Chapter 7

PEOPLE AND
PLACES OF THE
ASIA–PACIFIC
Australia is a part of the Asia–Pacific region,
the largest region in the world. A look in your
atlas will show you that it covers a huge
geographic area of land and water — from
Turkey and the Middle Eastern countries in the
west to French Polynesia in the east; from the
Russian Federation and Japan in the north to
New Zealand in the south. About 60 per cent of
the world’s population lives in the Asia–Pacific
region, which includes 55 countries and many
very different cultural groups.

Geographical knowledge and understanding

• Identify and describe characteristics of the Asia–
Pacific region.
• Explain how interactions between physical
processes and human activities create variations
in the Asia–Pacific region.
• Describe differences in culture and living
conditions in the Asia–Pacific region.
• Understand and appreciate the living conditions
of indigenous people.
Geospatial skills
• Interpret information from maps at different
scales.
• Collect geographical material from electronic and
print media.
• Interpret and construct a variety of graphs
including pie graphs, bar graphs, composite line
graphs and climographs.
• Apply spatial concepts to understand patterns on
the Earth’s surface.

Composite satellite image of the

Asia–Pacific at night. The spatial distribution
of light shows the heavily populated areas of
the region. Large cities are mainly located on
coasts and large natural environments such
as oceans, deserts and forests are shown by
the dark zones.

156
HUMANITIES 1
 agglomeration: settlement that includes a central city
and surrounding areas linked by continuous built-up
areas
alluvial plains: flat stretches of fertile ground that have
been formed and shaped by the build-up of mud and silt
washed there by frequent floods
altitude: height above sea level
APEC: abbreviation of Asia–Pacific Economic
Cooperation. APEC is a grouping of 21 countries
(including Australia) to boost economic growth and
prosperity in the Asia–Pacific region.
archipelago: group of islands, often stretched out like a
chain
ASEAN: abbreviation of the Association of South-East
Asian Nations. Its members include Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. ASEAN’s
objectives for the region are to foster economic, social and
cultural development as well as peace and stability.
atoll: an island consisting of a circular coral reef
surrounding a lagoon
biome: a major type of environment with specific plants
and animals, such as a tropical rainforest or tundra
deposition: the laying down of material carried by
rivers, wind, ice, ocean currents or waves
dialect: a localised form of a particular language
ethnic group: a group living within a larger group that
has its own culture and customs
gross domestic product (GDP): the value of all the
goods and services produced for every person in the
country
human rights: the basic standards without which
people cannot live in dignity
indigenous people: people who are native to an area,
that is, they have not moved there from somewhere else
island nation: a country that is confined to an island or
number of islands
life expectancy: the number of years a person may be
expected to live based on statistics
literacy: describes an ability to read and write
migration: voluntary or forced movement of people
either within or between countries or regions
monsoon: a rain-bearing wind of the Indian Ocean that
changes direction between winter and summer
population density: the number of the population
living per square kilometre.
population distribution: the way in which a given
population is spread (or distributed) over a given area
purchasing power parity (PPP): how much people in
a country can buy compared to people in other countries
region: an area that has a number of distinctive
characteristics
settlement: a group of people living in one place or
location
spatial association: the relationship between the
distribution of two or more features in a selected region
tectonic plate: one of the various slow-moving plates
that make up the Earth’s crust

157
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
7.1
WHERE IS THE ASIA–PACIFIC?
Australia is an island continent with a popu-
lation of 20 million. Geographically, Australia is
part of the region known as the Asia–Pacific.
Regions have something in common that helps
define them — it could be types of government,
trade relations, languages, landforms, location,
or a combination of these. A region is a human
concept that can be mapped and analysed.
For most of Australia’s history, our strong cul-
tural ties have mainly been with Britain and
Europe. However, in the last 50 years this has
changed. Growing political, economic and social
links with our immediate neighbours in Asia and
the Pacific have meant that Australia has
become more closely aligned with this region.
Asia is very highly populated — six out of every
ten people in the world (over 3.8 billion) live in Asia.
The exact boundaries between Asia and Europe are
vague, but generally accepted as shown on the map
of Asia on the next page. Asia contains a diversity
of languages, religions, political systems, physical
traits of the population, climate, natural resources
and industry — many people and countries within
Asia may not feel they have much in common.
SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Australia generally feels more connected to the
part of Asia known as South-East Asia, a sub-
region of Asia. This region was first defined
during World War II and is still used by the
region’s leaders in the Association of South-East
Asian Nations (ASEAN). There are 11 countries
(a) The semi-nomadic Mongol people live in the Gobi Desert in eastern Asia. Bactrian camels provide transport, meat, milk,
wool, hides for tents and dung for fuel. (b) The Pacific Island nation of Fiji is located about 2000 kilometres east of Australia.
(c) Merchants transport their wares in small boats in this floating market in Thailand, South-East Asia.
(a)
(b)
158
HUMANITIES 1
in South-East Asia, some on the mainland and
some on archipelago islands. The Andaman and
Nicobar islands (a territory of India) are also
considered part of this region. Over 550 million
people live in South-East Asia.
THE PACIFIC ISLANDS
The Pacific Ocean is vast and contains about
25 000 islands, divided into three main groups —
Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Many
island nations are found in this region. There
are just over 7.5 million people in the Pacific
Islands, not including New Zealand and Hawaii.
Melanesia extends north and north-east of Aus-
tralia, from the west Pacific Ocean to the Arafura
Sea. It includes the island of New Guinea (divided
into the nation of Papua New Guinea and the
Indonesian province of Papua), New Caledonia,
Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.
Micronesia has hundreds of small islands and is
located north-east of Papua New Guinea. It is also
bounded by the Philippines in the west, Indonesia
in the south-west and Melanesia to the south.
Micronesia includes the Northern Marianas,
Guam, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati,
Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Polynesia forms a triangle with its three cor-
ners at Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island.
There are around 1000 islands in this part of the
central and southern Pacific Ocean. The other
main islands are Samoa, Tonga, French Poly-
nesia, Tuvalu and the Cook Islands.
(c)
 SKILLS essentials
Interpreting maps at different scales
Reading maps and comparing them provides geog-
raphers with a lot of information. The legend (or key)
tells you what the symbols and colours mean and the RUSSIA

scale gives you an idea of the size and area of features TURKEY
GEORGIA PAC I F I C
being mapped. CYPRUS
ARMENIA KAZAKHSTAN
LEBANON AZERBAIJAN OCEAN
ISRAEL SYRIA JAPAN
1. Study the maps. What is the extent of each region JORDAN UZBEKISTAN MONGOLIA NORTH
IRAQ TURKMENISTAN KIRGIZIA KOREA
(north to south, and east to west)?
KUWAIT IRAN TADZHIKISTAN SOUTH
2. Study the map of South-East Asia. List the mainland SAUDI
ARABIA BAHRAIN AFGHANISTAN KOREA
QATAR CHINA
and archipelago countries and their capitals. UNITED ARAB PAKISTAN
EMIRATES NEPAL
3. Indonesia is an archipelago — use the map to OMAN BHUTAN
YEMEN TAIWAN
describe its location. Which seas divide this country? INDIA
BANGLADESH
4. Name the largest island in South-East Asia. Which LAOS
MYANMAR
VIETNAM r
three countries are located on this island? THAILAND
CAMBODIA
PHILIPPINES
Equ
ato
SRI
KEY MALDIVES LANKA BRUNEI
Country border Province border N MALAYSIA
BRUNEI Sabah Province name SINGAPORE
Country name
INDIAN OCEAN INDO
Phnom Penh Country capital Borneo Island name NESIA EAST
0 1000 2000 km
TIMOR
Futuna Dependency MELANESIA Geographic region
(France)
The countries of Asia

