The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 724 - 544: Foreign Workers and R107 Battleship_3

A considerable part of these people’s work involved jobs that the locals of Australasia looked down on, which nevertheless contributed to diversifying the job market in Australasia.

While they earned some revenue, they also propelled greater economic growth for Australasia.

Moreover, their living and consumption in Australasia stimulated the economy, making it a profitable trade-off.

Actually, such an issue is not unique to Australasia. The United States, another country with a high influx of immigrants, also faced the issue of foreign workers.

The United States dealt with it simply: when foreign workers were needed, they became an essential guarantee for the country’s economic growth.

If an economic crisis occurred or conflicts arose between American citizens and foreigners, these people were quickly abandoned as illegal immigrants. Some were deported, while others were left to fend for themselves.

After conversing with Governor Georeg, it was Melbourne Mayor George Newgent Temple Grenville’s turn.

Melbourne’s development was progressing well, there were no major issues other than attracting a high influx of immigrants, thereby causing the city to continuously expand, there were no significant problems to report to Arthur.

This also constituted the key principle of reporting issues. Although Arthur requested insights into the challenges of urban development for discussion and resolution,

Problems would arise if every trivial issue needed to be reported to Arthur for resolution, as the roles of governors and mayors would then become redundant.

Problems that required Arthur’s attention were ones that these governors and mayors could not decide on their own and at least required reporting to the Cabinet Government.

If even the construction of a building in Melbourne required Arthur’s supervision, there would be no need for national development, because Arthur simply could not handle everything.

After ending talks with Governor Georg and Mayor George, Arthur visited the Melbourne Royal Shipyard to inspect the progress of shipbuilding.

The Melbourne Royal Shipyard was originally a relatively small shipyard capable of building warships of around a thousand tons during the colonial period of Victoria. Explore more at empire

After being acquired and expanded by the Royal Shipyard, it has turned into a large shipyard capable of building ships of up to twenty thousand tons, undertaking a significant portion of Australasia’s naval construction.

Length: 217 meters; Breadth: 32.5 meters; Draft: 9.2 meters.

Standard displacement is roughly between 32,000 to 33,000 tons. Fully-loaded displacement is between 37,000 to 38,000 tons.

The power system uses eight drum water-tube oil boilers with a superheater and four steam turbines. The total output can reach around 46,000 horsepower, with a speed nearing 23.5 knots.

The R107 battleship can carry more than 2,750 tons of fuel, providing it with a maximum range of 15,000 nautical miles at 12 knots.

How substantial is a figure of 15,000 nautical miles? It is equivalent to 27,800 kilometers, while the Earth’s circumference is merely around 40,000 kilometers.

Other than three triple-mount 16-inch primary guns, the R107 battleship is also equipped with six double-mount 6-inch secondary guns.

Considering the threat of airplanes to warships, the R107 battleship is additionally equipped with six single-mount 120 mm multi-purpose guns, four double-mount 100 mm multi-purpose guns, six octuple-mount 40 mm machine guns, and 47 27 mm machine guns.

Such anti-air firepower can be considered excellent and is more than sufficient to deal with other countries’ less advanced aircraft.

If paired with an aircraft carrier, such a battleship is practically invincible. This is one of the world’s most advanced battleship designs.

Of course, the assistance and technical support from the British play an important role in enabling Australasia to have such battleship designs.

Perhaps it is due to noticing the importance of Australasia’s geographical position as well as the possibility of Australasia working as a buffer against the United States, that the British decided to do their utmost to strengthen Australasia’s naval power and give Australasia the capability to stand against the United States.

In addition to the above-mentioned anti-air weaponry, the R107 also has two 620 mm torpedo launch tubes to deal with the threats of submarines underwater.

The battleship is anticipated to carry 1,360 naval soldiers and, in terms of volume and weight, it is currently the biggest battleship in Australasia. Its comparison targets are also the most advanced warships of various nations.

Such a battleship design took advice from the British. In essence, the design of this battleship bears many similarities to those of the British.

Through learning from the Battle of Jutland, the British have made some improvement to their shipbuilding concepts.

Such effective improvements will naturally not be rejected by Australasia, as learning from advanced ideas and concepts of every nation is the path to becoming a powerful country.