บท 8: Chapter Eight: I'm Here, Australia!
On April 2, 1900, the fleet set sail again after a brief three-day respite. This time, their destination was Arthur's final stop, Australia.
Speaking of Australia, up until the present moment, Australia is merely a regional term. The actual Australia is composed of six colonies: West Australia, South Australia, Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania.
Despite the Australian continent, where these six colonies are located, being a region of intact and identical culture.
Due to Britain's various colonial issues in history as well as colonial strategies, the integral Australia got divided into these six colonies, each of which governs independently, without interference from the others.
From the modern era, the colonies of Australia have faced some shared issues, including tariffs, transport, postal service, defense, and restricting Asian immigrants, which made these six colonies consider convening colonial meetings to negotiate a unified standard.
In November 1880, the Melbourne Colonial Convention agreed to establish a Federal Committee, and the most populous and developed New South Wales Colony undertook the development of Federal Committee Bills. This was a sign of the unity and federation of Australia.
The Federal Committee was established in 1883, and the colonies began asking the British Government for support of the Federal Committee's bill a year later.
In 1891, the first party of Australia, the Labour Party, was established. The growth of union movement broke the long-standing boundaries among the colonies, and the demand for free trade and unity among the colonies grew increasingly louder.
In 1893, the Federal Committee held a Federation League Conference in Crowa, calling on and suggesting all colonies start implementing measures to prepare for establishing a Federation.
Even in 1898, the Australian Federal Committee already began preparations for a citizen vote on establishing a Federation. However, due to the lack of consistent order among the colonies, the progress of the vote was not substantial.
Not until recently when Queen Victoria announced to make Australia Arthur's new territory, and decided to unify these six colonies into a complete Australian Principality, did the call for unity among the colonies begin to weaken, and the anticipation for the new Australian Principality emerged.
On April 27, after about half a month's voyage, the fleet arrived in the capital of New South Wales, Sydney.
New South Wales is England's earliest colony in Australia, and currently the most populated and economically advanced one.
In the course of Australia federation, New South Wales also holds the most power to speak, bearing the responsibility to draft Federal Committee Bills.
Based on the situation in Australia, as long as one controls New South Wales, one effectively controls the situation in Australia.
At this time, Sydney Harbour was already filled with crowds of onlookers. At the front of the crowd were the Prime Ministers and officials from each of the colonies, standing densely together, making it extremely lively.
Off to the side of the welcoming crowd, a group of soldiers excitedly stood on tiptoe. They belonged to the army of each colony, directly at the command of the Ministry of Defense and Queen Victoria.
After the fleet slowly approached the shore, the welcoming crowd burst into strong cheers instantly. Following the bounding ceremonial music, Arthur, holding Queen Victoria, stepped onto the land of Australia.
"Long live Her Majesty the Queen! Long live His Highness, the Duke!" The surrounding crowd consciously broke into cheers, enthusiastically welcoming the arrival of the two rulers.
Unlike in the Suez Canal and India, Queen Victoria didn't step forward, but hinted at Arthur with her eyes.
Arthur instantly understood, gently stepped forward, looked up at the excited crowds, and finally stood in front of the six Prime Ministers.
"Your Highness, welcome home!" The six Prime Ministers said in unison.
Arthur was taken aback, then had a sudden realization. Australia was now his only territory, and his home would be in Australia from then onward.
Unless something special happens, he would basically not be returning to the United Kingdom.
"You must be the Prime Ministers of each colony, right? How is Australia doing recently?" Arthur asked with a smile.
"Yes, Your Highness. Please allow me to introduce the Prime Ministers from each colony to you." A man leading the bunch replied with a laugh, adding a slight flattery.
"Hmm." Arthur signaled him to proceed.
"Your Highness, I am Evan H. Parks, the Prime Minister of New South Wales." The man continued: "These are Walter Black, Victoria's prime minister, Andrew Kim Potter, Queensland's prime minister, Richard Noble Chapman, Tasmania's prime minister, Pierre Silvio Berlusconi, West Australia's prime minister, and Thomas Chekhov, South Australia's prime minister. The moment they knew of your arrival, they rushed her from their regions to welcome you and Her Majesty the Queen at the earliest."
"Hmm, did you guys bring these people here as well?" Arthur curiously looked at the excited crowd and asked.
"That's not the case, Your Highness. You may not know that the six separate colonies of Australia no longer accommodate the present situation. The differing systems from the colonies made trade and communication incredibly difficult, causing significant inconvenience to both the colonies and the citizens. People have long anticipated the federation of Australia. Now, thanks to you, Australia has the opportunity to unify. We thank you, Your Highness!" Prime Minister Evan H. Parks bowed slightly to Arthur again while narrating, visible gratitude guiding his action.
"It's nothing, Prime Minister Evan. From now on, I am also a part of Australia. Isn't maintaining the unity of Australia something all Australians should do?" Arthur laughed and helped Prime Minister Evan up.
"Alright, Prime Minister Evan, please lead us to rest. A long journey at sea is exhausting enough. By the way, let these people get back to their lives so they won't delay their work and life because of welcoming me." Arthur said with a smile.
"Yes, Your Highness, please follow me. I've already allocated the top floor of the Administrative Building for you. Though the conditions aren't the best, we'll have to reluctantly accommodate you and Queen there for a bit." Prime Minister Evan explained, hinting a slight apology as he led the way to Arthur and Queen Victoria.
Before the Australian Federation was established, Australia's economy mainly relied on selling mining products and agricultural and fishing products, which improved from having to import food from Britain during the early colonial times. But it barely made ends meet.
Moreover, different colonies were isolated, which rendered the overall Australian economy underdeveloped, with a backward industry. Finance of all colonies was in a severe shortage.
Even though the wealthiest New South Wales was better off, it was a wild dream to wish to build a palace that suits Arthur and Queen Victoria.
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