PAC I F I C OCEAN

International Date Line

Hanoi SOUTH
A

L KOREA
MY A N

JAPAN
E

PACIFIC OCEAN
Vientiane A V HAW
S

I AIIA
Yangon N IS
P
O

Luzon
E

LAN
THAILAND
A

D
T N

S (U
MAR

TAIWAN
S

.S.
I L
N

Bangkok A.)
Manila PHILIPPINE NORTHERN
AM

MARIANAS MARSHALL
I

I P

Andaman CAMBODIA SEA ISLANDS

H

PHILIPPINES M I CRONES
and Phnom Penh IA
P I
C

FEDERATED

A
Nicobar
H STATES OF
N E

Islands T MINDANAO PALAU

I
U SEA Equator MICRONESIA
S O PAPUA
S

NAURU

S
NEW SOLOMON KIRIBATI
L A Y Bandar Seri Begawan INDONESIA
M A GUINEA

E
S Sabah N EAST M E ISLANDS TUVALU
I A LAN E
Kuala Lumpur BRUNEI SULAWESI TIMOR SAMOA

N
S
Sarawak SEA VANUATU I FIJI French
SINGAPORE Singapore NIUE COOK

Y
Equator

A
New Caledonia
Borneo TONGA ISLANDS Polynesia
(France) (France)

L
Kalimantan AUSTRALIA
Sumatra

O
Sulawesi
INDIAN
JAVA

P
I SE A
OCEAN Jakarta N BANDA SEA
D O A NEW
N E S I
Java FLORES SEA ZEALAND
0 400 800 km Dili EAST TIMOR N
ARAFURA Torres Strait
Christmas Island TIMOR SEA 0 1000 2000 km
(Aust.) SEA

South-East Asia The Pacific Islands

Choose one country in Asia and one in the Pacific

and conduct some research about one of these
links. Report your findings to the class.
Understand 5. Discuss with another student one advantage and
1. Australia’s past is closely linked with Britain. List one disadvantage of Australia’s location in the
two ways that this has changed over time. Asia–Pacific.
2. Use the text to list two similarities and two
differences in the population, land and sea areas Think
of Asia, South-East Asia, Australia and the Pacific 6. Provide two reasons why you think Australia
Islands. belongs in the Asia–Pacific region?

Communicate Dig deeper

3. Have you ever visited the Pacific Islands region? 7. Go to www.jaconline.com.au/essentials/
Would you like to? Write a journal entry humanities1 and click on the Travel South-East
describing the countries you would visit and why. Asia weblink for this chapter. Play the electronic
4. Australia has many links with countries in the Asia– board game to test your geographical knowledge
Pacific including trade, tourism and providing aid. of this region.

159
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
7.2
NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
The Asia–Pacific region is dominated by the
world’s largest ocean — the Pacific Ocean takes
up nearly half of the world’s ocean area. Asia is
the largest continent, covering almost one-third
of the world’s area. The Asia–Pacific region
therefore has a very diverse range of natural
environments.
MOUNTAIN LANDFORMS
There are a number of huge mountain ranges in
the Asia–Pacific region such as the Himalayas in
Nepal and India, the Southern Alps in New Zea-
land and the Central Ranges of Papua New
Guinea. There are also many archipelagos, of
which Indonesia is the largest. South-East Asia
has many rugged mountain ranges as well as
volcanic and coral islands.
The Pacific Islands are made up of low and
high islands. Low islands are reefs or atolls built
on coral reefs and are usually quite small. The
high islands are formed by volcanoes and are
generally larger and more fertile.
RIVERS AND PLAINS
Some of the world’s largest rivers are found in
Asia, including the Ob, Indus, Ganges, Brahma-
putra, Mekong, Yangtze, and Hwang (Yellow).
Over millions of years, these rivers have carried
silt down from the mountains to build up the
vast alluvial plains of lowland Asia. These
plains are very fertile, supporting many people.
The largest of the plains, in Bangladesh and
India, has been built up by depositions of the
Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. The largest
plain in Australia is the Nullarbor Plain.
160
HUMANITIES 1
Understand
1. Can you identify the major natural features (such
as rainforests, deserts) of the Asia–Pacific region?
Use an atlas to describe where these are located.
2. Use the map to name the main mountain ranges
in the Asia–Pacific.
3. Locate Mount Everest and Challenger Deep.
Calculate the distance between these highest
land and lowest sea points.
4. Which area on the map is the most
mountainous? Flattest?
5. Use an atlas to locate the rivers and plains
mentioned in the text. Describe the location of
the mountains and plains in Australia.
6. Name and describe the location of two mountain
ranges and two volcanic islands in South-East Asia.
Think
7. More people in the Pacific Islands live on the
larger volcanic islands in Melanesia than in other
parts of the Pacific Islands. Write two reasons to
explain why this might be the case.
8. Why are volcanic landscapes and alluvial plains
generally very fertile? Conduct some research to
find out why Australia’s Nullarbor Plain is not fertile.
Design and create
9. Research a landform in the Asia–Pacific region.
Find out about its physical characteristics, how it
might have formed and the interaction between
the landform and people. Try to find out some
amazing facts about it. Present your research as a
‘What am I?’ presentation to your class (about
one or two minutes). Structure your presentation
so that you don’t give away key information too
early. This activity could be developed further
into a class competition.
The volcanic
island of Moorea,
French Polynesia,
surrounded by a
fringing reef and
lagoon
 E CD-R
TH

OM
ON
Time
trap

SKILLS essentials
Apply spatial concepts to understand patterns on the (a) Many volcanoes are located on the edges of
Earth’s surface tectonic plates in the Asia–Pacific.
Spatial association is a spatial concept or idea that (b) There are few mountains located on the edges
describes the relationship between two or more of tectonic plates.
features in a selected region. You can study the (c) Volcanic islands form on the edges of plates.
relationship between different landforms and the (d) There are no mountains or volcanoes away
location of the edges of tectonic plates (the very from plate edges.
slow-moving plates that make up the Earth’s crust) in 2. It can be seen that the landforms on this map
the map showing natural features of the Asia–Pacific. show a strong spatial association with the location
Spatial association can be described as being strong of edges of tectonic plates. Write a short
or weak. paragraph to describe the relationship (the spatial
Earthquakes, volcanic activity and mountain association) between the location of tectonic
building often occur on the edges of these plates. plate boundaries and the distribution of
1. Study the map and decide if the following mountains, islands and archipelagos in the Asia–
statements are true or false. Rewrite the false Pacific region. (You can read more about spatial
statements so they are true. concepts on pages 132–3.)

