Chapter 330: Expanding the Shipyard
In the gaze of his sister Miaka, Tesla saw the anticipation and longing in her eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded and agreed to Arthur's request.
Upon hearing that Tesla had agreed to stay in Australasia, Arthur nodded with satisfaction and smiled, saying, "Mr. Tesla, welcome to the Australasia family. The Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association has many top experts like you, and I believe you will find many great topics of conversation with them."
The establishment of the Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association was aimed at providing a good research environment for the top physicists and chemists brought over from Europe and America.
As of now, the association's total membership has exceeded one hundred people, and all of them are well-known physicists and chemists in Europe and America.
These experts represent Australasia's top talent pool in the field of physical chemistry.
Their research holds significant importance for Australasia, which is why the annual research funding of the Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association exceeds 3 million Australian dollars, with nearly 30,000 Australian dollars allocated to each member's research.
30,000 Australian dollars is certainly not a small amount. According to the exchange rate, this is equivalent to 15,000 British pounds or 75,000 U.S. dollars.
At this time, when wars had not yet begun and the devaluation of currencies had not been rapid, 15,000 pounds was equivalent to two kilograms, or exactly four pounds, of gold.
Of course, there are varying levels of research funding within the association. Famous talents like Einstein and Tesla receive a higher share of research funds.
Most of these funds are provided by Arthur directly, in addition to what the Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association allocates.
Currently, the Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association has begun collaborations with several universities within Australasia. Many of the association's members have become honorary professors and lecturers at these universities.
As the president of the research association, Einstein, being a world-class expert, became the honorary dean of the physics department at Australasia National University.
While conducting research, these experts occasionally visit the universities where they are affiliated to teach, helping to nurture the next generation of top talent in the field of physical chemistry for Australasia.
At present, Australasia's talent development system has become quite mature, and the country is capable of fostering talent in various fields.
From the widespread technical schools to the universities specializing in training high-end talent, such institutions have become quite common in Australasia.
If, ten years ago, a high school diploma was considered quite valuable in Australasia, today, the truly valuable and highly regarded talent are those who have graduated from technical schools and universities.
Tesla nodded in agreement to join the Royal Physical and Chemical Research Association in Australasia. The association included many top talents from Europe and America, and Tesla was very much looking forward to joining such a prestigious academic group.
Finally, in the slightly expectant gaze of Miaka's family, Arthur promised that someone would come the next day to pick up Miaka's family and settle them into a residence in Sydney. Once they were settled, he would find them well-paying jobs close to their new home.
Of course, finding Tesla a place to stay was also necessary. Since Tesla had agreed to join Australasia, it would not be appropriate for him to stay in a cheap hotel.
Fortunately, Sydney was continuously expanding, and vacant properties were common.
Settling Tesla and Miaka's family was not a problem; in fact, if they wanted, they could move into a new house the next day.
After successfully recruiting Tesla, Arthur was in a good mood. He immediately rewarded both Tesla and Miaka's family with 2,000 Australian dollars each, so they could buy some furniture and decorations after moving into their new home and start a fresh life.
As for Tesla's two sisters still in Serbia, Arthur promised that within two months, he would bring them all to Australasia, where they would receive the same treatment as Miaka's family.
Upon returning to the palace, Arthur summoned Kent, the butler, and instructed him to contact Manager David, who was in Europe, to handle the task of bringing Tesla's two sisters and their families to Australasia.
The Balkan War had entered a peaceful phase due to the signing of an agreement, which was a good thing for Tesla's two sisters and their families, as only in a peaceful Serbia could they travel easily to Australasia.
Of course, even if Serbia were still in a state of war, it wouldn't have been too difficult for Arthur to bring Tesla's two sisters and their families to Australasia.
After all, Arthur had family ties with Russia, and Russia was the main supporter of the Balkan countries. Even with Serbia's situation, they would not prevent two common families from traveling to Australasia, especially considering Arthur's influence.
After meeting with Kent, Arthur learned that with the support of the royal consortium and the government, Australasia's shipyards were about to begin a large-scale expansion.
Before this, Australasia had over ten medium-sized shipyards across the country.
However, apart from the Royal Shipyard in Sydney, most of the other shipyards were a product of the colonial era, focused primarily on building sailboats and small fishing boats.
The vast majority of these shipyards could not build ships over 50 tons, only medium and small civilian vessels.
There were only three shipyards capable of building warships in Australasia.
Aside from the Royal Shipyard, the other two military shipyards could only build coastal defense gunboats, small escort ships, and other warships under a thousand tons.
This posed a significant limitation to the development of Australasia's navy.
Take the current status of the Royal Shipyard, for example. After receiving naval orders from Russia and Chile, it had already entered full production and could not take on orders from within Australasia in the short term.
Although the Royal Shipyard's construction standards, technical workers, and scale were world-class, the fact that Australasia's shipbuilding industry relied solely on the Royal Shipyard was unhealthy for the navy's development. Expanding new military shipyards had become an urgent task.
