Smallest terrestrial continent in territorial extension, with approximately 8.5 million square kilometers, Oceania has 36.6 million residents, who are distributed in 14 countries, the majority of whom live in Australia.
This portion of the globe has large reserves of mineral resources. Australian soil, for example, is home to significant deposits of gold, bauxite, iron ore, lead, copper and manganese. These minerals are explored on a large scale and exported to Japan and European Union countries. As for the energy source, the country has reserves of mineral coal.
New Zealand, the second most economically developed country in Oceania, has deposits of oil, natural gas and coal. Another major highlight of the continent is Nauru, whose economy is based on the production of phosphate. However, it is estimated that, if the pace of exploration is maintained, this ore will be depleted in less than 30 years.
Other countries in Oceania that have an important economic activity in mining are:
– Solomon Islands: it houses deposits of gold, silver, copper, phosphate, asbestos and bauxite.
– Papua New Guinea: has gold, copper and oil reserves.
– Fiji: gold and copper.
– Federated States of Micronesia: large deposits of phosphate.
Australian Popular music
The British prisoners deported to Australia in the late 18th century brought ballads, sea shanties and other popular songs. This music laid the foundation for the indigenous tradition that came to be called bush music and bush ballads, with lyrics that reflected the settlers’ hardships, homesickness and lawlessness. During the second half of the 19th century, in connection with the gold rush and the emergence of entertainment establishments, bush music gained influences from touring music halls and American minstrel groups. “Banjo” Paterson’s (1864-1941) collection “Old Bush Songs” (1905) became canonical. He also wrote the text of the most famous of all bush ballads, “Waltzing Matilda”.
A significant part of the social life of the 19th and early 1900s was dance events. Drum, polka, mazurka, kadrilj and hornpipe were danced to accompaniment by bush bands with button pulls, concertina, violin, harmonica, penny whistle and home-made instruments such as tea chest bass, stockphone, spoons and saw.
Through 1920s radio and recordings came influences from American hillbilly which, in parallel with a general folk revival in the 1950s, resulted in the development of Australian country, where iodine cultivation became a characteristic feature. A pioneer of the Australian country was the New Zealand singer and jeweler Tex Morton (1916–83), who was followed by artists such as Smoky Dawson (1913–2008), Buddy Williams (1918–86) and Slim Dusty (1927–2003). An exciting spark for the new discovery of bush music was also the musical “Reedy River” (1953) built on older ballads performed by the group The Bushwhackers with the leader and folklorist John Meredith (1920–2001). In their tracks, lots of local bushbands emerged, comparable to European skiffle.
During the 1960s, bush music and country merged with rock and pop idioms by artists such as the one born in the UK, Frank Ifield (born 1937) and folk pop quartet The Seekers. Part of the folk music renaissance was linked to the peace movement, such as the Scottish folk singer Eric Bogle (born 1944) and the folk rock group Redgum (formed 1975).
Australia’s most famous bush band is the still active The Bushwackers (formed in 1971, not to be confused with the 1950s band). Among successful country artists are John Williamson (born 1945), Lee Kernaghan (born 1964) and Sara Storer (born 1974). Rock and pop with country features is very popular today.
In the 1950s, Aboriginal country and gospel singer Jimmy Little debuted (1937–2012). With his long and varied career he became an important ambassador for the indigenous people. However, it was not until the 1980s that the public began to pay attention to the culture of Aborigines and the discrimination they had long been subjected to. Modern rock-based forms of Aboriginal music then emerged, often with influences from Bob Marley’s philosophy and music. The multicultural rock group Yothu Yindi (founded in 1985) as well as the reggae-influenced group Blekbala Mujik were both linked to the indigenous peoples’ rights struggle. Singer / songwriters like Kev Carmody (born 1946), Archi Roach (born 1956) and Ruby Hunter (1955–2010) has sung about the state’s assimilation attempt when children were forcibly disposed of. In 1994, Hunter was the first Aboriginal woman to record a solo album. Pop singer Christine Anu (born 1970) is another important representative.
The indigenous people’s music and culture today have their own media channels (such as CAAMA), their own record industry and their own festivals.
Through the post-war large immigrant groups from Europe and Asia and other places, the Australian folk music scene has expanded enormously with both specific and multicultural festivals and a variety of musical forms.
The rock broke through in Australia during the 1950s with rock ‘n’ roll artists such as Johnny O’Keefe (1935-78) and Col Joye (born 1936). The group The Easybeats (formed in 1964) became the country’s response to the British pop invasion. During the same period also appeared the British-born sibling group Bee Gees (formed in 1958) who would become some of the most important representatives of the international discussion.