Severnaya
Svalbard Zemlya
Franz Josef
Land New Siberian A R CT I C O C EA N
Novaya Islands
Zemlya KARA SEA LAPTEV SEA Banks
BARENTS SEA North Island
EAST
North Cape SIBERIAN SEA BEAUFORT SEA
CENTRAL SIBERIAN
American
MA
Yenisey

PLATEAU CK
Arctic Circle Plate EN
Len
TAINS

ZIE
Yukon MO
a

River Riv
er UN
S i b e r i a
OU N

T
River Mt McKinley 6194 m AIN
O

Lake Onega
b

S
Riv

BERING
M

Lake Ladoga
er

SEA Gulf
AL

Eurasian Plate SEA

OF of
Kamchatka
UR

Volga Rive Kodiak Alaska Queen

r Lake Baykal O K H O T S K Peninsula
River

Island Charlotte
Irty

EUROPE Ural nds

Amu

Sakhalin Isla Islands

sh

ds Aleutian
CASPIAN r an
Rive Isl
A S I A
r

CA Rive Vancouver
MO UCA DEPRESSION r ir l Island
UN SU Manchuria Ku h
ARAL SEA Lake Balkhash nc Juan de Fuca Plate
BLACK SEA TAINSS Gobi Hokkaido Tre
Mt Elbrus L U N Desert i l
5642 m CASPIAN
H KUN AINS Ku
r
NT
g

US MOU
an

Honshu
U K HIM
SEA
er
Hw

PLATEAU D iv
HI N AL PLATEAU OF TIBET R
OF
AY (XIZANG PLATEAU)
Japan Tren

IRAN er EAST
International Date Line

Iranian AS g tze Riv CHINA Kyushu

Shikoku
Yan
Arabian Plate SEA
Nile

Mt Everest
Ga

Haw Converging plate boundary

Rive8848 m
aiia
ng

Peninsula
RED

ch

n Is Tropic of Cancer
es

r Taiwan lan
ds Diverging plate boundary
DECCAN Bay Philippine
Arabian PLATEAU of Luzon
SEA

Hainan Northern Mauna Kea 4205 m Uncertain plate boundary

Plate Plate Marianas
River

Bengal
Philipp

SOUTH
CHINA Movement of plate
Challenger Deep (11 022 m)
SEA a
ETHIOPIAN an Marshall
Pacific
ine T

ari ch Micronesia
Plate name
HIGHLANDS Mindanao M ren Islands

AFRICA Maldives Sri Lanka T P A C I F I C O C E A N Feature of interest

rench

Equator Borneo Kiribati Mountain

Lake Victoria
Mt Kilimanjaro
5895 m
I N D I A N Sulawesi N ew Volcano
Seychelles Sumatra JAVA SEA Guin
ea
Tuvalu Pacific Plate
Lake Tanganyika Solomon Islands Marquesas River
Comoros Java Islands
Timor
African Plate O C E A N Cocos Christmas Tua
Lake
Islands Island CORAL SEA Vanuatu mo
Samoa Society tu Shape of the land surface
Fiji A rc
Islands
GR

Madagascar h
Shape of the sea floor
EA

ipe

Cook
Indo-Australian AUSTRALIA New
Tren ga
ch

Mauritius
lag
T

Caledonia Tonga Islands

Ton

o
DIVID

Uluru 868 m Simpson Tropic of Capricorn

Plate Desert
Lake Eyre
Trencdec
ING RA

Great Victoria
h
Kerma

Desert

Mt Kosciuszko North
2228 m Island
TASMAN N
Tasmania SEA Mt Cook
3754 m Chatham Islands
Crozet Islands South East South
Cape Island
Prince Edward
Islands 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 km
Heard Island
Macquarie Island
Antarctic Plate

Natural features of the Asia–Pacific

161
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
7.3
NATURAL DISASTER IN ASIA:
TSUNAMI!
Natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes, Country border BANGLADESH
Dacca CHINA
tsunamis, bushfires, cyclones, landslides and Yangon Indore
Capital city Kolkata
Chittagong
floods can quickly change human environments. Phuket Other city Khulna
Nagpur M YA N M A R
The tsunami that hit coastal regions in South Asia Earthquake epicentre
Cuttack 2 Sittwe LAOS
Most damaged area Bay of
in December 2004 killed more than 169 000 people 2
Berhampur
Tsunami travel time (hours)
and flattened towns, destroyed infrastructure Pune Bengal Chiang Mai
Hyderabad Vishakhapatnam
1
(such as roads, water supply and communi- Kakinada Bassein Yangon

cations) and ruined farmland. INDIA THAILAND

Goa
2

2
On 26 December 2004, the largest earthquake Nellore Bangkok
ANDAMAN
for 40 years occurred in the Indian Ocean. Meas- Bangalore Chennai

5
Andaman Mergui
uring 9.0 on the Richter scale, the earthquake Salem
Pondicherry Islands SEA Gulf

1
of

2
occurred just off the west coast of northern

4
Madurai Thailand

2
Cochin Jaffna
Sumatra in Indonesia. 3
Nagercoil Trincomalee
The earthquake triggered a tsunami that SRI LANKA Nicobar
Phuket
Colombo
spread out over thousands of kilometres. The 3 Islands

1
Galle Hambantota
massive waves hit coastal communities in nine Banda Aceh George Town
MALAYSIA
countries bordering the Indian Ocean, destroying N
Meulaboh
Medan

2
lives, towns, farms and infrastructure. INDIAN OCEAN Kuala Lumpur

1
Simeulue
0 500 1000 km INDONESIA
Nias

How the tsunami spread

The epicentre of the earthquake was 250 kilo-

metres south-south-east of the Indonesian city of
Banda Aceh. The earthquake hit at 6.58 am local
time, reducing city buildings to rubble. Within
15 minutes a 20-metre-high tsunami had reached
Banda Aceh, pushing a wall of water, mud and
debris up to 10 kilometres inland. The streets
were filled with cars, boats, rubbish and dead
bodies.

Country Dead Missing

Indonesia 122 232 113 937
Sri Lanka 30 974 4 698
India 10 776 5 640
Thailand 395 2 993
Khao Lak, north of Phuket, Thailand, following the tsunami Somalia 150 —
Maldives 82 26
The survivors faced an uncertain future with a Malaysia 68 —
lack of fresh water, food and shelter. The disaster Myanmar 59 —
prompted countries such as Australia to help Tanzania 10 —
with the relief effort and aid. Seychelles 3 —
Bangladesh 2 —
The destruction of Banda Aceh Kenya 1 —
At least 122 232 people died in Indonesia, and Total 169 752 127 294
this figure may increase further with deaths
from hunger, injuries and diseases. Source: United Nations

