Here's a new map for the RDNA-verse. Unlike the others, however, this one shifts over across the Pacific Ocean to cover the Free Republic of Australia, aka Reactionary Australia, representing the other flip-side of the "Free Nations." At the rate this is going, I might as well set up a dedicated thread one of these days. Anyway, the DeviantArt version can be found here.
A direct, if distant remake of the Australia 2014: RDNA-verse map from 2010, it's been significantly retconned and overhauled to fit in with the setting much better. I also used the opportunity to really fine-tune and elaborate on the nature of Reactionarism (as that setting's sort-of equivalent to fascism and other hard-authoritarian regimes) and why that world's Australians come off as aloof and confrontational with the rest of the Free World. All the while further driving home some of the more Orwellian influences.
Also, a special nod to
also being a major influence. Indeed, a number of details are at least, in part, based on collaborations with her.
And just to be on the safe side, this is a work of fiction. This is not a political or ideological screed. The politically incorrect details in the map and text as deliberately in-verse. In addition, depiction is not endorsement.
At any rate, hope you enjoy. And Advance, Australia Fair.
Reactionary Australia: General Introduction
Situated in the Southern Hemisphere, Reactionary Australia, formally known as the Free Republic of Australia, is a something of a contradiction. It is simultaneously one of the leading powers among the Free Nations and stands apart from much of the Free World. This is in no small part due to it being the most powerful standard-bearer of Reactionarism and the dominant power behind the so-called "League of Neutral Defiance." Due to a well-trimmed propaganda machine and a stern isolationist policy, it does not necessarily follow that what is officially upheld matches up with reality in practice. Nonetheless, what is readily available from both local and foreign sources could be relied upon for useful information.
Currently under President Edward Wellington-Mosley, the country remains firmly under the Sovereign People's Council, upholding the "Anglo-Mosleyite" form of the Reactionary mindset. It is comprised of 10 Federal States (compared to the seven recognized during the 1900 Federation Act), six Autonomous Communities and two Special Autonomous Districts. Although many institutions and policies from the Dominion and early independence years are nominally retained, with the National Parliament in Sydney still serving as the legislature, in practice all power is in the hands of the ruling regime. Although reforms since 1991 have led to greater liberties and social mobility, the ideology is pervasive in everyday life, from public conduct and regimented gender dynamics to enforced expectations that everyone contribute to society for the betterment of all, particularly with regards to the Free Australian Armed Forces. Life outside the Federal States, meanwhile, is said to be even more rigid and with greater military presence, among other less palatable rumors. Beyond simply the need for constant readiness, but also the notion, shared by other Reactionaries, that the Terror was enabled by the seeming decadence, if not degeneracy, of the Old World.
The "Australians" who call their country home comprise a majority of the 27.7 million-strong population, who are considered in the prevailing doctrine as superior and "pure" compared to the rest of the Free World. That term, however, is only reserved for those primarily of Dutch and Anglo descent, be it from the original "settler-citizenry" or those who arrived during the Terror. Meanwhile, the "Coloureds," such as the native dark-skinned Aborigines and the Orientals, and others descended from European refugees comprise a sizable remainder that's all but separated from the rest of society. Although treated as an underclass in general (with many Aborigines confined to the Autonomous Communities), they are not excluded from the ideal known simply as the "Fair Go." A long-standing tradition incorporated by the regime, it states that anyone could strive to become "Honourary Australians" and be seen as true equals, though some in practice remain more equal. While it is difficult to make out reality from the propaganda, this has not stopped many among them from trying, especially in light of the reforms extending equality to all (at least on paper). Nor has Reactionary rule diluted the egalitarian and rugged spirit that has defined Australian culture for generations.
Despite its predicament and relative isolationism, Reactionary Australia's clout is significant. As the de facto leader of the League of Neutral Defiance (especially with the declining fortunes of Southern Africa), it is the most vocal among the remaining Reactionaries in advocating for and spreading its ideology. Whether it's the "Bolivaristas" of Colombia, the "National-Reactionaries" of Ireland, the nascent "United Front" in the Kingdom of Joseon, Australian influence is in some form of another present. For, in addition to leading by example and in spite of its own Anglo-Mosleyite notions of superiority, it has also extended a form of the Fair Go to them, under the notion that all races can aspire to uphold their own greatness and purity. Inevitably, such efforts have led to tensions with other major powers, notably with the Loyalist Canadians and New Austrians, with the latter viewed as "impure mongrels" by the regime despite having the struggling United East Indies (a mixed-race and former Belgian-Dutch colonial remnant) as a protectorate. That the Sovereign People's Council has conceded to reforms, however, suggests that it is not above maintaining some semblance of cordial diplomacy with the rest of the Free World.
