Omission of Tasmania from maps of Australia Omission of Tasmania from maps of Australia The Australian state of Tasmania is occasionally omitted from maps of Australia. Such omissions often provoke outrage from Tasmanians. During the 1982 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, performers created a map of Australia that omitted Tasmania. Tasmanian poet Andrew Sant wrote "Off the Map" in response: <poem> Identity deleted, Close to the Continent Who wouldn't make a fuss? There have been wars for less... </poem> The Australian swim team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games were issued training swimsuits with a stylised design featuring maps of Australia, along with kangaroos and emus. The animals obscured
New Guinea is about the same amount as that found in the United States or Australia. A high percentage of New Guinea's species are endemic, and thousands are still unknown to science: probably well over 200,000 species of insect, between 11,000 and 20,000 plant species, and over 650 resident bird species. Most of these species are shared, at least in their origin, with the continent of Australia, which was until fairly recent geological times part of the same landmass (see Australia-New Guinea for an overview). The island is so large that it is considered 'nearly a continent' in terms of its biological