The Royal Shipyard is 100% owned by the royal consortium and is a private property of the royal family.
The two newly expanded shipyards are backed by both the government and the royal family, with the royal family holding 49% and the government holding 51%.
According to the expansion plan proposed by the royal consortium, the royal consortium and the government would jointly invest 20 million Australian dollars to expand the Melbourne and Auckland shipyards, enabling them to build ships of at least 10,000 tons.
In addition to the 20 million Australian dollars, the Royal Shipyard would provide some shipbuilding equipment and worker support, and in the short term, provide technical expertise to the newly expanded shipyards.
The good news was that Germany and the United Kingdom had strongly supported Australasia's shipbuilding industry, and there was no shortage of technical workers and mid-level experts in the industry.
As long as a European war did not break out, Australasia would continuously receive technical support from the United Kingdom, keeping its shipbuilding standards world-class.
Before World War I breaks out, expanding the shipyards could also receive assistance from the British, accelerating progress.
If everything went smoothly, according to the historical timeline of World War I, Australasia should still have about two years before the war started.
In about two years, it would be possible to equip two shipyards with the ability to build 10,000-ton capital ships with British help.
In theory, Australasia would also have ample development opportunities during the early years of World War I.
After the war, Australasia could bring in military experts from the defeated European countries to strengthen its military and shipbuilding capabilities.
If construction went well, Australasia could have three shipyards capable of building super-dreadnoughts after World War I.
This would significantly help Australasia's plan to rapidly expand its navy, achieving the strength of the great powers in both land and sea forces.
With Australasia's industrial level, while not as large-scale as the UK, Germany, or the United States, it would still be able to build warships as quickly as if they were made by the dozen.
On October 17, 1912, the first batch of shipbuilding equipment purchased from the United Kingdom arrived, and with the approval of the cabinet government, the expansion plans for the Melbourne and Auckland shipyards officially began.
Although the expansion was jointly funded by the royal family and the government, the government provided the funding, while the royal family supplied the equipment, workers, and technical expertise.
The expansion of the shipyards was a critical project, and Arthur personally inspected the Melbourne and Auckland shipyards and attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansions.
The good news was that the British were very supportive of Australasia's development in shipbuilding. Many of the shipyard equipment was sold at prices lower than market value.
Additionally, the British government promised to send a team of more than 200 experts within three months to assist with the expansion plans for the two shipyards.
These 200 experts included shipyard design and construction experts, as well as experts in warship design, and so on.
This was a great support for the two shipyards, which were still lacking in experience. During the period of British assistance, the shipyards would learn a lot and be well-prepared for independent operation.
Arthur was unaware that the British government had already decided to support Australasia's shipbuilding industry in order to counterbalance the growing power of the United States across the Atlantic.
However, regardless of the political implications, British support was highly beneficial to Australasia's current development.
Arthur had been worried that, if the Royal Shipyard contributed some equipment, workers, and experts, it might affect its naval orders. But with British help, this problem was easily solved.
The British equipment and technical assistance arrived much faster than expected. By mid-October, the first batch of expert teams had arrived in Australasia and proceeded to the two shipyards to assist with the expansion plans.
The majority of the challenges in the shipyard expansion were solved by the British, and Arthur was pleased to relax, letting the government and Kent supervise while giving authority to the British experts.
For the Australasia government, there was another good piece of news—the second phase of the Leonora Industrial Base was about to be completed.
The second phase of the Leonora Industrial Base, which began in 1910, had been under construction for nearly three years.
Compared to the first phase, the second phase's scale had tripled.
This expanded construction area to over 3,000 acres, with 2,000 acres dedicated to the construction itself.
In addition, there were over 200 acres for landscaping, road construction, and improving sewage systems.
If all goes as planned, the second phase of the industrial base will have at least 200 standardized factory workshops and more than 20 large warehouses.
This means the second phase will house at least 100 large factories and hundreds of smaller ones.
To meet the demand for workers, the government had already relocated a large number of immigrants to Western Australia, and neighboring South Australia also had many immigrants.
Moreover, several technical schools had reached agreements to cooperate with the industrial base.
These schools would train workers for the industrial base, recruiting employees from elsewhere and providing additional training for local workers to enhance their skills.
According to the current construction status of the second phase, it is expected to be completed between November and December. The factories should be operational starting next year.
If the factory relocation and recruitment go smoothly, the Leonora Industrial Base will become Australasia's largest, most advanced, and most diversified industrial hub.
By that time, the Leonora Industrial Base could be considered Australasia's Ruhr area.
With the first and second phases combined, the base would likely have hundreds of factories and at least 200,000 technical workers.
This would make it the industrial center of Australasia, involving chemical, coal, machinery, textile industries, and more.
If all goes as planned, the Leonora Industrial Base should have nearly 200,000 workers and hundreds of factories before World War I, fully preparing Australasia for war production.
(End of Chapter)
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