In the regime's efforts to foster self-reliance and sever any lingering ties with the British Imperial Commonwealth, combined with the locals' rugged frontier traditions, the nation's economy has shown itself to be remarkably stable. Be it the factories dotting the coasts of New Wales and Cooksland, the much-vaunted wineries of Swan River or the multitude of refineries and irrigation projects in the interior, the citizenry of Australia are capable of sustaining themselves. That same industriousness, combined with a martial mindset, also fuels the F.A.A.F., considered even by the Free World as a potent force to be reckoned with. Though seen partly as a means to maintain the power of the ruling Council, it has played a decisive role in preventing the Collectivist Internationale from fully subduing the Pacific. Thus, it is not for nothing that other Reactionaries, in all their myriad manifestations, seek to emulate its example.
Although there are issues over the country's long-term stability and the lengths being taken by the regime to remain in power, there is little doubt on Reactionary Australia's willingness to defy the Collectivists in its midst. For they are always at war.
Basic History of Reactionary Australia
Although about three million square miles in size and inhabited by the native Aborigine tribes for about 50,000 years, the Australian landmass had largely been uncharted territory for countless generations. It would not be until the discovery of what is now the New Holland coast and Carstensz Gulf by a Dutchman named Willem Janszoon in 1603 that the continent began attracting the outside world. Further naval explorations, however sporadic, were undertaken by the Dutch over the next several decades, mapping more of the expanse before them. Scattered outposts were gradually established, by the 1710s stretching as far south as present-day Willemsland. Their relative distance even from the colonial center of Batavia meant that the traders and fishermen who lived in those settlements (later deemed the first of the "settler-citizenry") were largely forgotten and left to fend for themselves, cultivating a frontier mindset that would have lasting consequences.
With the expeditions of the famed explorer James Cook in the late 18th Century, the destiny of what was by then known as "Terra Australis" would be changed even further. With Cook claiming the fertile lands later known as Cooksland and New Wales for Great Britain in 1772 (soon extending to the entire continent), any concerns of potential international disputes were rendered moot with the Dutch ceding their loose grip over the budding towns further north, which the local colonists welcomed at any rate. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies and subsequent independence of the American Federation, however, made the newfound frontier appealing to Parliament in London as a seemingly ideal location with which to send criminals slated for indentured servitude. Thus, a fleet of convicts arrived off Botany Bay in 1788, founding the first of many penal colonies and the city of Sydney. By the early 19th Century, these hardened would-be prisoners were followed by farmers, herders and other pioneers seeking a new life from the British Isles.
As the population expanded, both along the coasts and further inland, they found more than new farmland or prospective homes. New opportunities for homesteading, mining and industrialization presented themselves, especially with the discovery of gold and other ores in the 1840s. They also began facing greater challenges, be it from the so-called Outback itself (including its wildlife), growing tensions with the Aborigine tribes, or from the perceived corruption of men representing the distant British Crown. Amidst hardships and occasional uprisings (including the Miners' Revolt of 1851), however, the Dutch and Anglo elements became ever more intertwined. Increasingly, even as more landed from across the seas, the settlers saw themselves no longer as simply the children of convicts, traders and laborers, let alone subjects of far-off London. The notions of an "Australian" identity had taken a recognizable form, one that took pride on their rugged mindsets and found any outside interference as a danger to their way of life. The denizens of British Maoriland soon became a peculiar exception to such norms, be it as fellow colonials or by the 1880s, as a sister nation.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, colonies such as New Wales, Cooksland, Willemsland and New Holland had not only achieved "Responsible Government" and seen a significant degree of prosperity. But as prestige rose, so did a clamor from across the continent, even from the Oriental and Aborigines, for unifying the patchwork of territories under one banner. Thus, after much debate, the Federation Act was passed in 1900, which not simply formalized Australia as a Dominion, but granted the young nation ever greater autonomy, which seemingly suited all parties involved. For a time, the country seemed to look forward to facing the wider world on its own terms, all the while its ties with British Maoriland (which became a Dominion in 1905) continued to deepen. Then, came the Terror.
