Only after Arthur saw the estate with his own eyes did he realize that the "small estate" Butler Hunter had mentioned was not small at all. It was actually quite large.
It could not compare with the grand estates and palaces of the British Royal Family, but it still covered a full three hectares—or thirty thousand square meters.
Viewed by the housing standards of later generations, a residential complex built on thirty thousand square meters could accommodate at least a thousand people. But for Arthur, it was merely an estate for four members of the royal family to live in.
The estate consisted mainly of living quarters, gardens, a stream, lawns, an orchard, fountains, and an artificial lake.
The estate's total floor area was not particularly large, amounting to less than three thousand square meters. The pavilions and stables alone occupied more than five hundred square meters.
The actual living area was less than two thousand five hundred square meters. It was a small palace modeled after a British palace, shaped like the letter H. The center was the highest point of the entire building, and it was also where the royal flag was flown.
Although it did not cover a particularly large area, this small palace of only three floors still had more than fifty rooms. Besides the dozen-odd small rooms for servants and subordinates, there were more than forty rooms available for allocation.
Among them, the conference room, dining room, reception room, broadcasting room, offices, and rooms for the royal family took up twenty rooms. The remaining twenty-odd rooms could be used to store belongings or serve as guest rooms.
The largest room in the estate was the public conference room, which covered more than three hundred square meters. A gigantic oval conference table could seat more than fifty people.
Around the oval conference table was a large circular table assembled from several rings of smaller tables.
The four rings of tables could accommodate more than three hundred officials in a meeting. This completely solved the problem of the Lower House holding sessions while Arthur lived at the estate, and could even accommodate the Lower House after its future expansion.
At the center of the innermost oval conference table was a raised oval platform fifteen centimeters high.
A lectern would be placed on the platform, directly facing the head of the conference table.
The lectern was for the representatives to speak from during meetings, while its position facing the head of the table also showed respect for Arthur.
By the time they had finally finished touring the entire estate, it was already one o'clock in the afternoon.
Even though Arthur and the others had eaten a luxurious breakfast before setting out, after touring the estate all morning, they had all begun to feel hungry.
"Your Highness, I've already had lunch prepared, and the estate's dining room has also been tidied up. Shall we dine now?" Butler Hunter was highly considerate. Just as Arthur began to feel hungry, Butler Hunter had timely asked the question.
Arthur nodded. Looking at Marguerite and Patricia, who were already eagerly anticipating the meal, he said with a smile, "Let's eat first, then. We've been walking all morning, so I'm sure everyone's starving."
Unlike the top floor of the Government Building, which had been hastily renovated, the estate had five dining rooms of various sizes. They were divided into a private dining room, where the royal family members dined in private, as well as a public dining room, banquet hall, and reception hall.
The banquet dining room was the most solemn and elegant of them all, while the banquet hall was the largest.
Arthur and the others were heading to the private dining room, located on the western side of the estate's third floor.
The private dining room had been decorated entirely according to the royal family members' preferences. Because Butler Hunter knew that Arthur disliked ostentation, the room's decor was relatively understated. Apart from a few oil paintings, it was quite simple.
Lunch consisted of authentic British cuisine, although the United Kingdom was not exactly famous for its food.
The staple dish was sausages with mashed potatoes, topped with a little gravy to make it look rather appetizing. The main course was Fish and Chips: the fish was deboned and had its head removed, then was cut into strips, coated in wet batter, and fried.
There was also a Beef Wellington made from Italian beef. Its crust had been baked golden-brown and crisp, and cutting into it revealed beef still streaked with blood.
These were among the tastier dishes in British cuisine, and they were also the British foods Arthur found most acceptable.
After finishing this fairly sumptuous meal, Princess Louise took Marguerite and Patricia back to the Government Building.
Before the estate had been completely renovated, they would still have to live in the Government Building for a while.
Arthur, meanwhile, stayed behind briefly and headed to the next location with Butler Hunter.
South of the Port of Sydney, in a stretch of wasteland.
The place was not far from the Port of Sydney, but because the surrounding land had not yet been developed, it was still an uninhabited wilderness.
It had to be said that Australia's vast land and sparse population were truly astonishing. This land lay on the plains of southeastern Australia and was fertile.
But because Australia's population was so small, large quantities of fertile land like this had remained undeveloped.
Arthur walked around the area briefly and observed the terrain. Only after he was satisfied did he nod and say to Butler Hunter, "Butler Hunter, when will our shipyard be completed?"
This was actually the site Butler Hunter had chosen for the new shipyard—a region relatively close to the port.
Its advantage was that it was near the port, making the transportation of supplies more convenient. Judging from the terrain as a whole, it was an excellent place to build a shipyard.
"Your Highness, our equipment and workers have basically all been transported to Australia. What remains is the time needed to construct the workshops and install the equipment. I estimate it won't take too long. In about three or four months, our shipyard should be able to begin operating on a preliminary basis," Butler Hunter said.
This shipyard was one of the valuable assets Duke Arthur had left Arthur. It could allow Australia, which had no shipbuilding capabilities at all, to take a great leap forward in the shipbuilding industry.
The shipyard could independently design and produce small warships under five thousand tons, and it had even taken part in manufacturing heavy cruisers exceeding ten thousand tons.
That was why Arthur had insisted on moving the entire shipyard to Australia. A shipyard capable of independently developing and producing small warships was absolutely an irreplaceable resource for Australia.
The same was true of the Munitions Factory and Steel Mill. They could bring abundant knowledge and experience to Australia's weak industrial base and help it avoid many unnecessary detours.
Thanks to Duke Arthur, Arthur was able to possess these several vitally important factories. And thanks to Duke Arthur, Arthur could transport these factories in their entirety to Australia despite the immense distance.
Without these factories, Australia would probably have needed at least ten years to master these technologies.
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