Chapter 82 Journey to Australian New Guinea
April 19, 1901.
After a few days of rest, Arthur was once again busy. This time, his destination was New Guinea, located to the north of Australia—specifically, what was now known as Australian New Guinea.
Since the colony of New Guinea had been placed under Australian administration, this was Arthur's first visit to inspect the land.
It wasn't that Arthur didn't value the territory, but rather that Australia had too many pressing matters, and he simply hadn't had time to manage this region.
The total population of Australian New Guinea was less than one million, the vast majority of whom were island natives.
Most of these islanders lived in isolated tribes, maintaining their unique customs and rarely communicating with the outside world.
This resulted in the emergence of many taboo cultures on the island—such as the terrifying and infamous practice of cannibalism.
Judging purely by population and economy, the importance of this land was minimal, and its potential for development appeared limited.
However, the island's rich mineral resources and strategic geographical location compensated for its other deficiencies, making New Guinea a prized territory contested by the British Empire, the German Empire, and Dutch colonial powers.
After the British handed over control of British New Guinea to Australia, the region once again formed a tripartite division: the western part was under the Dutch East Indies, the northeastern region controlled by the German Empire's New Guinea colony,
and the southeastern section was naturally under the control of Australia as the colony of Australian New Guinea.
Arthur agreed to maintain New Guinea's status as a colony precisely because it was more suited to that role.
From a population standpoint, although it had over 900,000 people, the overwhelming majority were indigenous. There were fewer than 10,000 European settlers.
These natives belonged entirely to unassimilable, independent tribal groups. While they posed no real threat to Australian rule, their deep-seated taboo cultures were far beyond what Australia could hope to change.
At the port, Arthur was welcomed by the first governor of Australian New Guinea, Aníbal Enrique Hernández.
Aníbal Enrique Hernández was one of the talents Arthur's father, the Duke of Arthur, had left him. Since being appointed governor of New Guinea, he had performed his duties diligently, without displaying any self-indulgence.
In the remote outpost of Australian New Guinea, Aníbal Enrique Hernández's responsible conduct naturally earned Arthur's trust, as he held the colony's highest authority.
Upon arriving at the port, most of the Governor's Office staff were already assembled.
Everyone eagerly awaited Arthur, though their hearts were filled with a measure of unease.
Some of the officials in the Governor's Office were holdovers from the former British New Guinea. Many had chosen to settle in the territory and had become genuine immigrants and residents of the land.
After Australia assumed control, they had little choice but to accept the new administration and become Australians.
Skipping the welcome ceremony, Arthur went straight to the Governor's Office with his entourage.
The purpose of this visit was to inspect the operations of Australian New Guinea and to develop a plan for Australia's industrial growth.
Although the natives of Australian New Guinea had various flaws, they still had their uses when it came to contributing to Australia's industrial development.
Until the Dutch agreed to sell their native populations to Australia, these New Guineans would serve as the best manual labor force for Australia's industrial growth.
"Governor Aníbal, I presume you understand the purpose of my visit this time?" Arthur asked with a smile as he looked at Governor Aníbal Enrique Hernández.
"Yes, Your Highness," the governor nodded respectfully in reply.
"How many natives are there in the entire colony of New Guinea? And how many could be sent to Australia to work?" Arthur asked, satisfied with the governor's response.
"Your Highness, this land has too many isolated tribal groups, so we cannot determine the population precisely. But if we only count the tribes we've had contact with, there are over 800,000 natives in all of Australian New Guinea," the governor replied without hesitation.
Seeing that Aníbal Enrique Hernández could clearly state the population figures, Arthur nodded again in approval and continued, "What are your thoughts on the government's plan? Is it feasible to transport natives from New Guinea to work in Australia?"
Any country transitioning from an agricultural to an industrial economy must go through a brutal and oppressive phase.
Whether it involves oppressing the domestic population or exploiting colonies, this phase is unavoidable.
Arthur and the Australian government's plan was to purchase or mobilize native labor from colonies and abroad, using them in place of Australians to power the nation's industrial rise.
Though not humane by modern standards, it was certainly more acceptable than forcing Australia's own scarce and valuable citizens to risk their lives in industry.
"Your Highness, I believe it can be done. And Australia indeed needs the contribution of these natives. However, such a move will cause fear and anger among them. If we want to maintain stability in New Guinea, then my recommendation is to take this opportunity to eradicate them entirely. Otherwise, resentment and hatred from exploitation will only grow over time, and keeping them around serves no good purpose for stability," Governor Aníbal Enrique Hernández said cautiously after some thought. His words were tentative, clearly worried that Arthur might be displeased by such a suggestion.
His proposed plan was even bloodier than the Australian government's original approach.
Yet upon reflection, what Governor Hernández said wasn't unreasonable.
The natives of New Guinea and the Australians were two peoples who could never be reconciled. Arthur had no intention of accommodating them.
Given this reality, if they had already chosen to oppress and exploit the natives, then it might be more effective to do so thoroughly—once their value was exhausted, eliminate them completely to prevent future troubles.
After all, Australia required stability—and only the dead would not resist.
(End of Chapter)
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