Although the Federal Dominion of Australia feigned allegiance to the Crown for a time, it became evident as early as 1921 that it was hollow posturing at best, with few wishing to get involved in affairs half-way across the world. In Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere, some scholars and politicians entertained the idea of taking the country's isolationism even further as a deterrent, debates over which soon being overshadowed by demagogues with more radical answers to the rapid spread of Collectivism, espousing what was soon called Reactionarism. At any rate, after pressure both from the public and National Parliament, an independent republic was declared in 1926. Although British Maoriland remained nominally loyal, the bond between the two nations held firm. But as more people from both Europe and the Orient (including Indians and Chinamen) continued to flow into the continent, seeking to escape the so-called "Red tide" by crumbling homelands, whatever hopes Australians had of quietly weathering through the chaos were dashed.
Amidst the brewing turmoil rose an Englishman named Sir Oswald Mosley. A disgraced baron turned firebrand and one of the ignoble founders of Reactionarism, he initially sought exile in Southern Africa in the mid-1920s before crossing the Indian Ocean to the struggling republic. As many of the local demagogues were followers of his views ("Anglo-Mosleyites" in later years), it didn't take long for him to assume power over the nascent Sovereign Australian Front (the current Sovereign People's Council), becoming one of the most powerful figures in the country. Whether it was Sydney, Eylandt, Melbourne or Port Stirling, he attracted crowds as he argued passionately on how it was failure of the decadent old order that allowed the Terror to happen in the first place, and that the Australians, in their purity and isolationism, deserve a better future. It would be the ignoble fall of British Maoriland to militias backed by the Collectivist Internationale in 1932, despite the best efforts of its sibling nation, that provided a decisive blow to legitimacy of President William Forster, with accusations of pro-Commonwealth sympathies. Thus, sparked the Sovereign Revolution, in which Mosley and his supporters, especially those in the military, assumed power. The Free Republic of Australia was proclaimed that year, with widespread applause according to propaganda. Almost immediately, the Council went to work remaking the country in its image, with ports closed to the "degenerates" and the newly christened F.A.A.F. emboldened.
The next few decades were a trying time. Whether it was securing the remnants of scattered protectorates and former colonies, fending off raiding attempts by Collectivists or laying down the groundwork for the League of Neutral Defiance (alongside the "Afrikaner-Mosleyites" of Southern Africa), Reactionary Australia sought as hard as it could to bolster its place in the world. Then came the failed anti-Reactionary uprisings in Western Australia in the mid-1940s, resulting in its partition in 1948. This was not to ignore the at times violent protests in the 1950s, especially as more "Non-Honourary Coloureds" (including certain Aborigines) were relocated to the Autonomous Communities. Mosley himself did see his plans fully realized, dying in 1961, though his descendants would often assume the presidency. Yet in a strange mirror to the past, his vision proved, and continues to prove, to be as sturdy as the Australians themselves.
In more recent times, the nation has sought to meet the criticisms and challenges posed by the rest of the Free World. Still, even with the reforms enacted, it's believed that, more than generations of ideological engineering, so long as the ever-present danger of the Internationale remains, the ruling regime is not likely to fade away for the foreseeable future, to the dismay of some. That the scars left by the fall of British Maoriland all those years ago remain deeply embedded in the cultural milieu as a constant reminder of what could happen, further reinforced by doctrine, is also known to play a major part in helping keep the people in line. For some, it could seem as though it happened only yesterday.
- "The World Almanac of Nations." American Federation. 2023 Edition.
----
For some added trivia, some of the placenames used for the states are not only archaic forms of their real life incarnations, but are also references to an ultimately rejected 1838 proposal for Australia's divisions.
A number of the other placenames are also nods to explorers and pioneers from Australia's past. Apart from Cook, there's Jan Carstenszoon (with Carstensz Gulf named in his honor) and the the Archer brothers, who in real life played a role in founding settlements in Queensland, among others.
While, Oswald Mosley might seem like an unlikely figure to pop up in this alternate TL (though as among the founders of Reactionarism rather than British Fascism as in real life), he wasn't the only one to bear that name. His background as a disgraced baron is also based on his background as part of the nobility.
Coincidentally, "Anglo-Mosleyite" Reactionarism, though "successful" by the standards of Reactionaries, isn't the most pleasant of non-Collectivist ideologies, to put it lightly. Especially as some elements call to mind influences as varied as radical puritanism and apartheid, which further paints the regime's "assimilation" of Australian traits like the "Fair Go" in a darker light.
