The Rise Of Australasia

After the outbreak of war between Italy and the Abyssinian Empire, the eyes of the whole world were drawn to the conflict in East Africa.

Of course, the war in Africa was not considered as important, at least there were no intentions from the Powers to interfere or share a piece of the action.

Britain and France were busy strengthening their own influences and thus adopted a tolerant attitude towards Italy.

After all, Italy was still a Powerful Nation, and its influence in the Mediterranean was much stronger than that of the Balkan States.

The French wanted to woo Italy to stand against Britain, while the British hoped to at least secure Italy’s neutrality.

This allowed Mussolini to conduct his war with ease, as no country would obstruct him, at least not in the short term.

The chaos in India and war in East Africa actually signified the unrest of the era.

Although there were no large-scale wars, local turmoil and conflicts continued unabated. Against this backdrop, the peace in Australasia was indeed fortunate and the result of both Arthur’s and the government’s efforts.

If it wasn’t for their military strength guaranteeing Australasian peace, the people would not have enjoyed over ten years of good life from World War I to the present.

Arthur was not interested in the chaos of these two regions.

In fact, history had already made it clear that countries like Italy and Germany were never going to be content with their own territory.

Of course, Italy, as a victor of World War I, was not shackled like Germany, and therefore had the right to stir up war in Africa.

Germany was different. As a loser of World War I, Germany’s first task was to remove its own shackles before it could turn its gaze outward.

Especially with the German population spread out over numerous federal states, such shackles were obviously not easy to shed, leaving Germany quiet for a long time, yet to recover its former glory.

Arthur’s current focus was the domestic construction within Australasia, specifically the eight-year construction that was underway with great vigor.

On May 17th, 1930, a proposal for Urban City construction from the Territory of Sydney was handed to Arthur, provoking discussion between him and the Cabinet.

This proposal was the work of the current Governor of the Sydney Territory, John Joseph Hughes, detailing the Urban City planning and construction direction for the next several years, including the work of the Sydney City Council and the Governor’s Mansion in the upcoming period.

In this Urban City construction proposal, Arthur was particularly interested in the city landmark project proposed by Governor John.

The so-called landmark is, essentially, a city’s calling card to the outside world.

Currently, Sydney had many famous places, such as the Royal Palace, the Administrative Court, National Stadium, etc., which were all considered urban landmarks.

But clearly, Governor John’s ambitions did not stop there. For him, only the construction of a true urban landmark, or even a national-level urban landmark, could satisfy the demands of the super-urban city Sydney.

As for the urban landmark building, Governor John already had preliminary designs. He planned to erect a tower over 350 meters high in the bustling city center of Sydney and had specifically named it Kingdom Tower.

The specific site was 101 Victoria Street, which was originally a large hotel. After its bankruptcy due to poor management, the land had transferred to the hands of the City Council.

The size and location of the plot were indeed very suitable for constructing the urban landmark described by Governor John.

A tower over 350 meters high is undoubtedly a crazy idea.

It is known that even a hundred years later, such a height would still be a landmark of a first-class city, and fame for the city would be easy to achieve.

In the current era, a hundred years ago, completing such a building would be no exaggeration to call it a miracle created by hand.

If Arthur remembered correctly, next year in history, the United States completed the Empire State Building, one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

The Kingdom Tower proposed by Governor John was not much different in scale from the Empire State Building, which meant that such a super-tall skyscraper would truly be miraculous if built.

Arthur’s concern at the moment was the issues that might arise during the construction of the tower. After all, such a structure, towering over a hundred floors and exceeding 350 meters in height, would rely heavily on the level of architecture, and safety would need to be rigorously assured.

If anything went wrong during the process, what would have been constructed would not be a city landmark, but an international joke.

In order to discuss the feasibility of constructing the Kingdom Tower, Arthur decided to personally meet with Governor John to understand his thoughts.

May 18th, Saint Arthur Castle.

After a day’s journey, the Sydney Territory Governor John successfully arrived at Saint Arthur Castle and received an audience with Arthur.

Governor John and Arthur were not strangers to each other; in fact, John was one of the talents cultivated by Arthur, and he was even more loyal to the royal family.

"Your Majesty," Governor John bowed respectfully and greeted.