162
HUMANITIES 1
 (a)
0 125 250 m
(b)
0 125 250 m
(a) Satellite image of Banda Aceh taken on 23 June 2004
(b) Satellite image of Banda Aceh taken two days after the tsunami hit. The
flooded areas are black and the areas of debris build-up are pinkish.
Tsunamis can travel The surge of water
very fast — up to 800 westwards pulled water away
km/h. Land contours from coastlines to the east
near the shore turn (e.g. Thailand), before they
the rush of water into returned as massive waves.
a massive wave (e.g.
10 m or more high).
The slippage
propelled a
wave of water
westwards
towards Sri
Lanka
(reaching it
about two
hours later).
Waves travelled as far west as
Somalia and as far south as
Rockingham (Western Australia). The earthquake and subsequent tsunami
occurred along a section of the boundary
between tectonic plates.
GRAPHIC: JUSTIN RICHARDSON
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
Understand
1. Where was the epicentre of the
earthquake?
2. Draw a flow chart to explain
how the earthquake triggered a
tsunami.
3. Which Asian country suffered
the most casualties from this
natural disaster? Explain why.
4. Why was Indonesia, especially
the Sumatran city of Banda
Aceh, so badly affected?
Think
5. Look carefully at the map.
(a) How far did the tsunami
travel to reach Sri Lanka?
(b) The tsunami reached Sri
Lanka in two hours.
Calculate how fast it was
travelling.
6. Compare the two satellite
images of Banda Aceh.
(a) Describe in your own words
how the tsunami affected
this section of Banda Aceh’s
coastline.
(b) Estimate how many houses
and buildings were
destroyed in this section of
the city alone.
(c) Using the scale supplied,
select a 125-metre square
area of Banda Aceh. Draw
enlarged before and after
The pressure sketches of this area,
of tectonic including labels to highlight
plates
pushing any changes.
against each
other forced Teamwork
one to slip
under the 7. In pairs, think about the short-
other. The and long-term problems that
resultant
10 m-high Asian communities devastated
bulge in the by this tsunami might face. List
sea floor was
1200 km as many problems — e.g.
long. physical, emotional, financial —
as you can think of.
8. Billions of dollars of aid, as well
Movement of plate
as ‘hands on’ help, were offered
by governments, businesses
The earthquake occurred and individuals around the
about 7 km beneath the
floor of the ocean. world in response to this crisis.
Discuss as a class how efforts
such as these can build positive
international relations.
163
7.4
CLIMATE IN
THE ASIA–PACIFIC
CLIMATE TYPES
Because of the size of the region, there is a range
of climate types in the Asia–Pacific. These vary
from hot and wet throughout the year near to the
Equator, to temperate areas with distinct wet and
dry seasons and warm and cold seasons, to cold
areas near the poles and in high altitude areas.
Arctic Circle
Tropic of Cancer
Equator
INDIAN
OCEAN
Tropic of Capricorn
N
0 2000 4000 km
Tropical wet: hot; wet
for most of the year
Tropical wet and dry: hot all year;
wet summers, dry winters
Hot desert: hot all year; less
than 250 mm rain per year
Hot semi-desert: hot all year;
250–500 mm rain per year
Subtropical, dry winter:
warm all year; dry winter
Subtropical, dry summer:
warm all year, dry summer
Cold wet: cold winters. cool
to hot summers; moderate
rain all year
Cold, dry winter: cold dry
winters, cool to hot summers;
moderate rain
Climates of the Asia–Pacific
Climate and crops
Climatic conditions and soils interact to make it
possible for particular food crops to grow within an
area. The most water- and heat-demanding crops,
such as rubber, yams, cassava, maize, rice, bananas
and sugarcane, are grown in tropical areas. In dry
ARCTIC OCEAN
PAC I F I C O C E A N
Cold desert: hot in summer, cold
in winter; less than 250 mm
rain per year
Cold semi-desert: hot in summer,
cold in winter; 250–500 mm
rain per year
Subtropical wet: warm;
rain all year
Mild wet: mild; rain
all year
Polar: extremely cold all year;
nearly all snow and ice; less
than 250 mm precipitation
per year
Highlands: cool to cold;
occurring in mountains and
high plateaus; snow cover
increases with altitude
164
HUMANITIES 1
areas, it is difficult to grow crops that need year-
round moisture. The main crops grown in dry areas
include millet, sorghum and groundnuts. In places
where there is a wet season or good irrigation, rice,
sugarcane and maize can be grown.
The main crops grown in temperate climates
are cereals, such as wheat and barley, and
potatoes. Some temperate areas are suitable for
grape growing. Similar crops grow in cold areas
but over a shorter season. No crops are grown in
polar climates.
Climate and biomes
Climate also affects biomes — the animals and
plants that live in certain geographical regions.
ARCTIC OCEAN
Arctic Circle
Tropic of Cancer
PAC I F I C O C E A N
Equator
INDIAN
OCEAN
Tropic of Capricorn
N
0 2000 4000 km
Rainforests: hot and wet throughout the year
with mostly tall evergreen trees
Savannas: warm to hot throughout the year with a distinct wet
and dry season and mainly grassland with scattered short trees
Deserts: generally hot and dry with drought resistant plants
growing in some areas
Open forest: warm and moist climates, generally evergreen
forest often with dense undergrowth and shrubs
Cultivated lands: warm summers, cool winters with good rainfall, most
of the natural vegetation removed to grow a large range of crops
Coniferous forest: cool to cold and covered with
evergreen cone-bearing trees
Tundra: cold lands with a brief cool summer without trees and
a vegetation cover of small shrubs, grasses, lichens and moss
Grasslands: warm semi-arid areas covered by
short or tall grasses
Biomes of the Asia–Pacific region
 The Pacific Islands are located in a tropical region
and their vegetation varies across island groups. SKILLS essentials
Vegetation can include forests, mangroves and pine
Drawing a climograph
trees in the high altitudes of Papua New Guinea.
South-East Asia generally experiences a tropical Climographs are a combination of a bar graph and
climate. The wet monsoon winds are very impor- a line graph, and are used to show the climate of a
tant for agriculture. Tropical forests cover a large place over a 12-month period. The line graph
area of the region. Rice is the main crop grown; section shows average monthly temperature and
other crops include rubber, tea, spices and coconuts. the bar graph represents average monthly rainfall.
Be careful to read from the correct axis when
studying climographs.
°C SINGAPORE mm
Prepare two vertical
Understand axes. Average monthly temperature
and rainfall
1. List the different climate types in Australia and The right-hand axis 40 400
represents rainfall in
describe where each occurs. millimetres. Draw it first
2. Use an atlas to locate and name two places in and use it to prepare the max.
rainfall bar graph. 30 300
Asia and two in the Pacific Islands that have
similar climate types to those found in Australia. Colour the bar graph blue
to remind you that it is min.
Describe the climate type in each case. rainfall.
20 200
3. Which climate type is the most productive in The left-hand axis
terms of crops grown and types of biome? Least represents temperature
in degrees Celsius.
productive? Justify your answer. Use this to draw the 10 100 100
maximum and minimum
Communicate temperature line graphs.
4. Working in pairs, write and perform a short song to A red or orange line
describe the location of the following climate types will help identify the 0 0
in the Asia–Pacific region: tropical, temperate, dry, variations in temperature. J F MAM J J A S OND
cold and polar (use an atlas to help you). Climograph for Singapore
5. Describe your favourite climate. Why have you
1. Use the data below to draw climographs for
chosen this climate type? If you did not live in
Tarawa, Kiribati and Melbourne, Australia.
Australia, in which climate and location in the
2. Use an atlas to describe the location of Kiribati.
Asia–Pacific would you like to live? Give reasons.
3. Identify the type of climate experienced in
Teamwork Tarawa, Melbourne and Singapore.
6. Work in pairs. Study the biomes map. Choose 4. Which two locations have a similar climate?
between South-East Asia and Australia, ensuring Give two reasons for your answer.
that you each choose a different location, and 5. Which of the three location shows the greatest
describe the biomes in that location. Now contrast in temperature over one year? Briefly
describe the relationship between biomes and describe this.
climate for your location. What similarities and 6. What is unusual about the maximum and
differences did you and your partner find minimum temperatures for Kiribati?
between the locations? 7. Write three summary paragraphs in your
Worksheets workbook to compare and contrast the climates
7.1 Asia–Pacific climographs of Singapore, Kiribati and Melbourne.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Tarawa, Kiribati
Average rainfall (mm) 277.3 198.8 189.9 173.5 157.3 136.9 160.1 117.4 87.3 87.0 134.9 194.3
Average max. temperature (˚C) 27 27 27 27 27 28 28 28 29 28 28 28
Average min. temperature (˚C) 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26
Melbourne, Australia
Average rainfall (mm) 45.8 49.9 34.1 52.4 53.9 35.0 28.4 55.1 46.4 61.5 63.2 41.7
Average max. temperature (˚C) 26 27 23 18 15 13 12 14 16 18 21 22
Average min. temperature (˚C) 13 13 11 8 7 6 5 5 6 7 9 10

165
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
 7.5
HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE ASIA–PACIFIC
WHERE DO PEOPLE LIVE? Darwin