Many of the names used involving the Autonomous Communities, and their general locations, are based on Aboriginal Australian territories and spheres of influence.
----
A direct, if distant remake of the Australia 2014: RDNA-verse map from 2010, it's been significantly retconned and overhauled to fit in with the setting much better. I also used the opportunity to really fine-tune and elaborate on the nature of Reactionarism (as that setting's sort-of equivalent to fascism and other hard-authoritarian regimes) and why that world's Australians come off as aloof and confrontational with the rest of the Free World. All the while further driving home some of the more Orwellian influences.
Also, a special nod to
also being a major influence. Indeed, a number of details are at least, in part, based on collaborations with her. And just to be on the safe side, this is a work of fiction. This is not a political or ideological screed. The politically incorrect details in the map and text as deliberately in-verse. In addition, depiction is not endorsement.
At any rate, hope you enjoy. And Advance, Australia Fair.
----
Reactionary Australia: General Introduction
Situated in the Southern Hemisphere, Reactionary Australia, formally known as the Free Republic of Australia, is a something of a contradiction. It is simultaneously one of the leading powers among the Free Nations and stands apart from much of the Free World. This is in no small part due to it being the most powerful standard-bearer of Reactionarism and the dominant power behind the so-called "League of Neutral Defiance." Due to a well-trimmed propaganda machine and a stern isolationist policy, it does not necessarily follow that what is officially upheld matches up with reality in practice. Nonetheless, what is readily available from both local and foreign sources could be relied upon for useful information.
Currently under President Edward Wellington-Mosley, the country remains firmly under the Sovereign People's Council, upholding the "Anglo-Mosleyite" form of the Reactionary mindset. It is comprised of 10 Federal States (compared to the seven recognized during the 1900 Federation Act), six Autonomous Communities and two Special Autonomous Districts. Although many institutions and policies from the Dominion and early independence years are nominally retained, with the National Parliament in Sydney still serving as the legislature, in practice all power is in the hands of the ruling regime. Although reforms since 1991 have led to greater liberties and social mobility, the ideology is pervasive in everyday life, from public conduct and regimented gender dynamics to enforced expectations that everyone contribute to society for the betterment of all, particularly with regards to the Free Australian Armed Forces. Life outside the Federal States, meanwhile, is said to be even more rigid and with greater military presence, among other less palatable rumors. Beyond simply the need for constant readiness, but also the notion, shared by other Reactionaries, that the Terror was enabled by the seeming decadence, if not degeneracy, of the Old World.
The "Australians" who call their country home comprise a majority of the 27.7 million-strong population, who are considered in the prevailing doctrine as superior and "pure" compared to the rest of the Free World. That term, however, is only reserved for those primarily of Dutch and Anglo descent, be it from the original "settler-citizenry" or those who arrived during the Terror. Meanwhile, the "Coloureds," such as the native dark-skinned Aborigines and the Orientals, and others descended from European refugees comprise a sizable remainder that's all but separated from the rest of society. Although treated as an underclass in general (with many Aborigines confined to the Autonomous Communities), they are not excluded from the ideal known simply as the "Fair Go." A long-standing tradition incorporated by the regime, it states that anyone could strive to become "Honourary Australians" and be seen as true equals, though some in practice remain more equal. While it is difficult to make out reality from the propaganda, this has not stopped many among them from trying, especially in light of the reforms extending equality to all (at least on paper). Nor has Reactionary rule diluted the egalitarian and rugged spirit that has defined Australian culture for generations.
Despite its predicament and relative isolationism, Reactionary Australia's clout is significant. As the de facto leader of the League of Neutral Defiance (especially with the declining fortunes of Southern Africa), it is the most vocal among the remaining Reactionaries in advocating for and spreading its ideology. Whether it's the "Bolivaristas" of Colombia, the "National-Reactionaries" of Ireland, the nascent "United Front" in the Kingdom of Joseon, Australian influence is in some form of another present. For, in addition to leading by example and in spite of its own Anglo-Mosleyite notions of superiority, it has also extended a form of the Fair Go to them, under the notion that all races can aspire to uphold their own greatness and purity. Inevitably, such efforts have led to tensions with other major powers, notably with the Loyalist Canadians and New Austrians, with the latter viewed as "impure mongrels" by the regime despite having the struggling United East Indies (a mixed-race and former Belgian-Dutch colonial remnant) as a protectorate. That the Sovereign People's Council has conceded to reforms, however, suggests that it is not above maintaining some semblance of cordial diplomacy with the rest of the Free World.
