Oceania History Match Trivia Quiz

Answer: New Zealand

The Treaty of Waitangi was signed by British settlers in New Zealand and the native Maori people. The treaty is of great importance to New Zealand history as it was hugely influential in regards to the treatment of the Maori people. The 6th of February was created a national holiday in New Zealand in 1974, called Waitangi Day, which commemorates the treaty.

Answer: Kiribati

The Gilbert Islands are the name of the main archipelago making up Kiribati and take their name from Captain Thomas Gilbert who first sighted them in 1788. In 1916 the islands were joined with a neighbouring archipelago which would become Tuvalu and became known as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.

The name Kiribati is the rendering of Gilberts in the archipelago's native language. Kiribati gained independence from the UK in 1979 and became a member of the United Nations in 1999.

Answer: Samoa

In 2011 the pacific island nation of Samoa decided to switch which side of the international date line the country was located. The reason for doing this was that Samoa was trading more closely with other Oceanic nations such as Australia and New Zealand and therefore it was more convenient to be located in a similar time zone rather than nearly 24 hours behind these countries.

In moving time zones and crossing the dateline Samoa did not have a December 30th in 2011 with the date moving from 29th December straight to 31st December.

Answer: Solomon Islands

The Battle of Guadalcanal was a battle between the Allied forces against the Japanese during World War II. The Battle involved an Allied force, largely made up of US Marines, landing on Guadalcanal and neighbouring Tulagi and Florida islands in order to establish a base from which to capture the Japanese base on the island of New Britain.

The Battle was a success for the Allies and marked a turning point in the Pacific campaign with Japan becoming more defensive in the Pacific.

Answer: Fiji

Although Fiji first competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics the country had never won an Olympic medal until they triumphed in the men's rugby sevens at the 2016 games held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. 2016 was the first time rugby sevens, a seven-a-side form of rugby union, had been included in the Olympics. Fiji went on to win the gold medal in rugby sevens at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where their women's side also won a bronze medal.

Answer: Marshall Islands

Bikini Atoll is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands with a name meaning 'coconut place'. Following World War II the atoll became a nuclear testing site for the US after the atolls inhabitants were forcibly removed in 1946. During the period from 1946 to 1958 23 nuclear tests were carried out by the US.

Some inhabitants were allowed to return in 1970 however they were relocated again after testing discovered dangerous levels of radioactive strontium-90 in the atoll's water.

Answer: Australia

The city of Darwin is located on the north coast of Australia and is the capital of the Northern Territory. During World War II Australia fought on the side of the Allied forces while Japan was aligned with the Axis forces. On 19 February 1942 Darwin was subjected to two large air raids involving 242 Japanese aircraft in total.

The raids were targeted at the harbour and the town's airfields in an effort to stop the city being used as a base for Allied troops fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific.

Answer: Nauru

King Aweida was born in 1850 and was the tribal King of Nauru. The civil war is believed to have started when a young chief was shot during a marriage celebration and according to Nauruan custom his death needed to be avenged, however the introduction of firearms to the country turned this into a violent conflict.

The war was ended by the intervention of the German Empire in 1888 who annexed Nauru and implemented a cease fire. Following this the Germans confiscated firearms and ammunition and restored Aweida to the throne, albeit with the islands under ultimate German control.

Answer: Tonga

The Kingdom of Tonga signed a Treaty of Friendship with Britain in 1900 making it a state that was under the protection of the UK. King Tupou II of Tonga signed the treaty due to concerns about increasing advances by the German Empire in the Pacific. Under the treaty Tongan foreign affairs were conducted through Britain who also had the power of veto over Tonga's foreign policy and finances.

The Treaty was abolished in 1970 after which Tonga regained full control over its financial and foreign policy.

Answer: Papua New Guinea

The part of the island of New Guinea that forms modern day Papua New Guinea was colonised by the UK and Germany with the German section being captured by Australian forces (on behalf of the UK) in the First World War. The British part had been made a protectorate in 1884 and administration was passed to Australia in 1906.

The country remained an external territory of Australia until it gained independence in September 1975, although it retained the UK monarch as its head of state. Following independence Papua New Guinea joined the UN in October 1975.