Chapter 77 Expansion of the Munitions Factory and Shipyard
These loan transactions together took more than five hundred thousand pounds from the Royal Bank, while deposit services only brought in ninety thousand pounds in cash.
If it weren't for Arthur's immense wealth, such massive spending likely couldn't have been sustained.
The good news was that with this large capital injection, Australia was likely to see the rise of a small bourgeois class—farm owners or shopkeepers—in the near future.
With sufficient startup funds, Australia would probably experience a wave of entrepreneurial enthusiasm.
These individuals could also drive economic development in Australia and bring more income to both the country and to Arthur.
"Butler Hunter, when will the branch offices in the other states be able to open? The reception to the Royal Bank in Sydney has been quite positive. It's about time we expand to the other states," Arthur said as he finished reading the report, set it down on the table, and turned to Butler Hunter with a smile.
"Due to the distances between the states, the opening times will vary. But one thing is certain—within the next three months, branches of the Royal Bank will open in the other states one after another," Butler Hunter replied with a smile.
The bank didn't have high demands for construction or decoration; it only needed to find a vacant building on a busy street and renovate it.
The only real requirement was for the vaults where the funds would be stored. The Royal Bank employed multiple large safes, supplemented with heavy military security.
Although it couldn't compare with the advanced surveillance and security systems of the future, attempting to rob a bank under such defenses would require either a strategic-level weapon like Yan Shuangying or the deployment of a large military force.
But the reality was that neither Yan Shuangying nor a large-scale army would appear on Australian soil.
"The records for deposited funds must be handled carefully, and multiple backups should be made. I don't want our bank to have any mistakes. Any such error could damage the Royal Family's reputation," Arthur instructed.
When it comes to money—the most fundamental of interests—disputes and resentment can arise easily.
Arthur did not want the bank he had worked so hard to establish to become a tool that ruined his own reputation and inflicted serious damage on the prestige of the Royal Family.
"I understand, Your Highness. In addition to the receipts issued to each user, our bank will keep three copies: one stored at the local branch, one at the headquarters, and one in the archives. We will do our utmost to prevent any errors, and should any occur, we will resolve them as quickly as possible," Butler Hunter nodded and replied.
Institutions that handle large sums of money are bound to make mistakes from time to time. While Arthur spoke of minimizing errors, he understood well that as long as humans operated the bank, mistakes would eventually happen.
What mattered more than avoiding errors was how well those errors could be handled once they occurred.
"The branch managers must also be selected from loyal individuals. The Royal Bank will be a key institution in managing Australia's future economy. We absolutely cannot afford to lose public trust," Arthur reminded him.
When mistakes happen, the public doesn't care who is actually responsible. Because it's the Royal Bank, Arthur and the Royal Family would be the ones held accountable.
"Yes, Your Highness. The candidates for branch managers are all men who came to Australia with us. Their loyalty is dependable," Butler Hunter explained.
It had to be said—besides leaving behind a vast inheritance, Arthur's father, Duke Arthur, also left a valuable group of loyal and dependable officials.
Their allegiance had originally been to Duke Arthur, and now it was solely to Arthur. Compared to others, their loyalty was extremely reliable.
"That's good, Butler Hunter. Don't forget about the expansion of the munitions factory and the shipyard. In a short while, aid from Britain and Germany will arrive, and our munitions and shipbuilding facilities can take the opportunity to expand. The military will place an order at that time. Have the factories prepare in advance," Arthur said with satisfaction.
With the arrival of support from Britain and Germany, Australia's industrial development was about to enter a period of rapid growth.
Especially for Arthur's munitions and shipbuilding factories, the added technology from Germany and Britain made expansion inevitable.
Whether it was the production lines for Gew rifles or the artillery technology from Germany, these were all valuable assets for the munitions factory to learn from and adopt.
Once these technologies were mastered, the munitions factory would become the most reliable source of weapons and equipment for the Australian military.
The shipyard needed no further explanation. Originally relocated from Britain, it was already an advanced shipyard—even though on a small scale, it was capable of independently building small military ships.
With the integration of British and German naval technology, the shipyard could be expanded into a large facility qualified to build the most powerful warships and battleships of the present day.
"Yes, Your Highness. I will make sure the munitions and shipbuilding factories are ready," said Butler Hunter.
"By the way, among the German aid this time are also the blueprints and data for the Braunschweig-class battleship. You can already begin increasing the number of workers and technical experts at the shipyard. I hope that by the time the German naval assistance arrives, we'll be able to quickly master their shipbuilding techniques—especially for this powerful battleship," Arthur added, remembering something important.
Compared to other forms of German naval aid, the blueprints and data of the Braunschweig-class battleship were by far the most important.
If Australia could quickly master the technology to build such a battleship, it might even receive production orders before the dreadnought era began.
Hearing Arthur's words, Butler Hunter was a bit surprised but quickly responded, "Understood, Your Highness. I'll immediately instruct the shipyard to expand its workforce and await the German assistance."
"There's one more task, Butler Hunter. Organize a team to go to Europe and the United States to look for scientists who are struggling due to a lack of research funding. Australia can offer them sufficient funds and facilities for their work. The condition is that they must serve Australia for ten years. After that, they can go wherever they choose," Arthur continued.
In Europe, where the education system was already highly developed, not every scientist had access to the funding they needed for research.
This resulted in many scientists falling into debt or obscurity, making it the perfect time for Australia to reach out and support them.
Even if these scientists came to Australia solely because of the funding,
they might not hold any real affection or recognition for the country—perhaps none at all.
That was why Arthur established the ten-year service requirement. A longer commitment would benefit Australia more,
but it would also discourage many from accepting the offer, as they wouldn't want to commit to working for another nation for such a long time.
In reality, ten years was already quite a long period. Living in any country for a decade—barring some dramatic or unfortunate events—was enough for someone to develop emotional ties to that nation. That was exactly what Arthur intended.
(End of Chapter)
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