Chapter 305: The Dream of Australasia
As December 1911 arrived, the summer season in Australasia also began. However, the temperature in Sydney wasn't as hot as expected, perhaps because it was still early in the summer. The average temperature in Sydney was about 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, which was just right.
Of course, the real reason for Arthur's appearance was that the Royal Film Studio's first sound film was about to be completed, and Arthur had been invited to inspect the project, as well as to film his own scenes.
Speaking of this, it's impossible not to mention Australasia's first sound film. This film was a royal investment, and its production was always going to carry a heavy political tone. The movie was titled The Dream of Australasia and was divided into four smaller stories. It focused on the origins of the nations of Australia and New Zealand, the impoverished conditions of the people during the colonial period, various disasters faced by Australasia, and finally, the story of Arthur becoming the Duke of Australia, the Duke of New Zealand, and the King of Australasia.
Arthur was the main character in the last two segments, which meant he would inevitably appear in the film.
This created quite a challenge for the Royal Film Studio. If they hired an actor to play Arthur, there was a risk that the actor might fail to portray Arthur's dignity and stature. The furious public reaction could easily cause the Royal Film Studio to go bankrupt.
But the story of the film could not proceed without Arthur, as the unity of Australasia was largely due to his immense reputation in both Australia and New Zealand.
After much consideration, the head of the Royal Film Studio decided to consult with Butler Kent. After Kent consulted Arthur, it was decided that Arthur would play himself in the film and complete the final scenes.
The movie was set to premiere on January 10, National Day, and would be screened simultaneously in all cities across Australasia with populations over 100,000. This would be a grand celebration for all the people of Australasia, with the film playing once every day throughout the seven-day National Day week.
This movie was full of political undertones, so its chances of being widely released in Europe were slim. However, if the film was successful, the three major film studios would continue to produce more sound films, catering to the leisure activities of Europeans and generating large profits from them.
After all, during this era, Europe and America were the wealthiest, so making money from them could be seen as a way to redistribute wealth.
Arthur's presence attracted much attention and even caused a temporary halt in the filming process. It was inevitable. With Arthur's current reputation in Australasia, anyone who had the chance to see him up close would be excited, except for those who didn't recognize him or those with low national pride.
For ordinary people, even if their feelings for the monarch were neutral, the sheer excitement of seeing the monarch in person would surely cause nervousness and chaos.
Arthur spent two days at the Royal Film Studio, experiencing the feeling of being filmed a century ahead of its time.
Of course, the technology for filmmaking was not as advanced as it would be in the future, and the methods and techniques were quite different from what would be used later.
Upon Arthur's inquiry, the Royal Film Studio stated that the final shooting of the film would take approximately one more week, and they would easily be able to finish production before January.
In fact, The Dream of Australasia was produced by a collaboration of the three major film studios, and the nationwide screening was also a joint effort. This helped shorten the shooting time and made the nationwide release possible.
Despite the Royal Film Studio being the largest in Australasia, it was no small task to have the film shown in every city with over 100,000 people.
Arthur was very satisfied with the portions of the film that had already been shot. The work done by the writers, historians, and novelists was commendable. The balance of fact and fiction made the film seem like a chronological history of Australasia, documenting the rise and fall of the nation from centuries ago to the present.
The highlight of the movie was, of course, the period after Arthur's arrival. Though this was just one of the four smaller stories, it took up about one-third of the entire movie, roughly 50 minutes.
This length had been carefully decided after much deliberation. Any more or less would have disrupted the flow, but one-third was the golden ratio.
It's worth mentioning that the opening scene of the film was Arthur's speech when he announced the founding of the Kingdom of Australasia, perfectly capturing the theme of the film: the dream of Australasia's rise.
The film's ending featured the national anthem of Australasia, Australasia, Forward!.
The film's structure, with its bookending of these two moments, made a significant cultural impact in an era where entertainment was lacking.
It could even be said without exaggeration that this was the world's first sound film with strong patriotic themes, and the changes it would bring to Australasia were highly significant.
More such films would naturally be welcomed. Arthur was eager to see more patriotic films like The Dream of Australasia flourish in Australasia's movie market.
However, this would be no easy task for the writers. After all, creating a movie as iconic as this one was no small feat, and even with a hundred writers working together, the process took at least half a year.
In fact, if the movie was made into a paid show, many people in Australasia would likely still watch it. After all, in an era when sound films hadn't yet become popular, such a groundbreaking movie would have an influence far greater than that of silent films.
However, after careful consideration, Arthur felt there was no need to charge for it. While charging might bring in some revenue, Arthur clearly wasn't in need of money.
He preferred to make it free for everyone, allowing more people in Australasia to watch it, be influenced by it, and become more patriotic and proud of their nation.
After all, the political significance of the film far outweighed any financial gain. Arthur knew exactly what needed to be done.
As the year came to a close, another piece of good news arrived: the Northern Railway was about to be completed.
The construction of the Northern Railway began in the 1906 annual summary meeting and officially started in January 1907. Originally, it was expected to take about eight years, meaning it would be completed around 1915.
However, due to the government's emphasis on the project and the additional funds and manpower, the construction time was shortened to five years, and it was expected to be completed in January 1912.
The Northern Railway was extremely important for Australasia, as it was as vital as the southern industrial railway.
Even more importantly, when connected with the industrial railway, the Northern Railway would link the core regions of Australasia, fully connecting Australia with a true island-wide railway.
This would greatly facilitate domestic transportation, connecting the sparsely populated northern regions of Australia, allowing for better control over the northern regions and spreading influence into Southeast Asia.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this would ease Australasia's military pressure. Even now, Australasia's vast territory was guarded by only around 20,000 troops, scattered across various colonies and territories.
Once the Northern Railway was operational, the military would be able to quickly reach all corners of Australia's core areas, significantly increasing its ability to project power across the continent.
At the same time, the efficiency of deploying troops to Southeast Asia would be greatly improved. Previously, land routes to Southeast Asia took much longer than sea routes.
However, Australasia's transport ships could only carry two divisions at most, making it impossible to deploy large forces quickly to Southeast Asia.
Once the Northern Railway was completed, troops could first travel by rail to one of Australasia's northern ports, then take a ship from there, greatly reducing travel time.
If construction proceeded smoothly, the railway might even be completed before National Day, allowing it to be officially announced and celebrated by all of Australasia.
Arthur was expected to attend the official completion ceremony, but he had no intention of personally riding on the Northern Railway.
When the industrial railway was completed, out of curiosity and to show his importance of the first 2,000-kilometer railway, Arthur had taken a train ride.
However, train travel at this time was slow and lacked entertainment facilities, making it an even more uncomfortable experience than it would be in later years.
Moreover, in order to maintain the monarch's dignity, Arthur had to sit upright on the train and pretend to enjoy the experience, even though he was already longing to stretch and relax.
For the upcoming completion of the Northern Railway, Arthur had no intention of repeating the experience.
It turned out that traveling by train during this era was best avoided.
Arthur was already looking forward to the mass commercial use of airplanes. After all, airplanes were much more comfortable and convenient—just a short nap, and you'd arrive at your destination.
Speaking of airplanes, Australasia's military aviation force had already grown to over 600 aircraft.
However, the details of Australasia's aircraft remained a military secret, with training taking place quietly inland and no media reports.
This was unavoidable. While European countries had increasingly focused on airships rather than airplanes due to earlier successes with airships, the news of more advanced aircraft being developed in Australasia, if exposed, could prompt Europe's great powers to invest heavily in aircraft technology.
If this happened, the speed of aircraft upgrades would be rapid, potentially undoing years of development in Australasia.
(End of Chapter)
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