"Sit. Tell me, John, I’m quite curious about the Urban Landmarks project you mentioned," Arthur gestured for Governor John to sit down, then spoke with a smile.

"Yes, Your Majesty. As I have mentioned before, I think our key cities must have sufficiently representative buildings, which is the origin of urban landmarks.

Although Sydney has structures like the National Stadium, its fame is not yet enough. I believe that only by constructing massive buildings like the Kingdom Building, creating miracles deemed impossible by the general public, can we truly make Sydney’s name resonate worldwide, turning it into a city of wonders.

As extravagant as it may seem, the Kingdom Building’s design is not unfounded. To be frank with you, Your Majesty, it was proposed by a design company from the United States, which showed me the detailed blueprint for the Kingdom Building and promised that there would be no issues with the design, taking full responsibility for it," Governor John explained very respectfully.

"A design company from the United States?" Arthur asked, intrigued.

In fact, the Empire State Building in the United States had already been aborted. The East Coast United Kingdom would not build such eye-catching structures, and the British would not erect such landmarks in New York.

As for the U.S. capitalists who might have constructed the building, most of them had already emigrated to Europe, never to return after fleeing the war.

Even the remaining capitalists still in New York did not dare to show off their wealth without good reason.

After all, this is not the same as the United States, which was long ago partitioned by several countries. The massive financial resources in their hands are like tempting fat that other countries could devour at any time.

The influence of capitalists and consortiums, for non-American countries, was not as significant.

Hearing Arthur’s interested inquiry, Governor John thought Arthur did not believe in the American design company and quickly explained: "Your Majesty, this design company’s work is very secure, helping many cities in Europe and the United States design skyscrapers.

Moreover, the company’s leader is a British immigrant and is willing to take up our nationality, so there won’t be any issues."

After the United States split, its attraction to European immigrants was not as strong. Essentially, what made the U.S. appealing to European immigrants, besides immense wealth and size, was its distance from Europe, far from the wars.

But since the U.S. division, the second advantage has vanished. While the distance to Europe remains the same, the original territory of the U.S. has been divided among several countries, and peace amongst them is unlikely to last long.

Not only has the number of immigrants heading to the U.S. dramatically decreased, but even the native population of the U.S. has been continuously leaving.

Apart from the Great Lakes region, which still retains a large population, the wealthier East Coast is actually losing many of its people to other regions.

In the many choices of immigrants, Australasia is always an inevitable topic.

After all, with all of America’s advantages, Australasia has become the perfect substitute for the United States after its division.

Australasia does not shy away from the influx of European immigrants, with over 150,000 non-British, Russian, and German immigrants enriching Australasia’s ethnic diversity every year.

"Do you have a detailed blueprint of the Kingdom Building?" Arthur suddenly became interested, turning his gaze to Governor John and inquiring.

Upon hearing this, Governor John hurriedly took out the prepared blueprint of the building and began explaining to Arthur:

"Your Majesty, this is the Kingdom Building blueprint designed by Starett Company. The entire building is 1,250 feet high, approximately 381 meters tall.

The architectural area extends up to 1,200 feet, with the section from 1,200 feet to 1,250 feet designated as the radio tower area.

Due to the radio mast at the top of the Empire State Building, we can ensure that stable wireless communication signals are received throughout the building, facilitating exchanges within the building.

The building comprises roughly 102 floors, with the first floor being the lobby and the second floor the visitor center. The third through the eighty-first floors are office spaces, with every third floor designed as a commercial and rest area.

The 82nd floor is an open viewing deck with designated rest areas, ensuring visitors can have a panoramic view of Sydney City’s layout from this level.

The eighty-third to the hundred-first floors are designated as the Sky Hotel area. Guests staying in the Sky Hotel can easily enjoy the Sydney landscape, experiencing the feeling of overlooking the city from above.

The topmost 102nd floor is a private observation area, closed to the public, except for building staff and a select few authorized visitors."

Arthur nodded, uninterested in the internal layout of the building.

However, the Sky Hotel at the top caught Arthur’s attention. Such a hotel at the pinnacle of the building undoubtedly had a certain appeal.

Moreover, given that most tourists in this era were wealthy, the hotel project would likely be profitable if it gained fame, and surely so.