Under the Southern Cross we Stand, a sprig of Wattle in our hand
- Thread starter johnboy
- Start date
Well, I was asking if/when the voting age for women was made equal to that for men, apologies if I wasn't clear.
@johnboy You forgot Peter Lalor again. The list should be like this:
Prime Ministers of Australasia
1. Peter Lalor (No Party Affiliation) 1855-1860
2. Henry Parkes (Australasian Union) 1860-1869
3. William Forster (Liberal/Labour Coalition) 1869
4. Henry Parkes (Australasian Union) 1869-1891
5. Adye Douglas (Australasian Union) 1891
6. George Reid (Australasian Union) 1892
Prime Ministers of Australasia
1. Peter Lalor (No Party Affiliation) 1855-1860
2. Henry Parkes (Australasian Union) 1860-1869
3. William Forster (Liberal/Labour Coalition) 1869
4. Henry Parkes (Australasian Union) 1869-1891
5. Adye Douglas (Australasian Union) 1891
6. George Reid (Australasian Union) 1892
28 January 1892, - Infantry assaulting the Pacific
28 January 1892, Arorae, Gilbert Islands, Australasia
The local people of the village Taribo watched as the boats made their way inshore, discharging soldiers of the 6th Torres Regiment and the 9th Thames Regiment. They were duly unloading from the navy transport Cuba, the 2,172 ton ship purchased in 1886 and converted to carry both troops and stores for landings or transport to Australasia's far fling Pacific possessions. Her sister, Java, was purchased three years later.
There was much talk about whether the navy should have a separate Marine Corps, much as existed in Britain or the United States, however, the army remained confident it could execute seaborne landings and exercises such as this were designed to prove this true. It was not like the army had not made concessions. Both the 6th and 9th Regiments were designated as "seaborne" forces, with troops trained in disembarkation, light boats, swimming and waterborne activities in general.
There were 22 Regiments in the regular army, as far flung as Fiji to Perth. Two were classified as seaborne, one as mountain, two as cavalry, two as artillery and 15 as infantry. The shortage of cavalry regiments was easily explained when one considered that most militia formations were light horse.
The local people of the village Taribo watched as the boats made their way inshore, discharging soldiers of the 6th Torres Regiment and the 9th Thames Regiment. They were duly unloading from the navy transport Cuba, the 2,172 ton ship purchased in 1886 and converted to carry both troops and stores for landings or transport to Australasia's far fling Pacific possessions. Her sister, Java, was purchased three years later.
There was much talk about whether the navy should have a separate Marine Corps, much as existed in Britain or the United States, however, the army remained confident it could execute seaborne landings and exercises such as this were designed to prove this true. It was not like the army had not made concessions. Both the 6th and 9th Regiments were designated as "seaborne" forces, with troops trained in disembarkation, light boats, swimming and waterborne activities in general.
There were 22 Regiments in the regular army, as far flung as Fiji to Perth. Two were classified as seaborne, one as mountain, two as cavalry, two as artillery and 15 as infantry. The shortage of cavalry regiments was easily explained when one considered that most militia formations were light horse.
May 1892 - Australasian schools
Extracts from "Reporting on Australasia's Schools, Department of Education and the Arts", Aurelia, May 1892
The North Mount Lyell Company was formed September 1885 and their railway was opened for traffic 1888. The site for the Crotty smelter was chosen in 1889. The town was named after James Crotty, founder of the North Mount Lyell Copper Co, who had split from the Mount Lyell company of his hated rival Bowes Kelly. In 1890, the North Mount Lyell Copper Co. fired up two furnaces and the ore bins were stocked daily by “long ore trains”. While these furnaces were supposed to be ultra modern they were a failure and lost 45% of the copper in slag, and gold was lost through the furnace cracks never to be seen again. Meanwhile, it's rival Mount Lyell through Robert Sticht was “dazzling the mining world” with its’ profits and dividends.
But by 1891 the Mount Lyell Mining Company was having its’ own problems. The ore bodies being worked were perilously poor in copper content to the extent that the company would make a loss in 1892. North Mount Lyell had rich ore and no effective smelters, Mount Lyell had effective smelters but no quality ore. Crotty died in 1891. It opened the way for a solution. The two would merge. There were now two mines, two railways and two smelters. Henceforth all ore would be smelted at Queenstown. The Crotty smelters shut down on Sunday morning the last day in October 1891.
Unfortunately, the long awaited Crotty state school had opened in October 1891. It had only been open a week with Mr Blakett as master before being closed. Most of the fittings were removed to Gormanston. A great exodus began and within three weeks a town of almost 900 people and three hotels was almost deserted. Crotty did not die immediately. The railway was kept open and used for timber traffic. Wood for the mines and domestic firewood supplies being the main traffic. By 1892 Crotty was almost deserted and only had a population of 39, being mainly railway gang men and woodcutters.