In the regime's efforts to foster self-reliance and sever any lingering ties with the British Imperial Commonwealth, combined with the locals' rugged frontier traditions, the nation's economy has shown itself to be remarkably stable. Be it the factories dotting the coasts of New Wales and Cooksland, the much-vaunted wineries of Swan River or the multitude of refineries and irrigation projects in the interior, the citizenry of Australia are capable of sustaining themselves. That same industriousness, combined with a martial mindset, also fuels the F.A.A.F., considered even by the Free World as a potent force to be reckoned with. Though seen partly as a means to maintain the power of the ruling Council, it has played a decisive role in preventing the Collectivist Internationale from fully subduing the Pacific. Thus, it is not for nothing that other Reactionaries, in all their myriad manifestations, seek to emulate its example.
Although there are issues over the country's long-term stability and the lengths being taken by the regime to remain in power, there is little doubt on Reactionary Australia's willingness to defy the Collectivists in its midst. For they are always at war.
Basic History of Reactionary Australia
Although about three million square miles in size and inhabited by the native Aborigine tribes for about 50,000 years, the Australian landmass had largely been uncharted territory for countless generations. It would not be until the discovery of what is now the New Holland coast and Carstensz Gulf by a Dutchman named Willem Janszoon in 1603 that the continent began attracting the outside world. Further naval explorations, however sporadic, were undertaken by the Dutch over the next several decades, mapping more of the expanse before them. Scattered outposts were gradually established, by the 1710s stretching as far south as present-day Willemsland. Their relative distance even from the colonial center of Batavia meant that the traders and fishermen who lived in those settlements (later deemed the first of the "settler-citizenry") were largely forgotten and left to fend for themselves, cultivating a frontier mindset that would have lasting consequences.
With the expeditions of the famed explorer James Cook in the late 18th Century, the destiny of what was by then known as "Terra Australis" would be changed even further. With Cook claiming the fertile lands later known as Cooksland and New Wales for Great Britain in 1772 (soon extending to the entire continent), any concerns of potential international disputes were rendered moot with the Dutch ceding their loose grip over the budding towns further north, which the local colonists welcomed at any rate. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies and subsequent independence of the American Federation, however, made the newfound frontier appealing to Parliament in London as a seemingly ideal location with which to send criminals slated for indentured servitude. Thus, a fleet of convicts arrived off Botany Bay in 1788, founding the first of many penal colonies and the city of Sydney. By the early 19th Century, these hardened would-be prisoners were followed by farmers, herders and other pioneers seeking a new life from the British Isles.
As the population expanded, both along the coasts and further inland, they found more than new farmland or prospective homes. New opportunities for homesteading, mining and industrialization presented themselves, especially with the discovery of gold and other ores in the 1840s. They also began facing greater challenges, be it from the so-called Outback itself (including its wildlife), growing tensions with the Aborigine tribes, or from the perceived corruption of men representing the distant British Crown. Amidst hardships and occasional uprisings (including the Miners' Revolt of 1851), however, the Dutch and Anglo elements became ever more intertwined. Increasingly, even as more landed from across the seas, the settlers saw themselves no longer as simply the children of convicts, traders and laborers, let alone subjects of far-off London. The notions of an "Australian" identity had taken a recognizable form, one that took pride on their rugged mindsets and found any outside interference as a danger to their way of life. The denizens of British Maoriland soon became a peculiar exception to such norms, be it as fellow colonials or by the 1880s, as a sister nation.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, colonies such as New Wales, Cooksland, Willemsland and New Holland had not only achieved "Responsible Government" and seen a significant degree of prosperity. But as prestige rose, so did a clamor from across the continent, even from the Oriental and Aborigines, for unifying the patchwork of territories under one banner. Thus, after much debate, the Federation Act was passed in 1900, which not simply formalized Australia as a Dominion, but granted the young nation ever greater autonomy, which seemingly suited all parties involved. For a time, the country seemed to look forward to facing the wider world on its own terms, all the while its ties with British Maoriland (which became a Dominion in 1905) continued to deepen. Then, came the Terror.
