The Rise Of Australasia

On May 25th, 1930, the Governor’s Mansion of the City of Sydney and the City Council jointly issued a public announcement to construct a skyscraper on Victoria Street in Sydney, which would exceed 381 meters in height, and they decided to name it the Kingdom Building.

The total cost of the building was estimated at 45 million Australian dollars, with the Kingdom Government, the royal family, and the Territory of Sydney each contributing 15 million Australian dollars.

Merely the news that had just been released quickly attracted a great deal of attention from both the citizens of Sydney and people from outside the city.

Although Sydney, as a major city, had many tall buildings, a skyscraper standing 381 meters tall was unprecedented.

A fiscal budget of 45 million Australian dollars was an extravagant sum, enough to construct nearly five battleships.

However, upon further thought, such a building would be enormously beneficial for boosting the renown and commerce of Sydney. Once the building was completed, it would become one of the landmarks of the city, potentially bringing returns far exceeding the investment.

Since all three parties contributing funds were official, the public had a great deal of faith in the quality and safety of the construction.

Some people were even discussing setting a date to visit the top of the building to view the cityscape of Sydney once it was constructed.

The situation was not much different from what Arthur had anticipated. Following the announcement of the Kingdom Building project in Sydney, the Melbourne government hastily submitted their own skyscraper construction plans to Victoria State Government, which were then reported to Arthur.

Looking at Melbourne’s government proposal that was by no means inferior to the Kingdom Building, Arthur rubbed his furrowed brow, feeling somewhat troubled as he turned to face Max Burkehold, the Governor of Victoria State, and asked with annoyance, "I’m not opposed to Melbourne challenging Sydney, but the problem is, Melbourne must find its own path of development instead of blindly copying Sydney’s development and construction.

The Kingdom Building isn’t receiving attention from the government simply because it’s a 381-meter-tall building.

The real reason is its significance as a landmark for Sydney, a true iconic structure, akin to an external business card for the city.

If Melbourne were to construct a similarly sized building, wouldn’t that diminish the uniqueness of the landmark?

I hope Melbourne can build its own urban landmark, not merely imitate the scale and design of the Kingdom Building for the sake of catching up."

To Arthur, both Sydney and Melbourne were important. Naturally, he would be pleased to see comprehensive development in both cities.

The government’s current focus on Australian urban development was based on a triangular area between Sydney, Melbourne, and Saint Arthur Castle.

As Melbourne was once the largest city in the Australian Region, although it now lags slightly behind Sydney, its development pace is quite rapid as well.

According to the government’s estimate, by 1932, the population of Melbourne was expected to surpass 3 million people, becoming the second city in Australasia to reach that number.

And that wasn’t all. Thanks to the influence of Sydney and Melbourne on surrounding cities, a number of cities, large and small, had emerged around them, bolstering these two most dazzling jewels.

To use future terminology, the Sydney metropolitan area, Melbourne metropolitan area, and Saint Arthur Castle metropolitan area, collectively represented the development status of the entire eastern part of Australasia.

These three cities formed a triangular distribution. Within this area lay the most prosperous region of all of Australasia, home to nearly one-third of the entire population.

To be frank, the population of Australasia was limiting the development of these cities.

Without considering anything else, if the population were to double, Arthur was confident of confronting any country and firmly securing the throne as the world’s superpower.

Without exaggeration, after complete integration, Australasia could proudly be called a nation blessed by God.

The coal and iron mines necessary for industrial development were countless, and there were abundant reserves of the most important energy resources for the next century—petroleum and natural gas.

Furthermore, in terms of total land area, available cultivated land area, and a variety of resources, the rankings were among the highest in the world—it was truly not an exaggeration to say they were blessed by God.

This was why Arthur was fairly confident about the development of all States. Even if the Governors of States were mediocre, relying on the vast land and plentiful mineral resources, maintaining stable economic growth was not a problem at all.

But on the back of Australasia’s overall societal development, the performance of any State, no matter how poor, could not truly be that bad.

Having instructed the Governor of Victoria State to draft a feasible and realistic construction proposal, Arthur signaled for the Governor to leave.

Arthur was not particularly interested in Melbourne’s formulaic proposal for constructing a skyscraper, and there was absolutely no need to build similarly scaled buildings in two different cities.

A skyscraper like the Kingdom Building was a marvel as the first of its kind, but the second one would just be a slightly taller building.