The new master of the Crotty school was a less than desirable appointment. At the end of 1891 school year, he was “found wandering and declared mentally deficient”, being sent to the Hospital for Insane. Times were tough at Crotty. The school building was looted of most of it's fittings, in 1892 being just a bare shell with chairs and benches, the desks being removed. The new teacher was a 17 year old girl, her only training as an assistant. She would teach the remaining 12 pupils, who ranged in age from 5 to 16, making lunch for them from a pot belly stove in winter.
Geelong Grammar School was widely regarded as the premier institution in Australasia for the education of young men, as Melbourne Ladies College was for women. Facilities were many. A cricket pitch and ground, a football oval, chapel, facilities for tennis, rowing, hockey and a library with 30,000 books. There was capacity for students to board, with a full fledged kitchen facility and mess hall, all set on over 200 acres. However, at 450 Pounds per annum, it was well out of reach of the average person.
These were the worst and best of the country's schools. All lay somewhere in between. Generally, in most states, in more urban areas, all schools were co-educational, boy and girls studying together. Lower school was offered for children 6 to 13. High School for students 14 to 17. In all, twelve years of school were possible, although only Lower School was compulsory. It is not generally considered a disadvantage to have attended a school run by the state, with most school providing good results for students, especially state run High School. School was free for all students, paid for by the various state governments.
It was for that reason that, although private school existed, they were not common. This produced a mixing of social classes and ethnicities, with only those that were truly affluent sending their children to private schools.
Australasia was home to 17 universities, which were present in all state except Fiji, Riverina, North Australia and Combined Islands.
The North Mount Lyell Company was formed September 1885 and their railway was opened for traffic 1888. The site for the Crotty smelter was chosen in 1889. The town was named after James Crotty, founder of the North Mount Lyell Copper Co, who had split from the Mount Lyell company of his hated rival Bowes Kelly. In 1890, the North Mount Lyell Copper Co. fired up two furnaces and the ore bins were stocked daily by “long ore trains”. While these furnaces were supposed to be ultra modern they were a failure and lost 45% of the copper in slag, and gold was lost through the furnace cracks never to be seen again. Meanwhile, it's rival Mount Lyell through Robert Sticht was “dazzling the mining world” with its’ profits and dividends.
But by 1891 the Mount Lyell Mining Company was having its’ own problems. The ore bodies being worked were perilously poor in copper content to the extent that the company would make a loss in 1892. North Mount Lyell had rich ore and no effective smelters, Mount Lyell had effective smelters but no quality ore. Crotty died in 1891. It opened the way for a solution. The two would merge. There were now two mines, two railways and two smelters. Henceforth all ore would be smelted at Queenstown. The Crotty smelters shut down on Sunday morning the last day in October 1891.
Unfortunately, the long awaited Crotty state school had opened in October 1891. It had only been open a week with Mr Blakett as master before being closed. Most of the fittings were removed to Gormanston. A great exodus began and within three weeks a town of almost 900 people and three hotels was almost deserted. Crotty did not die immediately. The railway was kept open and used for timber traffic. Wood for the mines and domestic firewood supplies being the main traffic. By 1892 Crotty was almost deserted and only had a population of 39, being mainly railway gang men and woodcutters.
The new master of the Crotty school was a less than desirable appointment. At the end of 1891 school year, he was “found wandering and declared mentally deficient”, being sent to the Hospital for Insane. Times were tough at Crotty. The school building was looted of most of it's fittings, in 1892 being just a bare shell with chairs and benches, the desks being removed. The new teacher was a 17 year old girl, her only training as an assistant. She would teach the remaining 12 pupils, who ranged in age from 5 to 16, making lunch for them from a pot belly stove in winter.
Geelong Grammar School was widely regarded as the premier institution in Australasia for the education of young men, as Melbourne Ladies College was for women. Facilities were many. A cricket pitch and ground, a football oval, chapel, facilities for tennis, rowing, hockey and a library with 30,000 books. There was capacity for students to board, with a full fledged kitchen facility and mess hall, all set on over 200 acres. However, at 450 Pounds per annum, it was well out of reach of the average person.
These were the worst and best of the country's schools. All lay somewhere in between. Generally, in most states, in more urban areas, all schools were co-educational, boy and girls studying together. Lower school was offered for children 6 to 13. High School for students 14 to 17. In all, twelve years of school were possible, although only Lower School was compulsory. It is not generally considered a disadvantage to have attended a school run by the state, with most school providing good results for students, especially state run High School. School was free for all students, paid for by the various state governments.
It was for that reason that, although private school existed, they were not common. This produced a mixing of social classes and ethnicities, with only those that were truly affluent sending their children to private schools.
