumed to have crossed into these lands via land bridges during the last Ice Age while others most likely arrived in canoes and rafts
Early Aborigines led a nomadic life
Clans traveled together within their ancestral territories
Boomerangs were used by men as weapons for hunting
Women and children gathered plants and seeds
Aborigines also used the didgeridoo in social and sacred life

3. European Colonization
From the 1500s to 1700s, Europeans of various nationalities explored vast stretches of the South Pacific region
Captain James Cook claimed eastern Australia for Great Britain, visited many of the Oceanic islands, and encircled Antarctica between 1768 and 1779.
Great Britain used Australia as a colony for convicts of overcrowded prisons
The first shipload of prisoners landed near modern-day Sydney in 1788 and by the 1850s the imprisonment of convicts had ended
British settlers arrived in New Zealand in the early 1800s; they were attracted by excellent fishing waters and rich soil

4. The Impact of Colonization
The arrival of Europeans in Australia and Oceania had a disastrous impact on the indigenous peoples
British immigrants forcibly removed the Aborigines from their land and denied them their basic rights
The Maori people (indigenous to New Zealand) were devestated by diseases brought by the British
Additionally, the Maori were involved in many armed conflicts with the British and were killed thus losing their lands
As the Maori people died out the British brought in workers from other Pacific islands

5. Independent Governments
Australia and New Zealand both peacefully won their independence from Great Britain
In 1901 Australia became a dominion of Great Britain
In 1907 New Zealand became a self-governing dominion
New Zealand was the first country in the world to legally recognize women’s right to vote
After WWII ties between Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain weakened
Both Australia and New Zealand looked to the United States for trade and military protection

6. Antarctica
In the early 1900s Roald Amundsen (Norway) and Robert Scott (England) raced to be the first to reach the South Pole
On December 14, 1911 Amundsen’s team reached the pole first – a month later Scott’s team reached the pole but died on the return trip
By the 1960s scientists from 12 countries had established research centers in Antarctica
The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 guaranteed peaceful cooperation between the 12 countries in their scientific work and protection of the environment of the continent