Chapter 266: The End of the Tour
Arthur spent about a week in Wellington, where he not only visited Victoria University but also gave a lecture that lasted over an hour. Although the actual impact is unknown, judging by the awed and enthusiastic gazes of the students and teachers, and the energetic responses from the university students, the lecture seemed to have been a success.
After leaving Wellington, the cars that had been transported with the fleet were put to good use. Arthur traveled northwest by car, heading to the small town of Opunake in Taranaki Bay on the South Island. This town, like many other ordinary fishing villages in New Zealand, may seem unremarkable, but it held immense significance for both New Zealand and Australasia.
Since the typhoon that hit New Zealand on November 8, 1903, the entire region of Oceania had undergone tremendous changes. First, after the disaster, New Zealand held a referendum to join Australia, forming the Australia-New Zealand Federation, which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom of Australasia.
The first area hit by the typhoon was Opunake, the small town that seemed no different from any other. Now, a monument commemorating the typhoon event stood in Opunake, attracting many visitors from Australasia. This disaster was not only one of New Zealand's greatest calamities but also one of Australasia's.
The typhoon caused more than 100,000 casualties in New Zealand, as well as the loss of over a million sheep and cattle and large-scale crop destruction. This was the real reason why New Zealand's population remained only 1.35 million until today.
Arthur stood before the monument for a long time and laid a bouquet of flowers. While it seemed like a normal gesture to him, it was deeply appreciated by many New Zealanders who had lived through that disastrous event. After all, not only did Australia provide donations to New Zealand after the typhoon, but Arthur also personally made two donations, both as the Duke of Australia and in his private capacity.
After doing what needed to be done in Opunake, Arthur continued north along the western highway of North Island, passing through New Smyrna, Piopio, Hamilton, Huntly, Waikato Harbor, and Manukau, before finally reaching the second destination in North New Zealand, Auckland.
At the time, Auckland had been rebuilt after the disaster and was now the second-largest city on the North Island. Many of Auckland's residents chose to stay, even after the typhoon had destroyed the city and turned it into wasteland.
Upon arriving in Auckland, Arthur found that the area had been rebuilt well. While the industrial areas were still underdeveloped, agriculture and livestock farming were flourishing, clearly indicating the current state of development in Auckland.
Auckland also housed one of New Zealand's three universities, Auckland University. Following tradition, Arthur visited the university and gave another lecture.
The people of Auckland were deeply grateful to Arthur, as without his and Australia's generous donations, it would have been impossible for Auckland to have rebuilt so quickly. It could be said that Auckland's rapid recovery, just a few years after the disaster, was largely thanks to Arthur and Australia's contributions.
After completing another tedious but necessary inspection, Arthur sailed with the fleet to Picton, the capital of South New Zealand.
The development levels between North and South New Zealand were vastly different. Although South New Zealand was larger in terms of area, its population was only about half that of North New Zealand.
As the largest city in South New Zealand, Picton had a population of over 80,000. However, New Zealand's second-largest city was still Auckland, with a population exceeding 100,000, even after the disaster.
If North New Zealand had some level of industrial development, South New Zealand's strengths were mainly in livestock farming and agriculture. Overall, South New Zealand lagged behind North New Zealand in many areas, which became especially clear to Arthur after traveling through both regions.
Still, South New Zealand boasted more abundant farmland and larger livestock farms, and the people there were smiling broadly.
There wasn't much to inspect in South New Zealand. Its three main cities—Picton, Christchurch, and Invercargill—were all small cities with populations under 100,000. The total population of South New Zealand was under 500,000, less than half the size of Sydney.
After a brief visit to the three cities, Arthur also reviewed the New Zealand troops stationed in Picton. After encouraging all the soldiers, Arthur personally handed out salaries and supplies to some of them, before finally feeling satisfied and concluding his tour of New Zealand. He now prepared for his next destination, the Papua New Guinea colony.
After several years of development, the capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, had grown into a city with a population of 50,000. Thanks to Arthur's Strategic Grain Reserve plan, Papua New Guinea was viewed by the Australasian government as a natural grain warehouse and was also one of Australasia's experimental grounds for mechanized farming.
Currently, Papua New Guinea produced more than one-sixth of Australia's food output, enough to feed over 4 million people for an entire year. Some of the food produced there was even sent to German New Guinea due to the strong relations between Australasia and Germany.
The officials of the Papua New Guinea colony greatly valued Arthur's inspection, and after a symbolic encouragement from Arthur, he joined the colony's top officials in visiting several large plantation areas in Papua New Guinea. He then reviewed the Papua New Guinea military, and these activities kept Arthur in the colony for three days.
After completing the necessary inspections, Arthur quickly continued his journey to Timor, the next stop on his tour.
The Governor of Timor was Roman Pito, a member of the Royal Parliament and an official from New Zealand. As one of the first New Zealand officials to pledge allegiance to Arthur, Roman Pito's appointment as the Governor of Timor was not surprising, especially since many of the officials brought by Arthur from Britain had been given significant roles, and any vacancies were filled by promoting talent from Australia and New Zealand.
However, this also had its advantages, as it reassured the loyal forces from Australia and New Zealand. After all, if Arthur only relied on the officials brought from Britain, the local forces in Australasia would never truly integrate into his inner circle, leading to a decrease in their loyalty.
Timor, as the most recently annexed region of Australasia, had a population of barely 10,000. Despite a few years of development, most of the population still lived in the capital, Dili.
While Papua New Guinea was an important food-producing region for Australasia, Timor was more of a military stronghold and forward base. Though Timor had only around 10,000 residents, Dili was home to a garrison of 3,000 soldiers and multiple radio stations, always in contact with Australasia.
Arthur and the government had prepared for this. Timor would not be developed in the short term, so it had been designated as a defensive outpost for Australasia.
With thousands of Portuguese residents still living there, Arthur's stay in Timor was the shortest of all his stops. Though he was curious to see the local life, he ultimately decided against it.
Despite his interest in witnessing the lives of the Portuguese residents, Arthur knew that Timor had only been annexed for just over two years, and Dili was still home to many Portuguese citizens.
Though Governor Pito had organized several disarmament operations to prevent anyone but Australasian residents from possessing firearms, Arthur was wary of the possibility of hidden weapons.
Even though Arthur had full protection, he could not take the risk of assassination, especially after historical examples of high-profile political figures who were assassinated despite their status and popularity.
Arthur was fully aware that even though his identity was elevated, he was still an ordinary person, and a bullet could end his life.
With that in mind, Arthur avoided any unnecessary risks, knowing that as long as he remained cautious, the possibility of an assassination was almost non-existent. After all, there was an entire regiment protecting him, as well as a network of intelligence officers keeping a close eye on any suspicious activity.
(End of Chapter)
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