Australasia was home to 17 universities, which were present in all state except Fiji, Riverina, North Australia and Combined Islands.
Thank you so much! It's good to see Australasia working on education. Hopefully the schools can produce one or more of the great scientists of the 20th century.
22 June 1892, - Battleships are finally ready to go
22 June 1892, Garden Island Naval Depot, Sydney, New South Wales, Australasian Protectorate
PNS Lalor tied up after her trials at Garden Island. She had achieved 19.9 knots at full load, a quick speed for a capital ship, albeit a smaller one. Captain Harold Reynolds was happy to have her. Her sister ship PNS Gillies was undergoing her own trials out of Hobart. They would be the only two Australasian battleships not named after States. Three more capital ships were building in Sydney, the first of which, Capricornia, was already launched on this very day.
She tied up next to the newly completed 3rd Class cruiser Queenstown, with both ships to be open to the public for the next few days. Queenstown, post trails, would become the Australasian cruiser on the China station, replacing the aging gunboat currently on station.
PNS Lalor
Launching of PNS Capricornia
PNS Lalor tied up after her trials at Garden Island. She had achieved 19.9 knots at full load, a quick speed for a capital ship, albeit a smaller one. Captain Harold Reynolds was happy to have her. Her sister ship PNS Gillies was undergoing her own trials out of Hobart. They would be the only two Australasian battleships not named after States. Three more capital ships were building in Sydney, the first of which, Capricornia, was already launched on this very day.
She tied up next to the newly completed 3rd Class cruiser Queenstown, with both ships to be open to the public for the next few days. Queenstown, post trails, would become the Australasian cruiser on the China station, replacing the aging gunboat currently on station.
PNS Lalor
Launching of PNS Capricornia
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18 August 1892, - Preliminary failures
18 August 1892, Government Offices, Melbourne, Protectorate of Australasia
George Reid read "The Argus". He noted the recent account of a man's "trans continental journey, by rail from Port Douglas in Capricornia to Albany in Swan River. George Dibbs, never more than a figurehead really, had been replaced as the leader of the Liberal Protectionists by Edmund Barton, who had been the power behind the throne for quite some time in any case. Embittered, he had resigned his seat.
The Australasian Union had presided over an unprecedented boom period, lasting over 40 years. The population of the country had surged from 800,000 to 7 million. Railways had been built that had spanned the country, independence gained, territories gained, industry established, state proclaimed, governments elected, British colonialism expurgated. Building had boomed, particularly mining, had boomed, financial institutions had flourished. At least until recently.
In October 1891, the Bank of Van Dieman's Land had failed. It was followed by the Toowoomba Deposit bank in February this year. Then, just last week, the Gold Mutual Building and Investment Society had collapsed. The government was being savaged in the newspapers and in the last few weeks the sentiment of the business community, for the first time in decades, was negative. They were also being savaged in the parliament.
As he sat and looked out of the newly built government office buildings, with fully electric lifts and 12 stories, it was the highest building in Melbourne. He reflected the opening of the Flinders Street Railway station. had the boom come to an end and would his government get the blame for this at the poll, now only 6 months distant.
Government offices, Melbourne
Flinders Street Station
Australia rail network 1892
George Reid read "The Argus". He noted the recent account of a man's "trans continental journey, by rail from Port Douglas in Capricornia to Albany in Swan River. George Dibbs, never more than a figurehead really, had been replaced as the leader of the Liberal Protectionists by Edmund Barton, who had been the power behind the throne for quite some time in any case. Embittered, he had resigned his seat.
The Australasian Union had presided over an unprecedented boom period, lasting over 40 years. The population of the country had surged from 800,000 to 7 million. Railways had been built that had spanned the country, independence gained, territories gained, industry established, state proclaimed, governments elected, British colonialism expurgated. Building had boomed, particularly mining, had boomed, financial institutions had flourished. At least until recently.
In October 1891, the Bank of Van Dieman's Land had failed. It was followed by the Toowoomba Deposit bank in February this year. Then, just last week, the Gold Mutual Building and Investment Society had collapsed. The government was being savaged in the newspapers and in the last few weeks the sentiment of the business community, for the first time in decades, was negative. They were also being savaged in the parliament.
As he sat and looked out of the newly built government office buildings, with fully electric lifts and 12 stories, it was the highest building in Melbourne. He reflected the opening of the Flinders Street Railway station. had the boom come to an end and would his government get the blame for this at the poll, now only 6 months distant.
Government offices, Melbourne
Flinders Street Station
Australia rail network 1892
Oh it is much larger and more importantly efficient than OTL's contemporary railway system. If I'm not mistaken at this time the states were still implementing their own gauges and tracks, meaning you would have to physically switch trains (including goods) if you were travelling interstate.
