The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 744 - 558: Directly Administered Timor State

As time approached September 1st, 1921, the deadline for the voting on the new administrative divisions was officially reached.

As expected by Arthur and the government, the widely endorsed administrative division design received over 79.4% support from the 4.87 million votes and was officially confirmed as the new administrative division design by the Australasian government.

Since the new administrative division design had been confirmed, the next important matter was to perfect the governance systems of the newly established Northern Australia and the Capital Territory, and to effectively implement the boundaries of each state and clearly define the ownership of land.

Among all the states in Australia, South Australia State and Southwest Wales were the two that changed the most.

These two states had more than half of their area removed and were faced with significant political reform.

Fortunately, the capitals of the newly established Northern Australia and Capital Territory had been decided, and all that was needed were corresponding state governments established in Darwin and Saint Arthur Castle, and the administrative systems of these two states could be established accordingly.

It’s easy to say for Northern Australia, as Darwin is the largest city in the north of Australia, and such a change is entirely acceptable.

However, the Capital Territory did not have a so-called capital, as it was a special administrative region established specifically for the capital, with the political core in the new capital city of Saint Arthur Castle of Australasia.

However, the issue was that the construction of Saint Arthur Castle was still ongoing, making the establishment of the state government somewhat difficult.

At present, due to the fact that most of the Capital Territory’s area is made up of the Mure River Basin plains, there aren’t many people and management is relatively simple.

A relatively simple state government only needs to be established, responsible for managing some small cities within the Capital Territory.

Once Saint Arthur Castle is completed, proper control over the entire Capital Territory can be carried out, as after all, the Capital Territory is established to serve the capital city, and other work naturally has to be postponed until the capital is completed.

Those who disapprove of the new administrative divisions were mostly residents of New South Wales State and Sydney.

This is quite understandable, as the new administrative divisions caused New South Wales State to lose more than half of its western land and Sydney to lose its capital status.

Although this was a change made for the greater good of the nation, ordinary people would not think that much about it.

Especially for the people of Sydney, after losing its capital status and becoming a special economic city, Sydney’s treatment would naturally be downgraded.

Although no other city can catch up with Sydney in the short term, Sydney’s glory is no longer the same as before.

Despite the objections of these people, the fait accompli of the administrative divisions cannot be changed.

On September 2, 1921, the Australasian government officially issued the announcement regarding the change in the administrative divisions, and Arthur formally announced the establishment of the Capital Territory and Northern Australia, and the renaming of the Capital Territory to Sydney Territory.

With the addition of two new state-level administrative divisions, two additional state councils would need to be created, and the proportion of representation in the House of Representatives for each state would also need to be adjusted.

However, the number of people in the House of Representatives would not change, as 298 people were already a considerable size.

Of course, on this occasion, the localization of Timor was also announced.

Starting from September 2, the Australian Timor colony was formally renamed to the Directly Administered Timor State, which, along with Northern Australia and the Capital Territory, would establish corresponding state governments and state councils, becoming new state-level administrative divisions of Australasia.

This was the first step in the localization of Australasian colonies, and next, including New Guinea, many colonies would also become an important part of the localization process.

However, the localization of colonies is not that simple. In addition to having their own industrial scale, corresponding infrastructure, as well as the popularization of medical and educational facilities, must keep pace with the local rhythm.

It is believed that under the strong development of the government, the localization of New Guinea and the Royal Territory, as well as the many nearby islands, is inevitable, and it is just a matter of time.

Because the capital, Saint Arthur Castle, is still under construction, the interim capital of the Capital Territory was set up in the small northern town of Broken Hill.

Broken Hill was originally a famous mining city in New South Wales State and the largest settlement in the arid eastern part of Australia.

After being incorporated into the Capital Territory, Broken Hill naturally became the largest and most famous city in the Capital Territory, other than the city currently under construction.

Of course, due to being a mining city, the population of Broken Hill was destined to be small, and currently, it has just over seven thousand people.

Setting up the capital of the Capital Territory here was only temporary, and as soon as Saint Arthur Castle was completed, the relocation would take place immediately.

There are actually many mining cities like Broken Hill in Australasia, and although their population scale is not huge, they have achieved international fame in terms of mineral resources.

Broken Hill is the largest silver, lead, and zinc mining center in Australia and is also a world-renowned silver, lead, and zinc mining area.

The minerals produced here are mostly transported by rail to Port Pirie, where they are smelted and exported abroad.

The developed railways and transportation that existed in Broken Hill due to its mining industry were also the reasons why the government temporarily designated Broken Hill as the capital of the Capital Territory.

After all, as the capital of a state, transportation conditions must be good, and at the very least, communication with the government must be quick and effective.