Isaac Beach
Banned
(Not gonna lie, been waiting to post this so I don't get end of page syndrome 
)
This world diverges from our own in the 1890s, wherein the British consolidate their Antarctic territories a decade earlier than OTL and in the process claim the Kerguelen Islands before the French can. Paris protests, but are not willing to go to war over a frozen spit at the bottom of the world and in any event are compensated with the South Sandwich Islands.
Later, the British Crown transfers the island of Kerguelen to the Western Australian colonial government, which will instill a measure of responsibility and a greater esteem for independence, bolstered by lucrative taxes on the then endemic whaling and sealing stations. When Federation rolls around, Western Australia as New Zealand abstains from federating and remain a colony of Britain until 1910 when they successfully lobby for their own independent Dominion-status, taking Kerguelen with them to become the -rather opulently named- Kingdom of Swan River.
Swan River becomes decidedly less racist than the Commonwealth, and never institutes a White Australia Policy as with their brother country. This is not to say there is not societal discrimination or structural prejudice, but Asians, Africans and Southern and Catholic Europeans can actually settle in the Dominion from the outset, which regardless of their treatment is typically better than their mother countries. As such, it quickly becomes a very multicultural nation, with Perthine boroughs quickly taking on an ethnically diverse character, particularly of a Chinese (particularly from Fujian), Indian (primarily Biharis and Gujaratis), and Italo-Croatian (largely Sicilian and Dalmatian, respectively) nature. As such, Swan River's population is much higher much earlier on and at the outbreak of the First Great War possess a population just short of 500'000 people.
Following the War, Swan River's population further swells due to refugees and a more successful soldier-settlement scheme and by 1930 breaches 1 million inhabitants. It's at this time that the landmark Citizens Act is passed, granting citizenship to their Catholic and Asian and, perhaps more importantly, their Aboriginal residents, as their respective populations constitute a third of the country's and cannot reasonably continue to be discriminated against. Whilst this leads to a great backlash in the neighbouring Commonwealth of Australia, in the long term it will lead to an earlier abolition of the White Australia Policy and indirectly spearheads a trend in the British Empire of breaking down the social barriers between different ethnic groups, and one major consequence herein is that Apartheid never occurs.
The economy becomes dependent on mining and heavy industries much earlier than OTL simply due to their larger population facilitating more prospecting than IOTL, and valuable deposits of iron, nickel and other minerals are discovered as early as the late 1930s, which boosts their economy following the Great Depression. Later, this would be bolstered by petroleum refinement and exportation. Agriculture remained and remains an important industry, with wineries, wheat, cattle and sheep farming all contributing great proportions to the national GDP.
Following the Second Great War the population further expands with the addition of large quantities of refugees, this time primarily from the Balkans, Poland and France, Vietnam and the Philippines, who were all adversely affected by the war. As such, by 2000 their population tops 2.5 million and by 2010, the Centenary of Kingdom, 4 million. About a third live in or around Perth, but other important cities include Albany, Bunbury and Broome.
It is an upper income country and has reinforced it's economy in areas unlike OTL, such as niche manufacturing in a similar vein to modern Germany, aeronautics (Albany is the second largest producer of airplanes in the world after the United States) and a notably high quality film industry, Wallywood. Though their exports are still dominated by raw minerals.
Given the more focused administration and geographic relevancy, as opposed to OTL's Parisian government, efforts are made to actually develop and permanently settle the Kerguelen Islands. Kerguelen cabbages, cochayuyo kelp, potatoes, antarctic fishing, mallard hatcheries, dall sheep imported from Alaska and ship coaling become essential industries on the island, swelling to a population of over a 1000 by the First Great War. Thereafter, a flood of refugees from across Europe are resettled in many parts of the British Empire, and a portion are settled by the Swan River government, a large proportion of which are therein settled upon Kerguelen, further pushing the island's population to 3000. Later on, the island's population will explode to a high of 22'000 people as advanced farming techniques, coal deposits and natural gas make the island rather more profitable, and it becomes a key route between the Cape of Good Hope and Swan River proper, especially upon the outbreak of the Second Great War.
Long term, however, the island's population dwindles to a stable 12'000, seasonally bolstered by tourists and transient agriculturalists and fishermen to a yearly high of 14'000. In the modern day, Kerguelen maintains it's wealth and productivity in it's traditional industries of dall sheep and natural gas, but also in the communications industry and as a center of antarctic exploration and research, and the University of Kerguelen is an internationally recognised institution.
The title comes from an old melody about the Swan River, obviously called 'Fly Not Yet'. I thought it worked. This took me a few days to make, and boy was it a task. I hope you enjoy it! I actually wrote the Kerguelen paragraphs before the Swan River paragraphs so if there's a thematic clash there for whatever reason just let me know.
