Chapter 80 Scientists and Awards
On April 7, 1901, after seeing off Crown Prince Wilhelm, all the aid materials were delivered to their respective destinations.
The one billion marks in funding were sent to the Ministry of Finance for safekeeping. Although all the German aid was in German marks, the currency would still be useful in the future for purchasing many items from Germany.
The team of industrial experts was sent directly to the industrial district in Western Australia. Their meticulous work ethic was admirable—even when Arthur tried to persuade them to stay in Sydney for a couple more days, they refused, insisting that work was more important.
Compared to the future experts Arthur would encounter, these German industrial experts seemed almost like model workers.
The Gew 98 rifle and a series of artillery production lines were delivered to Arthur's munitions factory. Since these were part of the German government's aid to Australia, the factory needed to pay two million pounds to lease these production lines, and after fully mastering the technology, they would have to construct new lines to return to the Australian government.
Even though two million pounds were required, and even though a new line would have to be built and returned after acquiring the know-how,
it was still a profitable deal for the munitions factory. The technology behind these production lines would not typically be accessible for only two million pounds.
Even with massive investment, it would take a great deal of time and talent to develop such technology independently.
As for the most critical asset—the Braunschweig-class battleship blueprints and documents—they were transported to Arthur's shipyard for safekeeping.
The Australian government, along with Arthur's shipyard, would form a specialized expert team to study the blueprints with the goal of mastering them as soon as possible and eventually producing the battleship according to the design.
Even with assistance from British and German naval technologies, acquiring the capability to build battleships independently would require years of research.
Arthur was fully prepared for this and considered it a success if they could master battleship construction within five years.
Fortunately, among the German team of industrial experts, a few were shipbuilding specialists. They remained at the Sydney shipyard and would serve as mentors for the Australian team.
To gain the goodwill of these German experts, Arthur arranged for each of them to have a private villa in Sydney and provided them with a monthly stipend of at least five hundred pounds in addition to their base salaries.
This fulfilled the promise Arthur made in Berlin—not only would he pay all their wages, but he would also cover all of their living expenses in Australia.
Of course, all of this was worthwhile, or Arthur wouldn't have done it. The changes and benefits these experts would bring to Australia far exceeded the cost of hiring them.
For such talent, the more the better—even if each one required a massive annual expenditure.
April 11, at Arthur's estate.
As various industries rapidly developed thanks to German aid, Butler Hunter brought good news to Arthur.
It had been a month and a half since Arthur instructed Butler Hunter to send people to Europe and the United States to search for talent. Hunter had acted swiftly and had already begun locating disheartened scientists across Europe, with some initial progress.
"Butler Hunter, go ahead—what's the good news?" Arthur asked as he sat down, smiling at him.
"Your Highness, I've successfully dispatched personnel to Europe. After over a week of investigation, they uncovered some very encouraging news for Australia: people like Benz and Diesel aren't rare in Europe. Many brilliant minds are struggling with debt and a lack of funding. According to our team's findings, a large portion of these individuals are scientific 'madmen'—if we offer them enough research funding and space, there's a good chance they'll come to Australia," Hunter reported frankly.
Through the exploitation of its colonies, Europe had built a prosperous industrial and economic system. It was the most dazzling jewel and the most advanced region in the world.
Because most European countries placed great emphasis on education, the era had given rise to a vast number of talents and scientists who contributed significantly to Europe's rise.
But funds and resources are always limited. Even in such a prosperous environment, Europe could not provide sufficient research funding or opportunities to every scientist.
As a result, many scientists had no choice but to abandon their research. Only a few lucky ones were discovered by capitalists. The rest either sold off their assets to fund their work or lived their entire lives in obscurity.
Such talents were common in Europe—not because they lacked ability, but because they lacked support. In Europe's fiercely competitive environment, their light was dimmed.
But to Australia, these people were exactly the pillars it lacked. Many of them could become foundational figures and trailblazers in various fields.
By investing some funding to attract them, Australia could gain a large number of scientists and skilled professionals—a deal that was guaranteed to yield returns.
"If it's confirmed that they're truly capable, then why wouldn't we spend some money to bring them to Australia?" Arthur said with a smile. "The more talent like that we have, the better. Butler Hunter, I'm authorizing you to allocate twenty million pounds to aggressively recruit these individuals in Europe and America. Any field or industry is fine—as long as they're capable, recruit them."
"Your Highness, I believe we should also work to elevate Australia's status in the minds of the global scientific community. If we can make Australia a sanctuary for scientists, we won't need to worry about attracting them," Hunter suggested tentatively.
"Oh? And how do we elevate that status?" Arthur asked with interest.
Hunter clearly had ideas and plans if he was saying this.
Arthur was intrigued. If he could raise Australia's profile in the minds of scientists, it would be far more effective than spending endless money trying to win them over.
"There are a large number of underfunded scientists in Europe, so why not establish a scientific award?" Hunter proposed with a smile. "We could invite scientists from all over the world to participate. Winners would receive significant research funding and prestige, and Australia would provide them with free research facilities and support for their projects. Over time, this could make scientists truly take Australia seriously."
(End of Chapter)
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