The Rise Of Australasia - Chapter 352

Chapter 352: Chapter 304: Dream of Australasia

As time entered December of 1911, summer finally arrived in Australasia.

However, the temperature in Sydney was not too hot, perhaps because it was just the beginning of summer, the average temperature in Sydney was around 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, which was just right.

The real reason for Arthur’s outing, in fact, was the imminent completion of the Royal Film Production Studio’s first sound film, and Arthur was invited to inspect and appear in the film alongside the other actors.

At this point, it is necessary to mention Australasia’s first sound film.

As a film financed by the royal family, this first sound film was destined to have strong political themes.

The film was named Dream of Australasia, consisting of four short stories which focused on the origins of Australia and New Zealand’s people, the pitiful conditions of the Australasians during the colonial period, and the disasters and unity of the nation. The last story was about Arthur becoming the Duke of Australia, the Duke of New Zealand, and the King of Australasia.

In the latter two stories, Arthur was the protagonist, which meant that he would definitely appear in the film.

However, this posed a problem for the Royal Film Studio. If they had an actor play Arthur, and the actor failed to capture Arthur’s dignity and reputation, the angry reactions of the Australasian public could lead to the studio’s downfall.

But the movie could not do without Arthur, as his immense popularity in both Australia and New Zealand was, in large part, responsible for the unity of Australasia.

Therefore, after much deliberation, the head of the Royal Film Production Studio decided to consult Butler Kent.

After asking for Arthur’s opinion, it was finally decided that Arthur would play himself and complete the final shooting of the film.

The film was scheduled to premiere on January 10th, National Day, and would be screened simultaneously in all cities with a population of over 100,000 in Australasia.

This would be a feast for the entire Australasian people, as the film would be played once daily during the seven-day National Day Celebration Week in Australasia.

As a film with a heavy political agenda, it was unlikely to be widely distributed in Europe.

If the sound film were to succeed, the Three Major Film Studios would continuously produce more sound films to meet the leisure needs of Europeans while making huge profits from them.

Anyway, at that time, Europeans and Americans were the wealthiest people, and making money from them could be seen as a form of wealth redistribution.

Royal Film Studio.

Arthur’s arrival attracted a lot of attention and even temporarily halted the film’s production.

There was no helping it, with Arthur’s current popularity in Australasia, anyone able to see him up close would be excited, except those who did not recognize him or had a weak sense of national identity.

For ordinary people, they might feel a general sense of goodwill towards their monarch, but when the monarch actually stood in front of them, the tension and confusion were inevitable.

Spending two days at the Royal Film Studio for the shooting, Arthur experienced what it was like to shoot a film a hundred years ahead of time.

Of course, the current film technology was not as advanced as it would be in later generations, and the methods and techniques of filmmaking were also quite different.

Upon Arthur’s inquiry, the Royal Film Studio stated that the final shooting would take about a week to complete and could be finished before January.

In fact, the film Dream of Australasia was jointly produced by the Three Major Film Studios, and when it would be screened nationwide in the future, it would also be a joint endeavor of the Three Major Film Studios.

This cooperation shortened the film production time somewhat, and was the primary reason for its nationwide screening.

After all, although the Royal Film Studio was the largest film studio in Australasia, it faced difficulties screening films in all cities with populations exceeding 100,000.

As for the parts of the film that had been shot, Arthur was quite satisfied.

The combination of truth and fiction, devised by writers, men of letters, historians, and novelists, made the film seem like a chronicle of Australasia, documenting the rise and fall of the nation from hundreds of years ago to the present day.

The climax of the whole film was definitely the period after Arthur’s arrival. Although this was just one of the four short stories, it accounted for one-third of the entire film, about 50 minutes long.

This proportion was determined only after extensive research. Too much or too little content would not be as effective, one-third was just the golden ratio.

It is worth mentioning that the opening of the film was Arthur’s speech announcing the establishment of the Kingdom of Australasia, which discussed the main theme of the film, the dream of the rise of Australasia.

At the end of the film, the Australasian national anthem, “Australasia, Advance!” played.

