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Australasia is a region
Region

Region is a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest , and larger than a specific site A region may be seen as a collection of smaller units or as one part of a larger whole ....
 of Oceania
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
: New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands ....
, and neighbouring island
Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
s in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses
Charles de Brosses

Charles de Brosses, comte de Tournay, baron de Montfalcon, seigneur de Vezins et de Prevessin was a French writer of the 18th century....
 in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes (1756). He derived it from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 for "south of Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
" and differentiated the area from Polynesia
Polynesia

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean....
 (to the east) and the southeast Pacific (Magellanica).






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Locationaustralasia
Australasia is a region
Region

Region is a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest , and larger than a specific site A region may be seen as a collection of smaller units or as one part of a larger whole ....
 of Oceania
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
: New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands ....
, and neighbouring island
Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
s in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses
Charles de Brosses

Charles de Brosses, comte de Tournay, baron de Montfalcon, seigneur de Vezins et de Prevessin was a French writer of the 18th century....
 in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes (1756). He derived it from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 for "south of Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
" and differentiated the area from Polynesia
Polynesia

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean....
 (to the east) and the southeast Pacific (Magellanica). It is also distinct from Micronesia
Micronesia

Micronesia , from the Greek language mikros and nesos , is a subregion of Oceania, comprising hundreds of small islands in the Pacific Ocean....
 (to the northeast).

Human geography

Geopolitically
Geopolitics

Geopolitics is the art and practice of using international political power. Traditionally, the term has applied primarily to the impact of geography on politics, but its usage has evolved over the past century to encompass a wider connotation....
, Australasia is sometimes used as a term for New Zealand and Australia together, in the absence of another word limited to those two countries. Sometimes Papua New Guinea is encompassed by the term. There are many organizations whose names are prefixed with "(Royal) Australasian Society" that are limited to just New Zealand and Australia.

In the past, Australasia has been used as a name for combined Australia/New Zealand sporting teams. Examples include tennis
Tennis

Tennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber Tennis ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's tennis court....
 between 1905 and 1915, when New Zealand and Australia combined their best players to compete in the Davis Cup
Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. The largest annual international team competition in sports, the Davis Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format....
 international tournament (and won it in 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911 and 1914), and at the Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee....
 of 1908
1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London....
 and 1912
1912 Summer Olympics

The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1912 in Stockholm, Sweden....
. Australasia also competed in the 1911 Festival of Empire
Festival of Empire

The Festival of Empire was held at The Crystal Palace in London in 1911, to celebrate the coronation of King George V of the United Kingdom. It opened on 12 May....
 in London, the precursor of the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. Held every four years, it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations....
.

Ecological geography

From an ecological
Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
 perspective the Australasia ecozone
Australasia ecozone

The Australasian zone is an ecozone that is coincident, but not synonymous , with the geography region of Australasia. The ecozone includes Australia, the island of New Guinea , and the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago, including the island of Sulawesi, the Moluccan islands and islands of Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Timo...
 is a distinct region with a common evolutionary history and a great many unique flora
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
 and fauna
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
. In this context, Australasia is limited to Australia, New Guinea, and neighbouring islands, including the Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
n islands from Lombok
Lombok

Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It is part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east....
 and Sulawesi
Sulawesi

Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands....
 eastward. The biological dividing line from Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 is the Wallace Line
Wallace Line

The Wallace Line is a boundary that separates the Ecozone of Asia and Wallacea . West of the line are found organisms related to Asiatic species; to the east, a mixture of species of Asian and Australian origin are present....
 – Borneo
Borneo

Borneo is the List of islands by area and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei....
 and Bali
Bali

Bali is an Indonesian island located at , the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 Provinces of Indonesia with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island....
 lie on the western, Asian side. New Zealand
Biodiversity of New Zealand

File:Hochstetters Frog on Moss.jpgThe biodiversity of New Zealand, a large Pacific archipelago, is one of the most unusual on Earth, due to its long isolation from other continental landmasses....
 comprises another ecological zone altogether, as it had been isolated from the rest of the world, including the rest of Australasia, for even longer.

See also

  • Near Oceania
    Near Oceania

    Near Oceania is the part of Oceania comprising Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The other part of Oceania is Remote Oceania. Most linguists and scientists consider this a natural division of Oceania....
  • Sundaland
    Sundaland

    Sundaland is a biogeography region of Southeast Asia that comprises the Maritime Southeast Asia islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and surrounding smaller islands....
  • Oceania
    Oceania

    Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
  • Australia (continent)
    Australia (continent)

    Australia Sahul is the smallest of the geographic continents, though not of geological continents. There is no universally accepted definition of the word "continent"; the lay definition is "One of the main continuous bodies of land on the earth's surface." ....
  • New Zealand
    New Zealand

    New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
  • ANZAC
    Anzac

    ANZAC is an acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, an army corps that fought at the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I and was disbanded in 1916....
     - Australia and New Zealand
  • Down Under
    Down Under

    The term Down Under is a colloquialism referring to Australia and New Zealand. It locates Australia as "the land down under" because it lies totally within the Southern Hemisphere....


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