Chapter 167: The First University Graduates
On July 4, 1903, several transport ships, fully loaded with weapons and equipment, departed from Sydney Port in Australia, heading directly for the island nation.
The cargo consisted of a portion of the agreement from the Island-Australia Treaty, including 20,000 Gew98 rifles, 100 German-made Maxim machine guns, 15 105mm Krupp howitzers, and millions of rounds of ammunition, along with thousands of artillery shells.
Of course, there were still large quantities of bullets and shells in the process of being manufactured. Given Australia's current military production capabilities, producing such a vast amount of weaponry was already an intense effort, requiring extra shifts.
After nearly half a month, this batch of weapons was successfully delivered to the island nation's port, and Arthur also received the final payment from the island.
The total amount of the arms trade order reached nearly two million pounds, with the battleship alone costing over a million pounds.
However, the battleship's delivery would have to wait until the following year, as the construction time would take at least another year.
For this arms and warship transaction, Australia's profit exceeded 700,000 pounds.
While more than half of the profit belonged to Arthur's military factory, which was part of the royal consortium, nearly half of the profit still went to the Australian government.
Although the Australian government's income was less than 300,000 pounds, this marked a significant improvement for a country that had no revenue from the military industry until recently.
On September 4, 1903, another batch of weapons also departed from Sydney Port, accompanied by several transport ships and warships for protection. However, this time the destination was not the island nation but the Russian Empire, which had been in intense conflict with the island nation in the Far East.
Due to confidentiality, this batch of weapons was disguised as clothing and food and was discreetly delivered to a port controlled by the Russian Empire.
Though the number of weapons was approximately half of what had been delivered to the island nation, no one could deny the destructive power these heavy weaponry could bring.
If the island nation wasn't fully prepared, these new heavy weapons could give the Russian Empire an advantage. While it might not entirely change the course of the war, it could certainly influence a smaller battle.
Although the weapons trade with the Russian Empire was not as profitable as with the island nation, it still brought several thousand pounds in profit to Australia.
These two arms trades were the main military deals Australia had at the time. After fulfilling the orders from the island nation and the Russian Empire, Australia's military factory would have to shift focus to providing weapons for domestic needs.
In the meantime, there was some good news for Australia: the first class of graduates from the Australian National University had successfully graduated and entered various industries across the country.
Although the first batch of university students had started over a month later than subsequent classes, it didn't stop them from graduating after three years.
The first batch of graduates was involved in five different fields. The most important were mechanical engineering and physical chemistry, with two hundred students each—making these the largest departments at the Australian National University.
Following these were the architecture and medical departments. The architecture department focused on design and construction, while the medical department naturally played a critical role in providing the much-needed healthcare talent for Australia. These graduates were instrumental in staffing Australia's large hospitals.
The smallest department was the literature department. The first batch of literature students consisted of only 100 students, and even now the entire Australian National University has fewer than 500 literature students.
However, literature students were still important to Australia. Arthur believed that to unite immigrants and local Australians, the efforts of these literature students, with their writing and rhetoric, were essential.
Never underestimate the power of intellectuals in shaping public opinion. As long as these individuals passionately published articles about the Australian nation in various newspapers, many Australians would see, believe, and gradually accept their ideas.
The graduation of this first class of university students marked a significant shift in Australia's industrial and medical sectors.
With 150 graduates from the medical department, Australia's hospitals were now almost fully staffed. Aside from a few top positions filled by foreign experts, the rest of the roles were held by these medical graduates.
Many graduates from the mechanical engineering and physical chemistry departments were invited to work at Arthur's military factories, shipyards, and various industrial laboratories. They were critical to Australia's scientific research capacity, not as leaders, but as solid middle-tier contributors.
Over the years, the number of students enrolling at the Australian National University had been on a decline. Apart from the first class, which numbered 800 students, the second class had 600, and the third and fourth classes only had 500 students each.
As a result, after the first class graduated, the total number of students and faculty at the Australian National University had dropped to fewer than 1,700.
Although the number of students had decreased, the efficiency of teaching had increased, as faculty members could focus more on a smaller group of students.
With each graduating class, Australia's shortage of talented professionals was gradually being addressed. Coupled with the Victoria Prize to attract top-tier scientists, Australia's middle and lower-tier scientists were also beginning to thrive.
On September 13, 1903, after hosting the opening ceremony for the fourth batch of Australian National University students, Arthur received a request from the new Cabinet government to hold a Cabinet meeting. He immediately made his way to the government building to attend the first large Cabinet meeting of the second Cabinet government.
The meeting was held in the same place as the previous Cabinet election, though it appeared a bit emptier, with only the eleven Cabinet members and Arthur present.
"Prime Minister Evan, please explain the purpose of this large Cabinet meeting," Arthur asked.
For smaller Cabinet meetings, the Prime Minister could hold them alone with all Cabinet members present, and then report the results to Arthur. However, for important meetings that concern major events in Australia's political landscape, Arthur had to be present to make the final decisions.
(End of Chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997