If Melbourne wanted to catch up to Sydney in this regard, it had to have something unique of its own.

If they couldn’t even grasp this concept, then Arthur would need to consider when to replace the officials of the Melbourne City Council.

To Arthur, the mayors of both Sydney and Melbourne were quite important.

Although Saint Arthur Castle had become the capital city, the economic and cultural centers and the major seaports were still Sydney and Melbourne.

Moreover, due to Sydney’s extensive industry, the significance of these two cities remained high at all times.

After concluding this brief meeting, Arthur decided to visit the construction site of Lake Eyre Canal to inspect its progress.

Secondly, he wanted to experience the high-speed highways that Australasia was currently building.

Even though it was a rudimentary version compared to future generations, it was still a significant breakthrough in transportation for Australasia at that time.

The journey from Saint Arthur Castle to the canal construction site was about 600 kilometers; according to the highway speed limit, it would take approximately seven hours to arrive.

Although it was somewhat time-consuming, it was also an opportunity to personally experience the current state of the highways,

and to feel the differences between them and the highways of the future.

Arthur’s travels were accompanied by a large number of royal guards, so safety was not a concern. Even while driving on the highways, dozens of cars followed at both front and rear, with hundreds of royal guards in tow.

In addition to this, reconnaissance aircraft patrolled the entire highway, ready to spot any issues on the road and ensure the convoy’s safety.

With such impenetrable protection, Arthur’s safety was fully guaranteed, and there was no need to worry about any problems.

After changing drivers twice and driving for over seven hours, Arthur finally reached the construction site of Lake Eyre Canal.

Overall, the drive on the highway was quite smooth, and no issues were encountered.

Especially on the main artery between Saint Arthur Castle and Adelaide, these major cities’ connections were mostly dual three-lane roads, making for a very spacious ride.

On either side of the three lanes, emergency lanes had been established to ensure that in cases of traffic jams, accidents, and various special circumstances, the highway could still function effectively and quickly.

In designing the emergency lanes, Arthur had expressly requested maintaining order on these lanes, ensuring they were reserved for emergency use, available whenever needed.

Since there were no cameras at the time, Arthur didn’t have to remind anyone about fines related to the emergency lanes anymore.

Also, due to the emergency lanes on both sides, the entire highway appeared exceptionally broad.

Strictly speaking, the entire highway actually comprised ten lanes, looking very vast and majestic.

This was possible due to the abundance of land in Australasia and the relatively small population, allowing for the construction of such extensive highways.

In Europe, such spacious roads were virtually unheard of, as land there was far too valuable and needed to be conserved.

Setting out from Saint Arthur Castle in the morning, by the time Arthur neared the vicinity of Lake Eyre Canal, it was already afternoon.

After the lengthy travel, Arthur did not immediately go to check the construction of the canal but decided to rest and recuperate temporarily in Adelaide to the south of the canal, planning to visit the surrounding area the next day.

Adelaide was the capital of South Australia State, located in the southeastern region of Australia, and was a beautiful medium-sized city.

Arthur had visited Adelaide several times and had a particularly strong impression of the city.

If Sydney and Melbourne were more akin to advanced urban cities in Europe and America, then Adelaide was purely a naturally beautiful city.

Although the scale of the city had expanded quite a bit since Arthur’s last visit, the area of urban greening had not diminished at all; in fact, the proportion of greenery had increased slightly.

Standing atop a hill in the suburbs of Adelaide, one could clearly see the city’s entirety. Adelaide, known as the Natural City of Australasia, mostly consisted of two- to three-story detached villas.

Only in the western and northern parts of Adelaide, near the harbor and industrial area, did a few taller buildings exist, giving the impression of a modern urban metropolis.

But once the gaze left the industrial and port areas, Adelaide transformed back into the Natural City, enshrouded in trees and vegetation, much like a green forest.

After enjoying Adelaide’s fresh air, Arthur checked into a hotel with a pleasant mood and sampled the local cuisine.

Of course, it was still based on the same principle. After all, the entire demographic of Australasia consisted of immigrants, and it would take a long while to develop cuisines uniquely characteristic of Australasia.

Arthur’s guards were lodged near the hotel, with a small number of royal guards stationed near Arthur’s room to stand guard and patrol, ensuring that no problems arose during the night.

Within such layered protection, Arthur slept soundly, feeling no discomfort with the new room and bed.