In the 1970s, a more independent Australian rock developed into so-called pub or oz rock; This was due to the previously so strict alcohol laws having been relaxed and the pub became a new scene for local rock groups. In the noisy and moody pub environments, a rather harsh and straightforward style developed. Several of Australia’s internationally best-known rock groups were formed in these environments during the 1970s, such as the hard rock groups AC / DC and Cold Chisel, as well as the new wave groups Midnight Oil, INXS and Men At Work. The development of pub rock coincides with the emergence of independent record labels, rock festivals and the non-commercial radio station Triple J.
During the 1980s, Australian rock and pop received international acclaim with, among other things, the aforementioned groups and alternative rock bands such as The Triffids (formed in 1978), The Church (formed in 1980) and The Bad Seeds with the innovative leader Nick Cave. Through the soap opera “Neighbors”, “pop princess” Kylie Minogue broke through; she has become one of Australia’s most successful artists, competing with two others from the mainstream pop, Olivia Newton-John (born 1948) and John Farnham (born 1949), both born in the UK.
In recent decades, the boundaries between different genres have tended to be blurred. Electronic music and dance have exploded and hip-hop has become more recognized. The crowd of new artists includes the eclectic electronic group The Avalanches (formed 1997), dance duon The Presets (formed 2003) and the hip hop group Hilltop Hoods (formed 1997).
A power factor in Australia’s music industry is the annually awarded The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (ARIA Music Awards).
Since 2015 Australia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Dixieland jazz and swing have had a strong foothold in Australia since the 1950s tradition, with pianist and orchestra conductor Graeme Bell (1914–2002) as the legendary front figure. Jazz has also been associated with politics and radical ideas.
Clarinetist Don Burrows (born 1928) and trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist James Morrison (born 1962) are today central names who have both worked in several genres and nurtured new jazz generations. Singer Kerrie Biddell (1947–2014) is regarded as “the first lady of Australian jazz”.
The Australian Jazz Convention which started in 1946 is the world’s oldest annual jazz convention.
Are you planning to attend an Australian or New Zealand college? Then, you have come to the right place! We have carefully reviewed each of 4-year colleges and universities in the continent of Oceania and the following are the top 50 public and private programs listed by rank scores. The following colleges and universities in Australia, New Zealand and other countries in Oceania (refer to Countryaah.com for a full list of Australian nations) have been many times ranked by education experts based on their academic excellence and employment statistics. Please note that all universities were reviewed yearly based on their academic reputations, research ability and graduate performance.
#1. University of Melbourne – Australia Parkville, Victoria
#2. University of Sydney – Australia Sydney, New South Wales
#3. University of Queensland Australia – Australia Brisbane, Queensland
#4. Monash University – Australia Clayton, Victoria
#5. University of New South Wales – Australia Kensington, New South Wales
#6. Australian National University – Australia Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
#7. University of Adelaide – Australia Adelaide, South Australia
#8. University of Western Australia – Australia Crawley, Western Australia
#9. University of Auckland – New Zealand Auckland
#10. Curtin University of Technology – Australia Bentley, Western Australia
#11. University of Technology Sydney – Australia Ultimo, New South Wales
#12. Queensland University of Technology – Australia Brisbane, Queensland
#13. Macquarie University – Australia North Ryde, New South Wales
#14. University of Otago – New Zealand Dunedin
#15. Griffith University – Australia Nathan, Queensland
#16. Deakin University – Australia Burwood, Victoria
#16. University of Wollongong – Australia Wollongong, New South Wales
#18. James Cook University – Australia Townsville City, Queensland
#19. University of Newcastle – Australia Callaghan, New South Wales
#20. University of Western Sydney – Australia Penrith, NSW
#21. RMIT University – Australia Melbourne, VIC
#22. University of Canterbury – New Zealand Christchurch
#23. University of Tasmania – Australia Hobart, Tasmania
#24. Swinburne University of Technology – Australia Hawthorn, Victoria
#25. University of South Australia – Australia Adelaide, South Australia
#26. La Trobe University – Australia Melbourne, VIC
#27. Flinders University – Australia Bedford Park
#28. Auckland University of Technology – New Zealand Auckland
#29. Victoria University – Australia Footscray, VIC
#30. Victoria University of Wellington – New Zealand Wellington
#31. Massey University – New Zealand Palmerston North
#32. Edith Cowan University – Australia Joondalup, WA
#33. Australian Catholic University – Australia Fitzroy
#34. Murdoch University – Australia Murdoch
#35. University of Canberra – Australia Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
#36. Charles Sturt University – Australia Wagga Wagga, NSW
#37. University of Waikato – New Zealand Hamilton
#38. University of New England – Australia Armidale NSW
#39. Charles Darwin University – Australia Casuarina, NT
#40. University of Southern Queensland – Australia Toowoomba, Queensland
#41. Southern Cross University – Australia East Lismore, NSW
#42. Central Queensland University – Australia Rockhampton North, Queensland
#43. University of the Sunshine Coast – Australia Sippy Downs
#44. Lincoln University – New Zealand Lincoln
#45. Federation University Australia – Australia Mt. Helen, Victoria
#46. Bond University – Australia Robina