In 2005, the total population of the Asia–Pacific N

was 3872 million. But only 0.3 per cent
(12 million) of these people lived in the Pacific 0 250 500 km
Islands; 0.5 per cent (20 million) lived in Aus- Townsville

tralia; and the rest, 99.2 per cent (3840 million),

lived in Asia.
The most highly populated countries in Asia
are China (1322 million) and India (1097 million).
The next largest in population is Indonesia Brisbane
(225 million). Settlements in the Asian region Gold Coast

range from small villages to enormous sprawling

cities with many millions of people. Six of the Newcastle
Perth
world’s ten largest cities are located in Asia. Adelaide Sydney
Population distribution — the spread of a Canberra Wollongong

population over space — can be shown on maps. Geelong Melbourne

Urban population
The population density of a country or Over 1 000 000
People per square kilometre
region is a measure of the number of people per Over 100
100 000 to 1 000 000
10 000 to 100 000
square kilometre who live there. It is calculated 10 to 100 1000 to 10 000 Hobart
1 to 10 200 to 1000
by dividing the country or region population by Under 1 Under 200
its area (in square kilometres (km2)).
Population density and distribution in Australia

Population density can vary from as low as 2

(in some parts of Australia and Canada) to
50 000 people per square kilometre (in some of
the world’s largest cities). The average popu-
lation density in Australia is 2.5 people per
square kilometre. Population density in Asia is
shown in the map on the left.
Population density in the Pacific Islands varies
considerably, as shown in the table below.
Tokyo
Beijing Osaka
Tehran
Tianjin
Population density of the Pacific Islands
Nagoya
Seoul
Shanghai
Lahore
Country Population density (/km2)
New Delhi Chongqing
Karachi Taipei
Dacca Nauru 587
Hong Kong
Mumbai Kolkata Tuvalu 429
Hyderabad
Manila Guam (US) 293
N Bangalore Chennai Bangkok
Tonga 142
Kiribati 119
0 1000 2000 km
Samoa 61
Fiji 47
People per square kilometre
100 to 200 Urban population Jakarta Palau 42
20 to 100
Over 5 000 000 Solomon Islands 17
1 000 000 to 5 000 000
1 to 20
500 000 to 1 000 000
Vanuatu 16
Under 1 100 000 to 500 000 Papua New Guinea 11
New Caledonia 11
Population density and distribution in Asia

166
HUMANITIES 1
 Noumea
, the ca
density pital of
h a s a p opulation e. New Ca
ledonia
ng etr
Hong Ko per square kilom
o f 5 3 0 7 6 Poor areas, such as this one in Shanghai,
China, can develop in overcrowded cities.

CITIES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC

Many people in the Asia–Pacific live in cities or Think
urban areas, but the largest populations occur in 1. Study the population maps.
the agglomerations of Asia, shown in the table (a) Describe the distribution of Asia’s population.
below. This is in stark contrast with the Pacific (b) Where are the highest and lowest densities,
Islands, where the three largest settlements (not and the largest population centres?
including New Zealand and Hawaii) are Port (c) Describe the distribution of Australia’s
Moresby (PNG) with a population of 270 000, population. What does this tell you about
Suva (Fiji) with 187 000 and Pape’ete (French much of the land in Australia?
Polynesia) with 128 000. Most people in the 2. Compare Australia’s population density with
Pacific live in rural areas and on islands. Aus- some locations in Asia.
tralia, however, is highly urbanised; the two 3. Study the photographs. Describe the different
largest cities are Sydney with 4 300 000 people living conditions that might be experienced by
and Melbourne with 3 600 000. people in each area. In which settlement would
you prefer to live? Justify your response.
Top 12 cities in Asia by population Teamwork
4. Work with another student. Use the data
Rank City Country Population showing population density of the Pacific Islands
to draw a bar graph (refer to page 152). Give two
1 Tokyo Japan 34 000 000 reasons that might explain these figures.
2 Seoul South Korea 22 050 000
3 Mumbai (Bombay) India 19 400 000 Design and create
4 Delhi India 19 000 000 5. Use the data in the table showing the top 12
5 Jakarta Indonesia 16 850 000 cities in Asia by population to draw a bar graph.
6 Osaka Japan 16 750 000 Devise interesting symbols to represent the bars.
7 Calcutta India 15 350 000 6. Consider the population of the largest Asian
8 Manila Philippines 14 550 000 cities. Write a creative story that compares your
9 Karachi Pakistan 13 800 000 living conditions with conditions of someone
10 Moscow Russia 13 650 000 living in one of these large cities.
11 Shanghai China 13 400 000
Worksheets
12 Dacca Bangladesh 12 750 000
7.2 Squatter settlements in large cities

167
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
7.6
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF
THE ASIA–PACIFIC
THE INDIGENOUS EXPERIENCE
Of the 250 million indigenous people in the
world, about 70 per cent live in Asia and the
Pacific. Indigenous people are the descendants of
the original people of a country or place. The
amazing range of traditional cultures in the
Asia–Pacific has sprung from the contrasting
landforms and climates of the region. Indigenous
people have their own culture, which usually
includes language, religion, social and political
organisation and technology.
During the expansion of European power
across the world from the sixteenth to the early
twentieth centuries and the great migrations
associated with the expansion, many indigenous
people lost their land and culture through con-
quest and settlement.
Today, the poverty faced by many indigenous
communities is closely linked to the loss of land
and their inability to lead the kinds of lives they
value. Many of these groups have decreased in
number over time and have been driven from
their traditional lands. Many also still struggle
to be given human rights including the right to
their traditional land.
Diversity has always been a feature of Aus-
tralia’s Indigenous communities. The size of the
Australian continent meant that many different
survival skills, languages and social organ-
isations were developed throughout the country.
Songs, stories, art styles and ceremonies varied
widely. However, despite this diversity, Indige-
nous communities shared the same belief that
their spiritual ancestors created the natural
features on Earth and created the Aboriginal
people.
Following the arrival in Australia of Euro-
peans in 1788, Indigenous peoples gradually lost
their land and their way of life. They suffered
abuses of human rights and loss of culture and
human dignity. They also suffered from intro-
duced diseases and malnutrition.
For over 150 years they were not recognised as
citizens of Australia, and were treated by many
as inferior peoples — perhaps worthy of sym-
pathy, but not human rights. Even now, Indige-
nous Australians are still disadvantaged in many
ways.
168
HUMANITIES 1
Understand
1. Look at the photograph of the Tibetan monks.
What religion do they follow?
2. Match the indigenous culture with the nation
that took away their land.
Karen United Kingdom
Tibetans Myanmar
Maori China
Think
3. Why is access to traditional lands so important
to indigenous people? Provide examples
from these pages to illustrate your point.
4. List three reasons why it is important to protect
indigenous communities and their human rights.
Go to www.jaconline.com.au/essentials/
humanities1, click on the Human Rights weblink
for this chapter and read the articles describing
human rights.
Design and create
5. Music and dance are an important part of all
cultures. Prepare a report that describes the type of
music played by one culture in the Asia–Pacific
region. List and sketch any instruments used by the
culture and describe the sounds they make. Outline
any special occasions where the group plays music
or uses dance to express their culture. Present your
findings to the class and include a recorded or live
piece of music or dance from the culture.
6. Research the art, culture and dress of one
indigenous group from the Asia–Pacific region.
Then design and make a replica of a piece of
pottery, a tool, a weapon, some jewellery, an
artwork or an item of clothing.
Teamwork
7. Work with another person. Describe what has
happened to Australian Aborigines since
European settlement. List two things that could
be done to improve this condition. Share your
ideas with the class. As a class, choose the
project that you think will be of most benefit to
Aboriginal peoples and their communities.
Worksheets
7.3 Write a haka
 GEO
Some facts about Indigenous Australians
• Indigenous Australians make up 2.1 per cent
of Australia’s total population.
• 25 per cent live in urban areas; 75 per cent in
rural.
• Around 70 per cent of Indigenous Australians
are under 30 years of age compared with about
48 per cent of non-indigenous Australians.
• Life expectancy for Indigenous males is
56 years (77 for all Australian males) and for
Indigenous females is 63 (82 for all Australian
females).
• Deaths from respiratory disease are six times
more common for Indigenous peoples.
• There are 18 Indigenous people to every
one non-indigenous Australian person in jail;
100 Indigenous people have died in custody
since 1989.
• Nearly half of all Indigenous peoples have a
formal education below Year-10 level.

