what are the islands of oceania?
Northern Mariana Islands Norfolk Island Guam American Samoa New Caledonia Marshall Islands Kiribati Nauru Fiji Cook Islands
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 New Zealand and Australia are both part of the wider regions known as Australasia and Oceania . The term Oceania is often used to denote the region encompassing the Australian continent , New Zealand and various islands in the Pacific Ocean that are not included in the seven @-@ continent model . 

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 The ten largest islands are as follows . 

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 The Solomon Islands are a group consisting of approximately a thousand islands that serves as home to almost 600 @,@ 000 people . The island chain was designated a protectorate of the United Kingdom in the 1890s , and remained under British control during World War II , where the island chain was the center of some of the war 's worst fighting . In 1976 , the Solomon Islands won the right to self @-@ government from the British , and declared independence in 1978 . The nation fell into a period of civil instability between then and 2003 , when Australia led a military force to restore law and order in the country . 

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 On a broader scale , the Cook Islands Sports & Olympic Association , Rarotonga Amateur Athletics Association , Tauvaine Sports & Cultural Association , and Tupapa @-@ Maraerena Sports Association are notable associations . The Cook Islands Fisherman 's Association , Cook Islands Game Fishing Club , and the Ngatangiia Fishermen 's Club support fishing enthusiasts . The country hosted the 1986 Pacific Cup and the 1998 Polynesia Cup . 

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 Polynesian settlers arrived from Tahiti in the 6th century . In 1606 , the Portuguese captain , Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , was the first European recorded as landing in the islands . Captain Cook , who gave the islands their current name , arrived in 1773 and 1777 . Missionaries from the early 1800s brought schools and Christianity , and developed a written language . 
