The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 133: Fantasies of Electrification (Happy New Year!)

Arthur acted swiftly, and just the next day, he allocated hundreds of Indigenous Peoples to help Theodore Korbel and Ludwig Durrell establish new laboratories and research bases while also handing them ￡100,000 in start-up funds for the purchase of research equipment and expenses.

At the same time, Arthur asked Hunter Steward for assistance, procuring and dispatching a large number of books on aviation and aerodynamics from Australian National University and even Europe for Theodore Korbel and Ludwig Durrell, as well as for future aviation experts to study.

If it were not for the current shortage of manpower, Arthur would even want to open an aviation major at the Australian National University to train more talents in the Australian aviation industry.

There is no need to rush this for now, as once more aviation professionals are attracted from Europe, there will be enough manpower to start the program.

In order to make other countries and forces believe that Theodore Korbel and Ludwig Dorrell’s Aeronautical Research Institute is researching airships, Arthur even mobilized a large number of Australian workers to build new airships, not only announcing the airship construction plans to the outside world but even boasting that a public experiment would be conducted in Australia after the successful construction of the airship.

This move aroused the curiosity of many Australians and successfully made the Aerospace Laboratory, which was still under construction, and the yet-to-be- built Airship well known in Australia.

Of course, this was indeed what Arthur wanted to see. Although Australia seems peaceful now, no one can guarantee that there will be no spies from other countries within Australia.

If Australia’s airship construction has achieved certain achievements, it will naturally attract the attention of the Powers.

If they can attract most of the Powers’ investment in the aviation sector to focus on airships, then Australia can occupy a part of the initiative in the development of airplanes.

On October 19,1902, after more than five months of preparation, Australia’s diplomatic visiting group set sail, aiming straight for Europe.

This diplomatic visiting group was smaller than the last time, and Foreign Minister Andrews was the only person in charge, accompanied by officials from some other departments.

There were two main purposes for this diplomatic visiting group: to carry samples of the new type of car to the British Empire and the German Empire, seeking support from both countries to jointly establish car factories, and to scout for more talent in Europe.

Since Australia’s independence, Australia’s old and new industries have not escaped Britain’s current predicament of rejecting and despising new technologies.

Yes, the British Empire, which rose in the first Industrial Revolution, fell behind other countries in the second Industrial Revolution and was successively surpassed in industry by the United States and Germany.

Many emerging technologies born during the second Industrial Revolution were first created in Britain. However, British entrepreneurs were unwilling to apply these new technologies and processes to production.

Britain is an old capitalist country and the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Many factories in the United Kingdom have existed for hundreds of years, and the equipment is outdated.

In the eyes of those British capitalists, it is not cost-effective to dismantle old equipment and replace it with new machines, which also hinders the progress of British industry.

At the same time, due to the large gap in raw material costs and labor costs between the British mainland and major colonies, capitalists prefer to transport a large amount of capital and equipment to foreign countries rather than update the production equipment and technology of local enterprises.

Capital output certainly brings huge profits to Britain, but it also restricts the country’s industrial production and progress.

As one of Britain’s former colonies, Australia received a lot of capital investment from Britain before independence, and even now, some British capitalists and entrepreneurs come to Australia every year to set up factories for the sake of Australia’s low-cost raw materials and labor.

In the UK, a skilled worker earns at least fifty pounds a year, and if the job is scarce, the salary will double.

But in Australia, ten pounds is the average income level, and even with improved economic conditions, workers’ wages will not exceed fifteen pounds. How big is the gap? The salary cost of a skilled worker is 35 pounds apart per year, along with cheaper labor and resource costs. This is also the reason why British capital flows out.

While this is a good thing for Australia, it also has its drawbacks.

For the past few years, the majority of British capital flowing out has involved new technology. However, before Australia’s independence and even earlier, factories and enterprises established by British capital in Australia were using old technology. While many factories in Europe have entered the era of electrification, some factories in Australia are still using technology from the first Industrial Revolution.

Naturally, Arthur could not tolerate the limitations that technological gaps posed to Australian industrial development, so Australia’s next plan is to fully implement electrification.

Although there is currently a lack of expertise in electrification, deploying electrification in Australia is relatively simple.

At present, the two most widely adopted power generation methods are thermal power and hydropower. Among them, thermal power generation is more extensive due to the absence of terrain restrictions.

Of course, thermal power generation is not without its flaws. It requires a large amount of coal as an energy source, which also limits the power grid deployment in many coal-scarce countries.

However, Australia happens to have abundant coal mines, which also provides a natural advantage for the development of electrification.

Arthur’s preferred talent was Tesla, a great man forgotten by the times.

Unfortunately, Tesla had already become an American by this time and had already achieved success in electrification.

Even after several attempts by Australia to lure Tesla, he only agreed to go to Australia as an American expert to guide the lay of the alternating current network.

Nevertheless, this was enough. Tesla’s alternating current patents were completely free, which could also save a considerable amount of money for Australia in laying the electrical network.

As for Edison’s direct current, Arthur did not even think about it. In addition to the controversial issue of Edison’s status as an inventor, the huge flaws exposed by direct current alone meant that Arthur would not adopt it.

Because Arthur wanted to implement comprehensive electrification in Australia, the diplomatic visiting group had another purpose this time: to draw some electrical experts and talents in Europe.

Of course, this is not difficult. There are many electrical experts in England alone, but British capitalists have not paid much attention to these technologies.