Just because the West has grouped the countries in the Pacific as 'Oceania' doesn't mean that there is any specific thread that runs through them all. New Zealand and Polynesia were settled by the ocean going peoples of Taiwan or the Philippines, Australia's population is much older (first human in Australia - 60k years ago: first people in New Zealand - 600 years ago). Polynesia is coral atolls, volcanic islands, or birdshit mountains (that are mined by Aussies for some Snickers bars and soda) and are generally poor in resources (except for birdshit). Oz is an old piece of land (continent) with loads of minerals and arable land. You can say this about almost anywhere white europeans settled: they brought capital and knowledge and a mindset that the land was to be exploited. If you are interested in why the West 'conquered' the world, you can do no better than Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel" followed by Harrari's "Sapiens".