The Karen
There are over four million Karen in
Myanmar (Burma), where a group of
them have been fighting for their
independence for 50 years. The
Karen are rice farmers who have a
very strict culture and rigid laws. The
powerful village chief is seen as the
religious and administrative leader.
One sub-group of the Karen are
the famous ‘long-neck’ Padaung
people. Their women traditionally
wear many tight brass rings around
their necks.

Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines traditionally lived as separate communities,
Tibetans each with their own language, customs and laws. Rather than use
Tibet sits high in the the hundreds of language group names that Aborigines used to
Himalayan mountains. identify themselves, Europeans found it easier to use words such as
Traditionally, Tibetan life ‘natives’ or ‘Aborigines’. Many Aborigines of south-eastern Australia
revolves around the now describe themselves as ‘Kooris’. The word means ‘man’ or
Buddhist religion and ‘people’ in the languages of the coastal people of New South Wales.
farming. Since China’s Traditionally, Aborigines lived in harmony with the land, which
provided them with food and important ceremonial sites. Today,
occupation in 1950, the Aboriginal groups are battling to regain land through land rights
lives of indigenous claims. Aboriginal communities experience lower health and
Tibetans have changed education standards than the rest of the Australian population.
dramatically. The Chinese
have demolished
monasteries and made it Maori
difficult for Tibetans to The Maori people are the indigenous people of New Zealand. These
practise their culture. Many Polynesian people first arrived in New Zealand about 1200 years ago
Tibetan monks and nuns and faced the challenge of adapting to a cooler climate. Early Maori
fled as refugees. The hunters depended on the large flightless moa bird, which they hunted
Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, who also fled Tibet, has been preaching non- to extinction. They also gathered forest products, fished and grew
violence through the Buddhist religion. He was awarded the Nobel Peace sweet potatoes. With the arrival of Europeans (British) in the 1770s,
Prize in 1989. the Maori people faced competition for land and resources. The Treaty
of Waitangi, signed in 1840, gave all of the power and the land to the
British and led to the Maori Wars between 1843 and 1872.
Today, the Maori people make up about 14 per cent of New
The Huli Zealand’s population. Their language and culture have a major impact
Huli people such as this on life in New Zealand (e.g. the traditional haka dance). Like many
man still lead a traditional other indigenous cultures, the Maori people are faced with problems
way of life in the rainforest of high unemployment, illiteracy, poor housing and ill health. Maori
have been active in demanding political equality and land rights.
highlands of Papua New
Guinea. The Huli use a
farming system known as
shifting cultivation. A
patch of forest is cleared
and crops of sweet
potato, sugarcane, corn,
taro and green
vegetables are planted.
When the soil no longer
produces good crops, a
new patch of forest is
cleared, leaving the old
one to recover naturally. Women tend these gardens and the men hunt for
food. Wild and domesticated pigs are a common source of meat.

169
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
7.7
CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN
THE ASIA–PACIFIC
Australia’s location in the Asia–Pacific means A Hindu ceremony
that we are part of a region that has the most takes place at
diverse cultures in the world. There are many Candikung in northern
Bali. Offerings are
ethnic groups, each with its own customs, made to the gods and
religious beliefs, languages and government traditional dances and
system. Cultural differences also occur between music are performed.
people who live in rural areas and cities within
the same country.

RELIGION IN THE ASIA–PACIFIC

Religion is based on belief systems and traditions
of worship, and different religions are found in
nearly all societies. Customs often reflect
religious beliefs. Many religions are practised in
the Asia–Pacific — the main ones are shown in
the table below. Other religions are also followed,
but are a minority. In many places, the tra-
ditional beliefs have been overtaken by the intro-
duction of new religions when countries were
colonised.

Main religious groups of selected Asia–Pacific Borobudur, on the Indonesian

island of Java, is the largest
countries Buddhist temple in the
world. The complex features
Religion Countries in which it is practised 432 statues of Buddha and
over 5 kilometres of wall
Islam Afghanistan, Pakistan, carvings. It was built between
Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia AD 778 and AD 850.

Hinduism India, Nepal, Fiji

Buddhism Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand,

LANGUAGE
China, North Korea, South There are over 6900 known languages in the
Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Laos, world. Many countries have an official or domi-
Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, nant language but others will also be spoken,
Taiwan, Sri Lanka including dialects. For example, the official lan-
guage in Australia is English, but 231 Indige-
Confucianism North Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan
nous and about 160 other languages are also
Christianity Russia, Philippines, South Korea, spoken. This number reflects Australia’s multi-
Australia, the Pacific Islands cultural status.
The main languages (by number) spoken in the
Taoism China, Singapore Asia–Pacific are Mandarin Chinese (the official
language of China) and English, the most used
Tibetan Mongolia and widely studied language in the world. Other
Buddhism key languages spoken in the region are Hindi,
Shintoism Japan
Urdu, Russian, Bengali, Arabic, Japanese, Malay
and Indonesian.

170
HUMANITIES 1
 What is the
attitude towards
gambling? Drinking? Is the main
religion influenced
What is the main by history?
What are the religion? Are people Environment?
main foods eaten? tolerant of other What is the main
Are any foods religions? language spoken?
Are there taboo? Why?
important holidays? Is English taught
How are they in schools?
celebrated?
Are there
traditional
Is there a songs/dances?
favourite sport?

Can most people

read and write?
How is leisure time spent
for adults and children?
How do
people greet
Which groups go each other?
to social gatherings?
Is anyone not allowed What are the
to go? marriage customs?
What clothes do
What type of work is people wear?
done? Are there In there a
defined working hours? Is schooling national dress? Questions to help explore
compulsory? When do a culture. This woman
children go to school? and her family live in
Bangladesh.
(b) Brainstorm as many questions as you can
about the customs and beliefs of the country.
Add your questions to those provided in the
Think diagram above.
1. What is an ethnic group? Name three ethnic (c) Divide the questions among members of
groups in Australia. your group. Research the answers to your
2. Suggest two reasons why there can be cultural questions and look for photographs and
diversity between people from rural and urban maps that you can use.
areas in the same country. Give an example of a (d) Design a colourful poster of your findings.
rural area and an urban area in Australia or in Present your findings to the class then
another country you know about. display the poster on the classroom wall.
3. Using food as an example, explain how religious
Design and create
belief can have an impact on culture and behaviour.
5. Continue working in small groups. Use the
Dig deeper information from the poster presentations to
4. Work in pairs or small groups to explore another design and develop a TV documentary titled
culture. ‘Celebrating and respecting differences in the
(a) Imagine you are visiting a country in the Asia–Pacific’. Use an enlarged copy of the table
Asia–Pacific region. Before you travel, you below to plan segments for the documentary.
need to become familiar with the customs If possible, obtain a video camera to record
and beliefs of the people so that you will your story. It could then be presented to the
know how to behave appropriately when you class. If this is not possible, choose one member
are there. of your group to present your plan to the class.

