Chapter 182: 176: 1904

Chapter 182: Chapter 176: 1904

On January 2, 1904, the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire successively issued statements expressing their regret and sorrow for the typhoon incident in New Zealand, and announced their support for a public referendum in New Zealand to allow New Zealanders to decide their own fate.

Immediately following on January 3, the British Empire, one of the protagonists, also expressed its stance, stating that the British Empire was willing to abide by Queen Victoria’s will and allow New Zealanders to decide their own destiny.

For the New Zealanders, this was a great victory, and it seemed that New Zealand had stepped into a bright future.

Arthur could not comment on this. As far as everyone knew, from the beginning of the protests to New Zealand gaining the right to hold a referendum, Arthur had never shown his face.

But in fact, only a very few people knew that Arthur’s actions had a decisive role in New Zealand’s smooth acquisition of the right to hold a referendum.

This referendum in New Zealand covered the entire New Zealand region, including all overseas islands under New Zealand’s sovereignty.

The referendum stipulated that only permanent residents of New Zealand who were at least twenty years old and had lived in all areas of New Zealand for a full ten years could participate in the referendum.

At present, the total population of New Zealand is as high as 1,073,400, and a total of more than 430,000 people meet this condition.

The age limit and residency time restrictions significantly reduced the number of people eligible to participate in the referendum.

However, New Zealand had long ago granted women the right to vote, but they currently did not have the right to run for office, only the right to vote.

Although Arthur did not participate in the entire New Zealand referendum process, this did not mean that Arthur had nothing to do during this time.

On the contrary, as the beginning of the new year arrived, the Australian Cabinet Government’s 1903 annual summary was successfully delivered to Arthur, awaiting his review.

The most noticeable achievement in Australia in 1903 was in terms of population; at the beginning of 1903, the Australian population was approximately 4,263,900 people.

By January 1904, the Australian population had exceeded 4,566,600, and the population growth rate reached an impressive 7.1 percent.

This also increased the number of Australian cities with a population of over 500,000 to two, with Sydney and Melbourne becoming the two most brilliant jewels of Australia.

The industrial development in 1903 was not as rapid as in 1902, but the steel production reached 390,000 tons and 670,000 tons, respectively.

Currently, Australia’s total steel output has exceeded one million tons, making it no exaggeration to call it an industrial country.

In that year, Australia also discovered a large number of mineral resources, the largest being coal and iron mines.

Currently, Australia’s proven iron ore reserves are as high as 1.5 billion tons, and total reserves of bituminous coal and brown coal are as high as 13 billion tons.

Of course, the main part of the railway construction is still in the southeast of Australia, which has the largest population and the most developed economy.

The current railway has completed the main part from Brisbane, the capital of Queensland State, to Adelaide, South Australia State, successfully connecting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.

The connected cities are countless, and the larger ones include Brisbane, Newscastle, Sydney, Albus, Melbourne, Geelong, Adelaide, and Augustaport.

This section of the railway has almost half of the industrial railway distance, and the reason for such rapid construction is that this area originally had a relatively developed railway network.

In areas with less population like West Australia and South Australia, railway construction is slower.

South Australia is still good, with the current railway built from Augustaport to Adelaide and connected to the southeastern part of the industrial railway.

However, in West Australia, the current railway construction is just from the capital Perth to Geraldton and Albany, two port towns of West Australia, and the reason for connecting these two towns is to facilitate the transport of West Australia.

The section of railway connecting West Australia and South Australia, that is, the section of railway connecting Perth and Augustaport, will be the most difficult part of the entire industrial railway construction because there are very few original railways in this area, and almost all need to be built anew.

If the construction goes smoothly, this section of the railway will be completed in four years. But if the progress is not very smooth, the completion time of this railway section may be delayed to five or even six years later.

However, compared to the initial construction time of the industrial railway, this is still a reduction. At the beginning, the industrial railway plan was to be completed within ten years, and it now seems that it takes only about six to eight years.

The only area not covered by the railway plan is Tasmania State, which is the smallest and least populated state in Australia.

To take care of the feelings of the residents of Tasmania, Arthur specially launched a round-island highway construction plan in Tasmania, mainly connecting the northern city Smithton and the southern city Hobart on Tasmania Island, as well as some small towns scattered in the east and west.

Compared with the overall highway construction in Australia, the highways in Tasmania State are still a small part, even though they connect smaller villages and some farms.

This is also the reason why the highway construction in Tasmania State is so smooth. Up to now, Tasmania State has completed the construction of the round-island highway, both major cities, Hobart and Smithton, have been connected by the highways, and all small towns and villages are within the construction range of the urban network.

This has made Tasmania the most developed area in Australia in terms of highway transportation, and has greatly appeased the residents of Tasmania State who regret that their area cannot build railways.

As for the Australian people, there is another significant change, which is that the per capita income of Australia has seen a significant increase.

As of January 1904, the per capita income of all states in Australia had exceeded fifteen pounds, and even in relatively developed states like Victoria and New South Wales, the per capita annual income had reached sixteen pounds.

This level of income has almost doubled compared to when the Australian Principality was first established, which can also verify the development of Australia’s industry and economy during this period.

Although this income level is less than half compared to the powerful nations, it is almost at the same level as ordinary European countries.

Moreover, Australia’s per capita income level is far from being finalized and is still in a growth stage.