Chapter 97 Changes in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry
Population growth was of vital importance to Australia. Only by maintaining an annual influx of at least 100,000 immigrants and more than 120,000 new citizens could the country effectively resolve its chronic labor shortage.
Thanks to large-scale infrastructure projects, Australia's per capita income surpassed £10. Accordingly, tax revenue also increased.
In 1901, Australia's total fiscal revenue amounted to approximately £4.3 million, while total expenditures reached £13 million.
Although this represented a significant budget deficit, it was primarily due to extensive development spending. Without those construction expenses, the treasury would still have had an annual surplus of nearly £2 million.
The Ministry of Finance also held a considerable reserve. Even with over £10 million in annual spending, available funds still exceeded £150 million.
According to government statistics, several thousand small business owners emerged that year.
Many had opened their own shops or small factories, becoming store owners or entrepreneurs.
Their startup capital was modest—some had less than £1,000, others only tens or hundreds of pounds.
Nonetheless, compared to the situation in previous years, this was notable progress.
Among them, there could very well be a future tycoon who would help drive Australia's business sector forward.
In addition, the construction of retirement homes, orphanages, hospitals, and schools was steadily advancing.
Arthur placed great emphasis on civil welfare, leading the government to invest heavily in public services.
That investment yielded results. There were now over fifty retirement homes and orphanages, housing more than 5,000 elderly individuals and 3,000 orphans, respectively.
These facilities now accommodated the majority of the country's solitary elderly and orphans, marking significant success in social care.
In Australia, just mentioning orphanages and retirement homes elicited admiration and devotion toward the estate—home of the monarch they deeply trusted.
As for schools, they required no additional justification—education was one of the government's most highly prioritized initiatives.
As of now, Australia had nearly 200 primary schools and 20 secondary schools, with more than 10,000 new students entering the system each year.
The National University had also achieved impressive results. Although the number of new university students in 1901 was only a little over 600, the total enrollment for the past two years exceeded 1,400.
With a hybrid model of theoretical and practical training, these students were expected to integrate smoothly into the workforce upon graduation.
The Victoria Prize helped Australia attract high-end talent, while the expansion of education worked to solve the shortage of middle- and low-level skilled workers.
In this way, a complete talent development pipeline was forming, giving Australia's scientific and industrial sectors strong growth potential.
The healthcare sector, however, had made relatively modest progress, still maintaining one large hospital per state.
That said, the government supported the establishment of small private clinics and even offered funding to promising ones.
According to the Ministry of Health, Australia now had over 30 private clinics, with more than 10 located in New South Wales alone.
These clinics played a significant role in improving healthcare access. In a country short on medical professionals, their impact was often greater than that of new hospitals.
With the limited number of healthcare personnel, even staffing one large hospital per state proved challenging.
Only in the capital's New South Wales State Hospital had departments been fully established and opened to the public. Other hospitals still suffered from staff shortages.
This issue might only be solved through the Victoria Prize—by attracting world-class medical professionals and training the next generation of healthcare workers.
Meanwhile, the influx of native labor had also transformed the agricultural sector.
Previously, due to severe labor shortages, land development progressed at a snail's pace.
Most immigrants came not to farm but to dig for gold or other valuable minerals.
That explained their low incomes—many who came seeking riches through gold ended up among Australia's poor.
Now, with the addition of native laborers, land development—especially farmland—was accelerating. The amount of land per person and per capita arable land both increased significantly.
This positively affected food production. Although the results weren't yet evident in 1901, the Ministry of Agriculture projected that by 1902, Australia would produce enough grain to feed 8 million people.
That meant Australia could feed its entire population and still have a surplus for export.
Australia's livestock sector was also thriving. Cattle and sheep ranches were multiplying, along with the number of livestock farmers.
As a result, meat was inexpensive—a key reason why both the army and university students had ample supplies of beef and lamb.
At least in terms of food logistics, Australia had reached the same level as European nations.
Every soldier received two meat meals per day—a luxury few other countries' armies could afford.
And when it came to the prized university students, their meals were even better. In addition to the usual meats, schools hired foreign chefs to prepare gourmet dishes, ensuring students' appetites were satisfied alongside their minds.
Though this raised the university's annual catering costs by several thousand to over ten thousand pounds, Arthur deemed it money well spent.
Besides agriculture and livestock, road construction also saw major improvements.
Especially between cities, roads were being refurbished and expanded following the industrial cement factories' scale-up.
This not only prepared for the future automobile industry but also aimed to strengthen cultural and economic ties between Australia's states and cities.
(End of Chapter)
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