The history of the Jews in Oceania starts with early explorers, sealers and whalers. Jewish and other settlers arrived in Oceania

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

 from the eighteenth century. They settled in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, and then on the smaller islands of Oceania

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

.

New Zealand

History of the Jews in New Zealand

The history of the Jews in New Zealand has its origins in Jewish traders which arrived during the 1830s. Before New Zealand became a British Colony in 1840, the Jewish population consisted of fewer than 30 people, including noted early settler Joel Samuel Polack...

The history of the Jews in New Zealand began when Jewish traders arrived there during the 1830s. Before New Zealand became a British Colony in 1840, the Jewish population consisted of fewer than 30 people, including noted early settler Joel Samuel Polack

Joel Samuel Polack

Joel Samuel Polack was one of the first Jewish settlers in New Zealand, arriving in 1831. He is regarded as an authority on pre-colonial New Zealand and his two books are often cited.-Early life:...

. Immigration has led to four main groups: older families who came from the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century, lineage of European refugees from the 1930s and 1940s, families who emigrated from Britain in the 1950s, and recent immigrants from South Africa, Israel and the former Soviet Union. Prominent New Zealand Jews include nineteenth century Premier Sir Julius Vogel

Julius Vogel

Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...

 and at least five Auckland mayors, including Dove-Myer Robinson

Dove-Myer Robinson

Sir Dove-Myer Robinson was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office....

.

Currently, the Jewish population, estimated at around 7,000 out of the total New Zealand population of 4.2 million. The majority of New Zealand Jews reside in Auckland and Wellington.

See also

• Australia
  History of the Jews in Australia
  The history of the Jews in Australia dates back to 1788, when a number of Jews were among the convicts brought to the country aboard the First Fleet to establish the first European settlement on the continent, on the site of present-day Sydney. Today, an estimated 120,000 Jews live in Australia...
  
  
• Fiji
  History of the Jews in Fiji
  The history of the Jews in Fiji is intertwined with the settlement of the Fiji islands by European explorers and settlers.Henry Mark, at the age of 20, was the first Jew to settle in Fiji in 1881. Mark was originally a native of Australia and instituted an extensive commercial enterprise throughout...
  
  
• New Zealand
  History of the Jews in New Zealand
  The history of the Jews in New Zealand has its origins in Jewish traders which arrived during the 1830s. Before New Zealand became a British Colony in 1840, the Jewish population consisted of fewer than 30 people, including noted early settler Joel Samuel Polack...
  
  
• Tonga

And in Southeast Asia:

• Indonesia
• Malaysia
  History of the Jews in Malaysia
  Malaysian Jews is a term used to refer to Jews living in Malaysia, or those originally from the country. A good number used to live openly in the state of Penang until towards the end of the 1970s. They were also found elsewhere in the nation, especially in Negri Sembilan and Malacca...
  
  
• The Philippines
• Singapore
  History of the Jews in Singapore
  The first Jews to settle in Singapore were of Bagdadi origin, mainly from India, who migrated to Singapore soon after Sir Stamford Raffles established Singapore as a trading post in 1819....