ErebusFact library / Countries
12 countries in Oceania, each with a picture to fix its place, shape or name in your memory.
Australia's capital is Canberra, a planned city built between rivals Sydney and Melbourne.
Picture it
Sydney and Melbourne argue for years over which should be the capital. Finally someone builds a brand-new city halfway between them and says, "CAN BURRA please stop arguing?" (CANBERRA).
Memory hooks
New Zealand consists of two main islands southeast of Australia, and its capital, Wellington, is the world's southernmost national capital.
Picture it
Two big islands float southeast of Australia. At the southern tip of the North Island, a farmer pulls on his WELLINGTON boots, standing in the southernmost capital city on Earth.
Memory hooks
Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, has more than 800 languages, and its capital is Port Moresby.
Picture it
A huge bird-shaped island north of Australia is split down the middle; the eastern half is a country where a crowd chatters in more than 800 languages. A sailor in PORT asks for MORE SBY: PORT MORESBY.
Memory hooks
The Solomon Islands is a Pacific archipelago east of Papua New Guinea, with its capital at Honiara on Guadalcanal.
Picture it
East of New Guinea, a double row of islands lies in the Pacific. Wise KING SOLOMON sits on one of them, eating HONEY from a jar: HONIARA.
Memory hooks
Vanuatu, a Y-shaped chain of islands in the South Pacific, is home to land diving, the forerunner of bungee jumping; its capital is Port Vila.
Picture it
On a Pacific island, men climb a tall wooden tower, tie vines to their ankles and dive: land diving, the ancestor of bungee jumping. A VAN drives up ("VAN-oo-AH-too") to the PORT where a VILLA stands: PORT VILA.
Memory hooks
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Fiji is a South Pacific nation of more than 300 islands on the 180° meridian, with its capital at Suva.
Picture it
More than 300 islands sit in the South Pacific right where the 180° line runs. A FIZZY drink ("FEE-jee") is opened on the beach and sprays all over a SUAVE man: SUVA.
Memory hooks
The Federated States of Micronesia is a Pacific nation of about 600 islands in four states, with its capital at Palikir on Pohnpei.
Picture it
Across the western Pacific, hundreds of MICRO islands (the word means small) are split into four states. On Pohnpei, a pelican with a key is the only one who can lock the capital: "PAL-IKEER" in Palikir.
Memory hooks
The Marshall Islands is a Pacific nation of coral atolls, including Bikini Atoll, site of US nuclear tests, with its capital at Majuro.
Picture it
Out in the central Pacific, a sheriff, the MARSHAL, patrols a ring of coral atolls. One of them, Bikini Atoll, was used for US nuclear tests. He rides back to the capital on a MAJOR wave: Majuro.
Memory hooks
Tonga is the only Pacific island kingdom never colonised, and its capital is Nuku'alofa on Tongatapu.
Picture it
In the South Pacific, a king pokes out his TONGUE at every ship that tries to take over: no one ever colonised his kingdom. Then he waves to his guests from the capital: "NOO-koo-ah-LOH-fah!" in Nuku'alofa.
Memory hooks
Say it: Nuku'alofa (noo·koo·ah·LOH·fah)
Samoa skipped 30 December 2011 when it moved to the other side of the International Date Line, and its capital is Apia.
Picture it
In the South Pacific, a calendar flips from 29 to 31 December 2011: the country skipped a whole day by jumping across the International Date Line. A happy APE in a lei swings into the capital: Apia.
Memory hooks
Nauru, at about 21 km² the world's smallest island nation, grew rich mining phosphate, and it has no official capital.
Picture it
A tiny round island in the Pacific, smaller than many airports, digs up its own ground: old bird droppings turned into phosphate. It gets rich selling it as fertiliser, until there's hardly any island left to dig. "NOW? ROO!" says a kangaroo visiting from Australia.
Memory hooks
Kiribati, pronounced "KIRR-ee-bas", is the only country in all four hemispheres, and its capital is Tarawa.
Picture it
In the middle of the Pacific, a scatter of atolls straddles the equator and the date line, so it's in all four hemispheres at once. It's spelled Kiribati but said "KIRR-ee-bas", and its capital is a TAR pit with a ROW of boats: Tarawa.
Memory hooks
Say it: Kiribati (KIRR·ee·bas)