Comparison to Reasons to
Segment Introduction Religious beliefs Food and music Australia celebrate
Commentary
Images
Music
Segment time

171
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
7.8
ARE THERE INEQUALITIES IN
THE ASIA–PACIFIC?
Are resources in the Asia–Pacific shared evenly?
Do all people in the region have enough food to SKILLS essentials
eat and do they live healthy lives? There are
many different answers to these questions and Reading choropleth maps
maps can show the average conditions within Choropleth maps are theme maps that use darker and
and between countries. lighter shades of the same colour group to show a
A country’s wealth is often measured by its pattern. The darker shades represent ‘the most’ and the
gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (per lighter shades represent ‘the least’. Choropleth maps
head of population). This tells us the value of all enable users to see overall patterns very quickly. The
the goods and services produced for every person choropleth maps opposite illustrate patterns of wealth,
in the country. The measurement used is pur- literacy and food availability in the Asia–Pacific. Study
chasing power parity (PPP) in US dollars. the maps and answer the following questions.
Because goods and services may cost more in one 1. What themes are explored by the choropleth maps?
country than in another, the PPP tells us how 2. Name one country in Asia, South-East Asia and the
much the people in a country can buy compared Pacific (see page 159) that has a very high GDP.
directly with people in other countries. Name one for each region that has a very low GDP.
Literacy is the ability to read and write. The Complete this activity for literacy and food
rate of literacy can reflect how many children in availability.
a country go to school and sometimes (but not 3. Compare Australia’s GDP, literacy and food
always) can be related to wealth. availability with other countries in the region by
There is enough food produced in the world to writing a paragraph describing the distribution of
adequately feed all people. Some people have less each in the Asia–Pacific.
food than others because it is distributed unequally. 4. Is there a relationship between:
This, in turn, can be related to a country’s wealth (a) high and low GDP and the percentage of literate
and trade. people
(b) GDP and food availability?
5. How do the patterns of GDP compare with the world
average?
Think
1. Describe what you think it means for an
Australian to be poor. How might this be
different to a poor person living in Kiribati?
2. List two health problems that might be associated
with someone not getting enough food to eat.
3. If there is enough food produced in the world
for everyone to eat, explain why hunger and
famine exist in our region.
Communicate
4. Choose a poor country in South-East Asia or the
Pacific. Imagine you live in that country and write
a poem or a story describing a day in your life.
5. Write a leading news article titled ‘Australia —
part of an unequal region’. Conduct some
Internet research to find images and data to
support your story.
Worksheets Rita Blei, a graduate of an Australian-funded teacher training
7.4 Comparisons in the Asia–Pacific course, with her students in PNG

172
HUMANITIES 1
 E CD-R
Investigator TH

OM
ON
Arctic Circle Arctic Circle

PACIFIC PACIFIC
BAHRAIN OCEAN BAHRAIN OCEAN
Tropic of Cancer HONG KONG Tropic of Cancer HONG KONG
MACAU NORTHERN MARIANAS MACAU NORTHERN MARIANAS

GUAM MARSHALL ISLANDS GUAM MARSHALL ISLANDS

PALAUFEDERATED STATES PALAU FEDERATED STATES

BRUNEI OF MICRONESIA BRUNEI OF MICRONESIA
Equator SINGAPORE KIRIBATI Equator SINGAPORE KIRIBATI
NAURU NAURU
AMERICAN AMERICAN
INDIAN SAMOA INDIAN SAMOA
SOLOMON TUVALU SOLOMON TUVALU
OCEAN OCEAN
ISLANDS SAMOA ISLANDS SAMOA
VANUATU FIJI VANUATU FIJI
NEW NEW
CALEDONIA FRENCH CALEDONIA FRENCH
Tropic of Capricorn POLYNESIA Tropic of Capricorn POLYNESIA
TONGA TONGA
COOK COOK
NIUE ISLANDS NIUE ISLANDS
Literacy (% of population 15 years
and over that are literate) Food availability
Over 90 Plenty to eat
75 to 90
Enough food for healthy living N
60 to 75 N
Not enough to eat
45 to 60
Food shortages
30 to 45 0 2000 4000 km
0 2000 4000 km
Under 30 No data available No data available

Literacy in the Asia–Pacific Food availability in the Asia–Pacific

Arctic Circle

The darkest shade has been used to

colour the countries with the highest
GDP per capita.

PACIFIC
Gross domestic product (GDP)
BAHRAIN OCEAN per capita, 2003 (US$)
Tropic of Cancer
HONG KONG Over 20 000
MACAU
10 000 to 20 000
NORTHERN MARIANAS
GUAM 5000 to 10 000
The lightest shade has been MARSHALL ISLANDS 1000 to 5000
used to colour the countries
with the lowest GDP per capita. PALAU Under 1000
BRUNEI FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA
World average: $8200
Equator SINGAPORE KIRIBATI
NAURU

INDIAN EAST TIMOR

SOLOMON TUVALU
OCEAN ISLANDS SAMOA AMERICAN
Shades between the lightest and darkest SAMOA
WALLIS AND FUTUNA
have been used to colour categories
between the two extremes. VANUATU FIJI NIUE
NEW FRENCH
CALEDONIA TONGA
Tropic of Capricorn COOK POLYNESIA
ISLANDS

0 2000 4000 km

Gross domestic product

per capita for the Asia–Pacific

173
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
7.9
AUSTRALIA’S LINKS IN
THE ASIA–PACIFIC
Although Australia’s main political, cultural and increasing economic growth in the region. Aus-
trade links used to be with the United Kingdom tralian trade interests in the Pacific include fish-
(UK), this has changed over time. For many eries, agriculture, timber and minerals.
decades now, Australia has been aligning itself Australia’s trade in 2003
with its closer Asian and Pacific neighbours.
% of total Australian
Who Australia traded with trade
MIGRATION North Asia 40%
European Union 14%
Australia’s population growth has always relied South-East Asia 11%
on migration. Migrants from over 150 countries United States 9%
have come to Australia since it was settled. In New Zealand 8%
1901, 22.7 per cent of Australia’s population was Middle East 5%
born overseas; in 2003–04 it was 24 per cent. The India 3%
figures are similar, but the make-up of the popu- Other 10%
lation has changed.

TRADE
Some of the Asian economies have grown very
rapidly in the last two or three decades and now
nearly 60 per cent of Australia’s trade occurs
with Asia. Australia is a part of APEC (Asia–
Pacific Economic Cooperation), a group aimed at
TOURISM
Tourism is an important component of Australia’s
economy and many of our visitors are from Asia
and the Pacific. Asia and the Pacific have also been
very attractive tourist destinations for Austral-
ians. Some people travel for business reasons,
others will visit family or have a holiday.

SKILLS essentials
1. When did Australia’s peak immigration take place?
Interpreting a composite line graph 2. How has migration from UK and Ireland and from
Often a geographer will need to compare the com- Asia changed over time?
ponent parts that make up a quantity. A composite 3. Predict what you think will happen in the future.
line graph can do this by drawing a number of line Discuss this with another person and justify your
graphs on the same graph. This is demonstrated in the choices.
graph at right, which
shows settler arrivals by Settler arrivals by region of last residence, Australia, 1947–2000
region of last residence. 300 000
The graph shows arrivals
Asia Americas
from seven different 250 000 Middle East Africa
regions of the world for NZ and Pacific UK and Ireland
the period of 1947 to 200 000 Europe (excluding
2000 and the changes UK and Ireland)
Settlers

that took place over that

150 000
period.
Answer the following
questions to help you to 100 000

interpret the graph.

