Chapter 250: Bustling Sydney Streets
On January 10, 1908, Australasia's National Day celebrations officially began. Since the founding of the Kingdom, the National Day celebrations in Australasia had become even more grandiose.
Although parades were not held every year, the celebrations still included plenty of activities. During this time, large crowds of civilians gathered to commemorate the birth of the nation. Thanks to Arthur's repeated promotions, the patriotic sentiment among the people of Australasia was quite strong, and they paid great attention to National Day and its celebrations. It was common to see Australasians coming from all corners of the country to join in the festivities.
This, to some extent, also contributed to Australasia's GDP. Since the average income of Australasians had gradually risen, the standard of living experienced explosive growth.
Although in the eyes of Europeans, Australasia had not yet reached the same level of wealth as the United States, it was no longer a barren land. At least the disposable income of the people was rising steadily.
As a result, the costs of going out gradually increased. Whether it was for clothing, food, or travel, all of these contributed to the economy's growth. Even without a parade, the National Day in Sydney would attract tens of thousands of visitors from outside the city. Combined with the travel of Sydney's residents, this made the city even more vibrant during the National Day period.
Previously, the Australian cities were ranked with Melbourne at the top, followed by Sydney, with the state capitals and large cities like Auckland and Wellington at the bottom.
After more than eight years of development, all of Australasia's cities, whether in terms of economy, population, or importance to the country, placed Sydney at the top. Even Melbourne, once the largest city, was now far behind.
As of now, Sydney had a population of 976,700, making it the most populous and economically advanced city in Australasia.
Sydney now not only served as the political center of Australasia, but also as its economic, cultural, and industrial hub.
Arthur's plan to build an integrated industrial base in Western Australia was actually designed to establish another industrial center, in order to reduce Sydney's urban burden.
With Sydney's population barely approaching one million, it was far from being capable of becoming a multifaceted, diversified, and comprehensive city.
The best approach was to move both the industrial and economic centers elsewhere, reducing Sydney's load by at least two. This would allow Sydney to have better development prospects.
In Arthur's plan, in addition to building an industrial center city in Western Australia, he also aimed to cultivate Melbourne into Australasia's secondary economic center to ease Sydney's pressure.
As the most prosperous city in Australasia, Sydney's average income had surpassed 47.1 Australian dollars, higher than Melbourne's 46.3 Australian dollars, making Sydney the city with the highest per capita annual income and the highest disposable income in Australasia.
Of course, this per capita income did not take into account the royal family's wealth. If it did, Sydney's per capita income would surpass 75 Australian dollars, comparable to the great powers.
Thanks to Sydney's economic growth, the city displayed its prosperity, which Arthur could see as he walked through the streets of Sydney.
After the National Day celebrations, Arthur took his guards and Kent, the steward, to tour Sydney, also getting a firsthand look at the developments and changes in the city.
From Arthur's perspective, Sydney had expanded its city size by more than double since his last visit, and the main streets had become much busier.
From the city center to the administrative offices and the Sydney Palace, many shops and stores had sprung up along the way. This road, connecting the core of national administration and the city center of Sydney, was always bustling, even on regular days. On National Day, the traffic was even more intense.
Luckily, the roads had wide sidewalks, which allowed the crowds and numerous street vendors to flow without affecting vehicle traffic.
Arthur could feel the changes in the bustling King's Street, one of the busiest streets in Sydney. As the name suggests, King's Street was named after Arthur himself. Originally, it was just a normal street near the New South Wales Parliament (the colonial government building), but since Arthur first walked into the government building via this street, it was named after him.
Over seven years of development, this street had become one of the busiest streets in Sydney, housing over a hundred shops, with daily foot traffic exceeding 100,000 people. Many people, apart from those shopping and sightseeing, came here to see the old Australian government building, to show their gratitude to Arthur.
As Arthur walked down the street, he couldn't help but reflect on how much it had changed. It was hard to recognize it as the same street he often visited, especially with the shift in the country's core institutions now located in the outskirts of Sydney.
This was only natural, since the country's administrative centers had already moved out of the city center, and Arthur himself rarely visited Sydney's downtown anymore, maybe only once every year or two.
Princess Louise, his mother, and Queen Mary visited more frequently, but their purpose was usually for shopping and leisure, and they didn't pay attention to the name and history of the street.
On this trip, Arthur had not only brought Queen Mary but also Princess Louise and his sister Patricia. Seeing their hopeful looks, Arthur smiled and allowed them to take a look around.
Although the lifestyle of the royal family was quite extravagant—one simple meal for any member of the royal family could cost as much as an average family's annual income—this lifestyle also brought many difficulties. For instance, they couldn't travel freely like ordinary people and had to maintain their dignity at all times.
While Arthur didn't impose too many strict requirements on Queen Mary and his sisters, his mother, Princess Louise, had received excellent noble education and held strict standards for her two younger daughters.
As a result, Margaret and Patricia had not been allowed out much before, which made them very happy whenever they had the chance.
Protected by the royal guards and with Princess Louise watching over them, Arthur had no concerns about their safety.
Even though this was a discreet outing, the royal security forces were still substantial, numbering in the thousands. Besides the guards who stayed close to the royal family, there were also undercover security personnel, the Royal Security Bureau, and others who closely monitored everyone around the royal family, ready to act immediately at the slightest irregularity.
At least for now, there were no opposing forces or revolutionary factions in Australasia.
Arthur's various policies had achieved great success, and even New Zealand, which had recently joined Australasia, had seen substantial development in the past two years.
This had greatly pleased the people of Australasia, and with everyone enjoying a comfortable life with enough food, clothing, and even surplus supplies, no one wanted to jeopardize their current prosperity by opposing the state.
Even if the consequences were considered, anyone who even entertained such a thought would be met with disdain from their family and friends.
After all, most people knew who was responsible for the great changes in Australasia. Arthur had brought immense benefits to the workers and citizens of Australasia, and everyone in every sector was benefiting from the policies he enacted.
If anything were to happen to Arthur, the welfare policies in Australasia would likely disappear as well.
Even those who were not yet full citizens, such as recent immigrants who had not obtained citizenship, would not dare to make such a move.
Their primary reason for coming to Australasia was the welfare system, and if that were taken away, they would not only have come in vain but might not even be able to afford their return trip.
As they walked down King's Street, which was named after him, Arthur was quickly recognized by a large number of Australasians.
Despite the guards and security preventing people from approaching too closely, the crowd enthusiastically cheered, "Your Majesty! Long live the King! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Arthur smiled and waved, understanding that his position required him to keep moving quickly. He signaled to Kent to proceed.
Kent immediately understood and, along with Arthur, walked to the end of the street, where they got into a car and left.
Once in the car, Arthur smiled, shaking his head, and said to Kent, "Sometimes being too popular isn't a good thing. At least, I can't even have a private moment to shop."
Kent smiled and comforted him, "Your Majesty, it might not be a good thing for ordinary people, but for you, it's the greatest blessing. After all, a ruler who is widely supported is far better than one who is ignored. Your high level of support in Australasia is beneficial both for your rule and for the royal family's position."
(End of Chapter)
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