The Crowd at Port of Sydney

October 26, 1900, Port of Sydney.

After more than a day of travel, Arthur finally arrived in Sydney from the Isle of Wight with an army and entourage of over two thousand people.

Transporting over two thousand people was no easy feat. Australia's weak navy alone would never have managed it.

Fortunately, William II had seen Arthur's predicament before departing and dispatched a transport ship from German New Guinea. Only then were all these people safely transported to Australia.

Port of Sydney.

By this time, Sydney's port was already packed with crowds and officials who had come to welcome them.

After several days of news spreading, the entire world had learned of the passing of one of Britain's greatest monarchs, Queen Victoria.

Arthur's deeds would also become known throughout the world through Queen Victoria's will and her final words.

Everyone at the port had come to welcome Arthur. The few lines from Queen Victoria's final will, spread through the major newspapers, had become known to people across the world.

Those words—You have lost your father, and you are about to lose your grandmother—had moved countless people.

The reason these Australians had chosen to stand at the port and welcome Arthur was, in fact, to make their position clear: Australians would forever stand behind Arthur, and Australia would forever be Arthur's shield.

No one should underestimate Queen Victoria's prestige in any part of the British Empire, nor should they underestimate Arthur's current prestige in Australia.

It was precisely the combined prestige of Queen Victoria and Arthur, along with Queen Victoria's final words, that caused the British people to sympathize with Arthur—the boy who also came from the British Royal Family, who had not yet reached adulthood, and who had been forced to go to Australia.

The Australians' feelings toward Arthur, however, were different. They had personally experienced his various welfare policies, and they alone had benefited from his tax-reduction policies.

They had already accepted and acknowledged him, and even deeply respected this newly arrived ruler, believing that he was a truly outstanding monarch who could lead Australia toward prosperity and fill Australians with pride.

Under such circumstances, some hot-blooded Australians had made their way to the Port of Sydney of their own accord. They wanted their monarch, Arthur, to know that Australians would forever love and support him, and that Australia would forever be his shield.

In short, perhaps Queen Victoria's final words had merely been a genuine outpouring of emotion, without any ulterior motive.

Yet those warm words had truly won Arthur the goodwill and sympathy of all the British people. They had also caused most Australians to stand together in staunch support of this benevolent lord.

The moment the warship drew near the port, the cheers from the crowd passed through the thick steel plates and reached Arthur's ears.

Arthur froze. He had not expected so many people to gather at the port at a time like this, let alone shout themselves hoarse.

After he disembarked and set foot on the port, the crowd's cries grew louder and louder, until even the birds in the sky were shaken into flapping away.

"Long live His Highness!"

"Australians will always stand with His Highness! Long live His Highness!"

Although the crowd's shouts were chaotic, Arthur could still clearly make out several of the more unified cries.

Upon hearing the crowd's cheers, even Arthur, whose heart was weighed down with grief, could not help but be moved.

The facts proved that the various policies Arthur had implemented in Australia had not been fruitless. In an age when monarchies still held sway, a ruler as benevolent and devoted to his people as Arthur was bound to win the love and loyalty of most of the populace.

The moment Arthur stepped off the warship, Prime Minister Evan led all the Cabinet Members forward to greet him.

Everyone bowed to Arthur before urging him to restrain his grief.

"Prime Minister Evan, what is this?" Arthur asked, pointing at the crowds surrounding them and looking at Prime Minister Evan in confusion.

"Your Highness, this was not arranged by the government. After hearing that Her Majesty the Queen had passed away, these people came of their own accord to welcome and offer their condolences to you." Prime Minister Evan hurriedly explained with a smile.

"Very well, have everyone disperse! You all have work to do, and there is no need to gather here. Tell everyone that I will not fall because of a setback, and neither will Australia. We have received support from the United Kingdom, and the nation will only develop more rapidly." Arthur waved his hand, signaling for the crowd to disperse.

Although having several thousand people come to welcome him was certainly impressive, Australia was currently in a period of rapid development, and most of these people had jobs.

If they failed to finish their work—or simply missed an entire day—just to welcome Arthur, it would be a case of gaining less than they lost.

"Your Highness, is it true that people are saying we will be administering British New Guinea and New Zealand?" Just then, a question suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"Oh?" Arthur turned his gaze toward the source of the voice. It was a youth who looked to have only just reached adulthood.

"What is your name?" Arthur asked with interest.

Although many Australians had joined in the cheering, very few dared to face Arthur and loudly ask him a question like this. In fact, Arthur had practically never seen anyone do so.

"Harry Murray, Your Highness. William Henry Harry Murray," the youth replied.

"Oh?" Arthur was momentarily speechless. He had not expected that even a random person he encountered in the crowd would be someone who would later become somewhat famous.

Harry Murray—or rather, William Henry Harry Murray—was an Australian serviceman during World War I. During World War II, he was widely described as the British soldier to have received the highest honor.

The honor William Henry Harry Murray received was none other than the Victoria Cross, proposed by Queen Victoria herself.

Just how difficult was it to receive this medal? From its creation in 1856 until later generations, it had been awarded only a little over 1,300 times in total. From the end of World War II onward, it had been awarded only thirteen times.

The medal had initially been created by Queen Victoria to reward heroes of the Crimean War. It eventually evolved into the highest honor for British soldiers, the supreme decoration every British soldier dreamed of receiving.

For William Henry Harry Murray to receive the medal as an individual was enough to show that his contributions and achievements during World War I had been extraordinary.

"Good name, Harry. That is indeed the case. Her Majesty the Queen has handed British New Guinea over to Australia, and I have been appointed governor-general of New Zealand. From now on, British New Guinea will become part of Australia," Arthur said, nodding.

Upon hearing Arthur say this, the surrounding crowd immediately erupted into thunderous cheers. Nothing made people happier than a nation expanding its territory—especially a peaceful expansion achieved without spending a single soldier's life.

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