Monarchies in Oceania

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

There are six monarchies in

Tonga. Australia and New Zealand have dependencies
within the region and outside it, although five non-sovereign constituent monarchs are recognized by New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and France.

Current monarchies

State Type Succession Dynasty Title Monarch
Reigning since
First in line
Commonwealth of Australia
Constitutional Hereditary (absolute primogeniture) Windsor King Charles III 8 September 2022 William, Prince of Wales
Realm of New Zealand
Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Tuvalu
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
Kingdom of Tonga
male-preference cognatic primogeniture
)
Tupou
King
Tupou VI 18 March 2012 Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala
Traditional monarchies
State Type Succession Monarch Title
Reigning since
First in line
Māori King Movement
(New Zealand)
Traditional Elective Tūheitia Paki 21 August 2006 Elected by tribal elders on monarch's death
Wallis and Futuna
(France)
Uvea Patalione Kanimoa 3 June 2016 Elected by the Council of Chiefs
Alo Lino Leleivai 29 November 2018
Sigave Eufenio Takala 5 March 2016

Australia

The

Australian Aborigines formed hundreds of different social groupings. Eventually the British government granted Australians more and more powers to govern themselves. On 9 July 1900, in one of her last acts before she died on 22 January 1901, Queen Victoria gave the royal assent to the Commonwealth of Australia Act[2]
which would give Australia its own federal
Australia Act (in the United Kingdom and Australia) gave full independence
to Australia in theory, although in practice it was already operating mostly independently.

In 1999 Australia held a referendum on whether to become a republic or not; the referendum resulted in the retention of the Australian monarchy. The majority of all voters and all states rejected the proposal.

The realm of Australia comprises

.

New Zealand

British Crown; roughly 500 other Māori chiefs throughout New Zealand later signed.[3] Following the Treaty, the islands of New Zealand became a British Crown colony and Queen Victoria became the monarch over New Zealand.[4]

The New Zealand monarchy has evolved to become a distinctly New Zealand institution, represented by unique symbols. The King of New Zealand is legally considered a distinct monarch from the monarch of the United Kingdom. This has been the case since the passage of the Statute of Westminster, which introduced the concept that though Britain and the

opening of Parliament, and had performed other acts normally delegated to the governor-general.[7] The role of the monarchy in New Zealand is a recurring topic of public discussion.[8]

The Realm of New Zealand is the entire area over which the King of New Zealand is sovereign, and comprises two associated states, Niue and the Cook Islands, and the territories of Tokelau[9] and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).[10]

The

Tainui
iwi.

Papua New Guinea

The

government in which a hereditary monarch is the head of state. The present monarch of Papua New Guinea is King Charles III. The monarch is constitutionally represented by the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea, whose roles and powers are laid out by the Constitution
of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

After being ruled by three external powers since 1884, Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia in 1975. It chose to become a kingdom with its own monarch.

Solomon Islands

The Head of State of the Solomon Islands is King Charles III. The Solomon Islands share the Sovereign with a number of

Governor-General
of the Solomon Islands. Royal succession is governed by the English Act of Settlement of 1701, which is part of constitutional law.

On all matters of the Solomon Island State, the Monarch is advised solely by Solomon Island ministers, not British or otherwise.

Tonga

The House of Tupou was formed in 1875 when the monarch's constitutional role was put forth.

In July 2008, three days before his coronation, King George Tupou V announced that he would relinquish most of his power and be guided by his Prime Minister's recommendations on most matters.[15]

The current monarch is Tupou VI.

Tuvalu

The first inhabitants of

The Commonwealth
in 1978.

A constitutional referendum held on 30 April 2008 turned out 1,260 to 679 votes in favour of retaining the monarchy.

The islands that make up Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna

civil law.[16]

Former monarchies

Note: the dates of abolition are from the moment the kingdoms lost their sovereignty; sometimes the kingship were still retained under colonial rule

[17]

See also

Notes

  1. Waikato-Tainui iwi is to use doubled vowels rather than tohutō (macrons) to indicate long vowels.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ "The Commonwealth". royal.uk. The Royal Family. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. ^ Willis, Ray (1982). Issues in Australian History. Pearson Education Australia. p. 160. .
  3. ^ "Treaty of Waitangi - Creating the Treaty of Waitangi". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Treaty of Waitangi - Interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  5. Elizabeth II (13 December 1986), Constitution Act, 1986
    , 2.1, Wellington: Queen's Printer for New Zealand, retrieved 30 December 2009
  6. ^ New Zealand's Governor General (PDF), Government of New Zealand, 2011, p. 7, retrieved 30 October 2018
  7. ^ "Queen Elizabeth II opens Parliament". nzhistory.govt.nz. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Changing attitudes to monarchy". NZ History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Pacific Islands and New Zealand - Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and Nauru". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Antarctica and New Zealand - The Ross Dependency". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Te Wiki o Te Reo Maaori Discovery Trail". Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Governance". Waikato-Tainui. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  13. .
  14. ^ Foster, Bernard (1966). "Māori King – Election and Coronation". In McLintock, A.H. (ed.). An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  15. ^ "Tonga's king to cede key powers", BBC, July 29, 2008
  16. ^ a b The World Factbook
  17. ^ Ben Cahoon (2000). "French Polynesia". WorldStatesman.org. Retrieved 2012-02-25.