Although the Federal Dominion of Australia feigned allegiance to the Crown for a time, it became evident as early as 1921 that it was hollow posturing at best, with few wishing to get involved in affairs half-way across the world. In Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere, some scholars and politicians entertained the idea of taking the country's isolationism even further as a deterrent, debates over which soon being overshadowed by demagogues with more radical answers to the rapid spread of Collectivism, espousing what was soon called Reactionarism. At any rate, after pressure both from the public and National Parliament, an independent republic was declared in 1926. Although British Maoriland remained nominally loyal, the bond between the two nations held firm. But as more people from both Europe and the Orient (including Indians and Chinamen) continued to flow into the continent, seeking to escape the so-called "Red tide" by crumbling homelands, whatever hopes Australians had of quietly weathering through the chaos were dashed.
Amidst the brewing turmoil rose an Englishman named Sir Oswald Mosley. A disgraced baron turned firebrand and one of the ignoble founders of Reactionarism, he initially sought exile in Southern Africa in the mid-1920s before crossing the Indian Ocean to the struggling republic. As many of the local demagogues were followers of his views ("Anglo-Mosleyites" in later years), it didn't take long for him to assume power over the nascent Sovereign Australian Front (the current Sovereign People's Council), becoming one of the most powerful figures in the country. Whether it was Sydney, Eylandt, Melbourne or Port Stirling, he attracted crowds as he argued passionately on how it was failure of the decadent old order that allowed the Terror to happen in the first place, and that the Australians, in their purity and isolationism, deserve a better future. It would be the ignoble fall of British Maoriland to militias backed by the Collectivist Internationale in 1932, despite the best efforts of its sibling nation, that provided a decisive blow to legitimacy of President William Forster, with accusations of pro-Commonwealth sympathies. Thus, sparked the Sovereign Revolution, in which Mosley and his supporters, especially those in the military, assumed power. The Free Republic of Australia was proclaimed that year, with widespread applause according to propaganda. Almost immediately, the Council went to work remaking the country in its image, with ports closed to the "degenerates" and the newly christened F.A.A.F. emboldened.
The next few decades were a trying time. Whether it was securing the remnants of scattered protectorates and former colonies, fending off raiding attempts by Collectivists or laying down the groundwork for the League of Neutral Defiance (alongside the "Afrikaner-Mosleyites" of Southern Africa), Reactionary Australia sought as hard as it could to bolster its place in the world. Then came the failed anti-Reactionary uprisings in Western Australia in the mid-1940s, resulting in its partition in 1948. This was not to ignore the at times violent protests in the 1950s, especially as more "Non-Honourary Coloureds" (including certain Aborigines) were relocated to the Autonomous Communities. Mosley himself did see his plans fully realized, dying in 1961, though his descendants would often assume the presidency. Yet in a strange mirror to the past, his vision proved, and continues to prove, to be as sturdy as the Australians themselves.
In more recent times, the nation has sought to meet the criticisms and challenges posed by the rest of the Free World. Still, even with the reforms enacted, it's believed that, more than generations of ideological engineering, so long as the ever-present danger of the Internationale remains, the ruling regime is not likely to fade away for the foreseeable future, to the dismay of some. That the scars left by the fall of British Maoriland all those years ago remain deeply embedded in the cultural milieu as a constant reminder of what could happen, further reinforced by doctrine, is also known to play a major part in helping keep the people in line. For some, it could seem as though it happened only yesterday.
- "The World Almanac of Nations." American Federation. 2023 Edition.
----
For some added trivia, some of the placenames used for the states are not only archaic forms of their real life incarnations, but are also references to an ultimately rejected 1838 proposal for Australia's divisions.
A number of the other placenames are also nods to explorers and pioneers from Australia's past. Apart from Cook, there's Jan Carstenszoon (with Carstensz Gulf named in his honor) and the the Archer brothers, who in real life played a role in founding settlements in Queensland, among others.
While, Oswald Mosley might seem like an unlikely figure to pop up in this alternate TL (though as among the founders of Reactionarism rather than British Fascism as in real life), he wasn't the only one to bear that name. His background as a disgraced baron is also based on his background as part of the nobility.
Coincidentally, "Anglo-Mosleyite" Reactionarism, though "successful" by the standards of Reactionaries, isn't the most pleasant of non-Collectivist ideologies, to put it lightly. Especially as some elements call to mind influences as varied as radical puritanism and apartheid, which further paints the regime's "assimilation" of Australian traits like the "Fair Go" in a darker light.
Many of the names used involving the Autonomous Communities, and their general locations, are based on Aboriginal Australian territories and spheres of influence.
----