As a perfect opening and ending, the film’s impact on people in an era lacking entertainment culture could not be underestimated.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the world’s first patriotic sound film, and the changes it brings to Australasia are definitely momentous.

Naturally, the more such movies the better. Anyway, Arthur is very willing to see patriotic films like the Dream of Australasia blooming in the movie market across Australasia.

However, this puts a burden on those writers. After all, creating a truly classical film like this one is not an easy task, even if hundreds of writers work together, the time needed would still be counted in six months.

Actually, if this movie were charged for, there should still be a lot of people in Australasia willing to watch it.

After all, in an era when sound films were not yet popular, such a classic sound film was absolutely epoch-making, with far greater influence than silent films.

However, after careful consideration, Arthur still feels there is no need. After all, charging might make some money, but Arthur is clearly not short of it.

Rather than charge for it, make it free, so more Australasians can see it, and more people are influenced by this film, becoming even more patriotic, more loving of their nation.

After all, the political significance of this film far outweighs its practical benefits, and Arthur knows how to choose.

Approaching the end of the year, another good news is the upcoming completion of the Northern Railway.

The construction of the Northern Railway began with the Annual Report Conference of 1906 and officially started in January 1907.

Originally, the construction of the Northern Railway was expected to take about eight years, which means it should be completed around 1915.

However, due to the government’s attention and increased investment in funds and manpower, the construction period of the Northern Railway was shortened to five years, and it is expected to be completed in January 1912.

The Northern Railway is of great importance to Australasia, and its significance is in no way inferior to the Industrial Railway in the southern region.

What’s more important is that the Northern Railway and the Industrial Railway are connected, completely connecting the core area of Australia, forming a true circumnavigation railway around Australia.

This will greatly facilitate domestic transportation in Australasia and closely connect the sparsely populated northern part of Australia, allowing effective control of northern Australia while expanding influence to Southeast Asia north of Australasia.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this even alleviates the military pressure on Australasia.

Even now, the vast territory of Australasia still has only over 200,000 troops stationed and dispersed in various colonies and territories.

With the smooth passage of the Northern Railway, Australasia’s military can quickly reach every corner of the core area of Australia, greatly improving the military’s coverage of Australia.

At the same time, the efficiency of the military dispatch to Southeast Asia has also been significantly improved. Previously, traveling to Southeast Asia by land route took much longer than by sea.

However, the transportation ships of Australasia can only carry up to two divisions, and it is impossible to swiftly dispatch large forces to reach Southeast Asia.

But once the Northern Railway becomes operational in the future, the military can first take the railway to Australasia’s northern ports, and then take ships there, saving a great deal of time.

If the construction goes smoothly, the completion of the Northern Railway might even be ahead of National Day, allowing it to be announced on National Day and making all Australasians rejoice.

Arthur is likely to attend the Northern Railway completion ceremony, but he has no intention of personally experiencing the Northern Railway himself.

Out of curiosity and regard for the importance of the first railway spanning over 2000 kilometers when the Industrial Railway was completed, Arthur boarded the train for the experience.

But trains in this era are not fast, and the lack of entertainment facilities makes train travel even more tedious than in later generations.

More importantly, in order to maintain the dignity of the monarch, Arthur could only sit on the train and pretend to enjoy the experience while inwardly longing to stand up and stretch his back.

He won’t be experiencing it again at the Northern Railway completion ceremony in a while, regardless of what he says.

Indeed, it is best not to take trains in this era if possible.

Arthur is even looking forward to the widespread commercial use of airplanes, after all, airplanes are more comfortable and convenient, and one can reach the destination quickly just by taking a short nap.

Speaking of airplanes, Australasia currently has a military aircraft fleet large enough, with a total of over 600 aircraft.

However, Australasia’s aircraft are currently military secrets, trained quietly inland, and there is no news coverage of it.

It is an unavoidable situation; after all, due to the previous achievements of airships, European countries generally pay more attention to airships rather than airplanes.

If news of more advanced aircraft is exposed, I am afraid that the major powers of Europe would invest heavily in researching aircraft, and the rate of aircraft renewal will undoubtedly be rapid; this would render the progress Australasia has made in recent years in vain.