)
Fly Not Yet ~ An Independent Western Australia
This world diverges from our own in the 1890s, wherein the British consolidate their Antarctic territories a decade earlier than OTL and in the process claim the Kerguelen Islands before the French can. Paris protests, but are not willing to go to war over a frozen spit at the bottom of the world and in any event are compensated with the South Sandwich Islands.
Later, the British Crown transfers the island of Kerguelen to the Western Australian colonial government, which will instill a measure of responsibility and a greater esteem for independence, bolstered by lucrative taxes on the then endemic whaling and sealing stations. When Federation rolls around, Western Australia as New Zealand abstains from federating and remain a colony of Britain until 1910 when they successfully lobby for their own independent Dominion-status, taking Kerguelen with them to become the -rather opulently named- Kingdom of Swan River.
Swan River becomes decidedly less racist than the Commonwealth, and never institutes a White Australia Policy as with their brother country. This is not to say there is not societal discrimination or structural prejudice, but Asians, Africans and Southern and Catholic Europeans can actually settle in the Dominion from the outset, which regardless of their treatment is typically better than their mother countries. As such, it quickly becomes a very multicultural nation, with Perthine boroughs quickly taking on an ethnically diverse character, particularly of a Chinese (particularly from Fujian), Indian (primarily Biharis and Gujaratis), and Italo-Croatian (largely Sicilian and Dalmatian, respectively) nature. As such, Swan River's population is much higher much earlier on and at the outbreak of the First Great War possess a population just short of 500'000 people.
Following the War, Swan River's population further swells due to refugees and a more successful soldier-settlement scheme and by 1930 breaches 1 million inhabitants. It's at this time that the landmark Citizens Act is passed, granting citizenship to their Catholic and Asian and, perhaps more importantly, their Aboriginal residents, as their respective populations constitute a third of the country's and cannot reasonably continue to be discriminated against. Whilst this leads to a great backlash in the neighbouring Commonwealth of Australia, in the long term it will lead to an earlier abolition of the White Australia Policy and indirectly spearheads a trend in the British Empire of breaking down the social barriers between different ethnic groups, and one major consequence herein is that Apartheid never occurs.
The economy becomes dependent on mining and heavy industries much earlier than OTL simply due to their larger population facilitating more prospecting than IOTL, and valuable deposits of iron, nickel and other minerals are discovered as early as the late 1930s, which boosts their economy following the Great Depression. Later, this would be bolstered by petroleum refinement and exportation. Agriculture remained and remains an important industry, with wineries, wheat, cattle and sheep farming all contributing great proportions to the national GDP.
Following the Second Great War the population further expands with the addition of large quantities of refugees, this time primarily from the Balkans, Poland and France, Vietnam and the Philippines, who were all adversely affected by the war. As such, by 2000 their population tops 2.5 million and by 2010, the Centenary of Kingdom, 4 million. About a third live in or around Perth, but other important cities include Albany, Bunbury and Broome.
It is an upper income country and has reinforced it's economy in areas unlike OTL, such as niche manufacturing in a similar vein to modern Germany, aeronautics (Albany is the second largest producer of airplanes in the world after the United States) and a notably high quality film industry, Wallywood. Though their exports are still dominated by raw minerals.
Given the more focused administration and geographic relevancy, as opposed to OTL's Parisian government, efforts are made to actually develop and permanently settle the Kerguelen Islands. Kerguelen cabbages, cochayuyo kelp, potatoes, antarctic fishing, mallard hatcheries, dall sheep imported from Alaska and ship coaling become essential industries on the island, swelling to a population of over a 1000 by the First Great War. Thereafter, a flood of refugees from across Europe are resettled in many parts of the British Empire, and a portion are settled by the Swan River government, a large proportion of which are therein settled upon Kerguelen, further pushing the island's population to 3000. Later on, the island's population will explode to a high of 22'000 people as advanced farming techniques, coal deposits and natural gas make the island rather more profitable, and it becomes a key route between the Cape of Good Hope and Swan River proper, especially upon the outbreak of the Second Great War.
Long term, however, the island's population dwindles to a stable 12'000, seasonally bolstered by tourists and transient agriculturalists and fishermen to a yearly high of 14'000. In the modern day, Kerguelen maintains it's wealth and productivity in it's traditional industries of dall sheep and natural gas, but also in the communications industry and as a center of antarctic exploration and research, and the University of Kerguelen is an internationally recognised institution.
~
The title comes from an old melody about the Swan River, obviously called 'Fly Not Yet'. I thought it worked. This took me a few days to make, and boy was it a task. I hope you enjoy it! I actually wrote the Kerguelen paragraphs before the Swan River paragraphs so if there's a thematic clash there for whatever reason just let me know.
