Geography of New Caledonia Ni-Vanuatu (1.2%), and various other groups (3.9%), Tamils, other South Asians, Berbers, Japanese, Chinese, Fijians, Arabs, West Indian (mostly from other French territories) and a small number of ethnic Africans. "Other microcontinental islands:" Geography of New Caledonia The geography of New Caledonia ("Nouvelle-Calédonie"), an overseas collectivity of France located in the subregion of Melanesia, makes the continental island group unique in the southwest Pacific. Among other things, the island chain has played a role in preserving unique biological lineages from the Mesozoic. It served as a waystation in the expansion of the predecessors of the Polynesians, the Lapita culture. Under
Swimming at the 1999 South Pacific Games Swimming at the 1999 South Pacific Games Swimming at the 1999 South Pacific Games took place in Agana, the capital of Guam, at the Southern High School Pool between 30 May and 5 June 1999. It was the eleventh edition of the South Pacific Games. Men's and women's open water events of 5 kilometres were introduced in 1999, with swimmers from American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, New Caledonia, Northern Marianas, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tahiti competing. New Caledonia dominated the men's events, winning 14 of the 17 races. Olivier Saminadin collected a personal tally of 13 gold medals