50 000

0
1950 174
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Year
HUMANITIES 1
Visitors to Australia from Asia and the Pacific,
2003–2004

Origin of visitors Number (’000s) Understand

New Zealand 926.1 1. Draw a pie graph (see page 153) to show where
Other Pacific 1047.0 Australia’s export trade goes. Why is trade
Indonesia 91.5 important to Australia?
Malaysia 175.3 2. What can the Pacific Island nations export to
Philippines 30.4 Australia?
Singapore 252.6 3. How does Australia’s population mix contribute
Thailand 78.8 to its cultural diversity?
China 216.9
Think
Japan 687.5
Korea 215.8 4. Draw two graphs to show the tourists visiting
Taiwan 103.9 Australia from the Asia–Pacific and Australians
visiting the Asia–Pacific. (Think carefully about
Total visitors to Australia 5057.2 the type of graph you will draw.)
(a) Name the country in the Pacific and the
country in Asia that most visitors came from
to visit Australia in 2003–2004.
(b) Name the country in the Pacific and the
country in Asia that most Australians visited
in 2002.
(c) Calculate visitors from the Asia–Pacific as a
percentage of the total visitors to Australia.
(d) Calculate Australian tourists to the Asia–
Pacific as a percentage of total overseas
tourist destinations.
(e) Write a summary paragraph describing the
importance of the Asia–Pacific region to
Australian tourism.
Dig deeper
5. Conduct a survey about the links your class has
to the Asia–Pacific. You will need to have a group
discussion and decide on the areas you would
like to investigate. Some things to consider are:
Asian tourists in Australia • languages spoken at home or studied at
school
Australians visiting the Asia–Pacific, 2002
• food eaten
Destination Number (’000s) • countries visited
• family migration.
Fiji 128.3
Plan how you will collect the information and how
New Zealand 597.3
it will be analysed and presented. Some methods
Other Oceania 140.4
to consider are graphs, maps, tables or
Indonesia 241.7
photographs. Decide on the method before you
Malaysia 109.5
collect your information. Divide tasks among
Philippines 60.3
students in the class — it will probably be more
Singapore 149.2
efficient to have small groups working on
Thailand 168.9
different tasks. Some people should be
China 136.9
responsible for the final display. Conduct a
Hong Kong 140.5
discussion about how your class has links in the
Other Asia 323.9
Asia–Pacific region.
Total Australian visitors 3461.0
Worksheets
overseas
7.5 Australia’s foreign aid and the Asia–Pacific

175
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC
Check & Challenge

T HE AS IA–PAC I FIC REGI O N 3. Study the climate map for Asia and the Pacific
(see page 164). Use an atlas to find the names of
1. What is a region? Outline the common elements three towns or cities in Asia, Australia and the
of the Asia–Pacific region. Pacific that experience climates that are:
2. Use an atlas to calculate the closest distance (see • tropical wet
page 146) between Australia and Asia, and • hot desert
Australia and the Pacific land masses. Name the • mild wet
closest points and the body of water that • subtropical dry.
separates each. 4. Study the landform and population maps on
3. List the island nations in this region. pages 161 and 166. Describe the relationship
between population density and landform.
Write a paragraph to account for the pattern you
N A TU RA L AND HUM AN have described.
F E AT URES OF T HE 5. Refer to the maps on pages 164 and 166. Work
with another student to explain how landform
A S IA – PACIF IC and climate might account for some of the
population patterns observed in the Asia–
1. Use the following diagram to explain in your Pacific. What other reasons might help to
own words how the Himalayas were formed. explain the patterns?
6. Choose one of the 12 most populated Asian
How the Himalayas were formed cities and use the Internet and library to
Eurasian Plate research information on its population and its
Continental crust major natural, built and cultural features. Create
India a poster to display your information and include
images, tables and maps.
Indo-Australian
Plate Ocean trench
7. Go to www.jaconline.com.au/essentials/
humanities1, click on the Asia–Pacific Map
weblink for this chapter and download a blank
Oceanic outline map of the Asia–Pacific. Use different
crust coloured pencils to map the main religious
65 million
years ago
groups for different countries from the table.
Don’t forget BOLTSS (see page 136).
8. Go to www.jaconline.com.au/essentials/
Oceanic humanities1 and click on the Languages weblink
sediments
for this chapter to further explore Asia–Pacific
languages. Choose one country from Asia and
one from the Pacific and record the different
45 million languages that exist in each.
years ago
9. Study the maps on the right of Australia’s
Indigenous peoples. How has the distribution
and density of this group changed over time?
10. Summarise the reasons why indigenous groups
in the Asia–Pacific have become minority groups.
How can indigenous groups be protected?
11. Outline the cultural diversity of the people of
one country in Asia and one in the Pacific. How
The present are these cultures similar and different to
Australia’s culture?
12. Prepare and conduct a debate: ‘Australia’s
2. Use an atlas to name a mountain range in multiculturalism makes it more able to accept
Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and and celebrate cultural differences among its
New Zealand. Give exact locations for each. people’.

176
HUMANITIES 1
 DE
MA EA

ICT

SY
www.jaconline.com.au/ict-me
Internet search

North-east AU S T RAL I A’S L I N KS WI T H

Wagait Arnhem Land
Fitzmaurice West
East
Cape York
TH E A S I A–PAC I FI C
Cape York
1. Study the bar graphs below very carefully.
Kimberley
Rainforest
Gulf Exports
4000
1996–97
3500
2001–02
North-east 3000
Coast
2500

$ million
Indian Lake Eyre
Ocean Western Desert
2000
1500
1000
Riverina
500
0

Philippines
Malaysia

Singapore

Thailand
South Australian

China

Vietnam
Korea
South
Japan
South-west Gulf
Coast Square kilometres per person South-east
1 to 10 Coast
Country
10 to 20

20 to 40 Tasmania 4000 Imports

1996–97
40 to 50 N 3500
2001–02
Cultural areas 3000
Boundary
0 250 500 km 2500
$ million

Gulf Name
2000
Population distribution of Indigenous Australians in 1788 1500

Torres Strait Islands

1000
Maningrida Bamaga
Nguiu
Weipa 500
Darwin Gapuwiyak Lockhart
Angurugu Aurukun 0

Philippines
Malaysia

Singapore

Thailand
China

Vietnam
Korea
South
Japan

Wadeye
Katherine Kowanyama
Wyndham
Northern
Daguragu Cairns Yarrabah
Derby Doomadgee
Lajamanu
Broome Halls Creek Territory Palm Island Country
Tennant Creek Townsville

Port Hedland Mount Isa Australia’s exports and imports to selected Asian countries
Roebourne Yuendumu
Papunya Queensland Rockhampton
pricorn Alice Springs (a) Which Asian country did Australia export
Tropic of Ca Hermannsburg Woorabinda
Western Australia
most services to during 2001–02?
Carnarvon Pukatja
Warburton Cherbourg (b) Which Asian country did Australia import
South Brisbane most services from during 2001–02?
Australia Brewarrina Moree (c) Which Asian country recorded the largest
Kalgoorlie- Armidale
Geraldton
Boulder Yalata
Port
Broken Hill New South
Wilcannia increase in exports to it from Australia
Augusta
Wales
Dubbo
between 1996–97 and 2001–02? Suggest
Perth
Number of Aborigines Adelaide Sydney possible reasons for this trend.
Canberra
Over 5000
Victoria A.C.T. (d) Explain how these graphs show the
1000 to 5000 Melbourne importance of Australia’s trade links with
N 250 of
Number to 1000
Aborigines
Asia.
50 to 2505000
Over
2. Outline how Australia’s aid program creates
1000 to 5000
0 400 800 km
250 to 1000
Tasmania close links with people from the Asia–Pacific.
Hobart
50 to 250 3. Conduct some research about one specific
0 400 800 km
Australian aid project in Asia and one in the
Pacific. Describe the aims of each project and
Population distribution of Indigenous Australians today how these will be achieved.

177
CHAPTER 7: PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE ASIA–PACIFIC