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This is true. Even in WW2, there was no rail link from Adelaide to Darwin. So this is much earlier and you are correct, all standard gauge.
30 November 1892, - Sugar and Fiji
30 September 1892, Suva, Fiji, Australasian Protectorate
Sugar had become the principal export of Fiji from the 1870's. In 1884, the Nausori mill was the first place in Fiji to be lit by electricity. A second mill was rapidly built at Laukota, both mills fed by an ever expanding network of bush railways. By 1902, four such mills existed, three operated by the Australasian sugar giant, ASR. In the mid 1870s the industry was faced with an acute shortage of plantation labour as a result of the decline in the supply of manpower from other Pacific islands. This was a direct result of the crackdown on black-birding by the Australasian government, despite the fact they turned a largely blind eye to this activity in the Protectorates initially, it was to become more and more socially unacceptable until such time as the government was forced into action there as well by the 1880's. It was decided not to interfere with the lifestyle of indigenous Fijians or their land, but the government needed to find a solution to ensure the viability of the industry. It was decided to import Chinese labour under an indentured labour system. The arrangement was that they would come under contract for an initial period of 5 years, at the end of which they would be entitled to full passage back to China, or given the opportunity to stay in Fiji.
This was all done with the approval of the High King of Fiji. The first Chinese arrived in 1871, imported by Louis Ah-Moy, the largest independent planter. The importation of Chinese labour stopped in 1893 with the Immigration Restriction Act late that year. In 14 years, it had transformed Fiji to a situation where over 20% of the population on the islands was Chinese.
Following the termination of the indenture system, the industry was again faced with a serious shortage of labour. ASR responded by introducing a system of contract growing of cane by small tenant farmers. Under this scheme, tenants were given small parcels of land, usually 15 acres, but sometimes as many as 50 acres, for the production of cane and other subsistence crops. The smallholder system worked extremely well for both local Fijians and indentured Chinese labourers that had worked their time and elected to stay. The system relied on the utilization of growers’ own and family labour. That enables cash outflows to be kept to a minimum and growers had the opportunity to improve
their disposable income by planting other cash or subsistence crops.
Sugar cane train, Fiji
Sugar had become the principal export of Fiji from the 1870's. In 1884, the Nausori mill was the first place in Fiji to be lit by electricity. A second mill was rapidly built at Laukota, both mills fed by an ever expanding network of bush railways. By 1902, four such mills existed, three operated by the Australasian sugar giant, ASR. In the mid 1870s the industry was faced with an acute shortage of plantation labour as a result of the decline in the supply of manpower from other Pacific islands. This was a direct result of the crackdown on black-birding by the Australasian government, despite the fact they turned a largely blind eye to this activity in the Protectorates initially, it was to become more and more socially unacceptable until such time as the government was forced into action there as well by the 1880's. It was decided not to interfere with the lifestyle of indigenous Fijians or their land, but the government needed to find a solution to ensure the viability of the industry. It was decided to import Chinese labour under an indentured labour system. The arrangement was that they would come under contract for an initial period of 5 years, at the end of which they would be entitled to full passage back to China, or given the opportunity to stay in Fiji.
This was all done with the approval of the High King of Fiji. The first Chinese arrived in 1871, imported by Louis Ah-Moy, the largest independent planter. The importation of Chinese labour stopped in 1893 with the Immigration Restriction Act late that year. In 14 years, it had transformed Fiji to a situation where over 20% of the population on the islands was Chinese.
Following the termination of the indenture system, the industry was again faced with a serious shortage of labour. ASR responded by introducing a system of contract growing of cane by small tenant farmers. Under this scheme, tenants were given small parcels of land, usually 15 acres, but sometimes as many as 50 acres, for the production of cane and other subsistence crops. The smallholder system worked extremely well for both local Fijians and indentured Chinese labourers that had worked their time and elected to stay. The system relied on the utilization of growers’ own and family labour. That enables cash outflows to be kept to a minimum and growers had the opportunity to improve
their disposable income by planting other cash or subsistence crops.
Sugar cane train, Fiji
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Very good to hear that Australia has found a system that works for smallholders. Plantation systems may be productive, but they have led to many evils over the centuries, especially sugar in the Caribbean and cotton in the US.
This is correct. Instead of Indians there are many more Chinese, but also greater number and of poorer white worker but also a few more from the Solomon’s
Is there an equivalent of the Homestead Act for the mainland of Australasia?
JamesG
Donor
This could be really interesting depending on the religious profile of the Chinese labourers. If they are Christian, or if they're amenable to conversion, you could end up with a less segregated society in Fiji as the two groups could mix within the church, rather than just replacing OTL Indians with Chinese.
Also not to deal in racial stereotypes, but Fijians with a cultural history of Asian martial arts would be utterly terrifying. Definitely the backbone of any special forces Australasia mighty set up.