The Arrival of the Age of Flight

In a quiet corner overlooked after the promulgation of the eight-year construction plan, Arthur launched a new policy regarding the technological and industrial upgrading of the civil shipbuilding sector.

In terms of military shipbuilding alone, Australasia had firmly placed itself at the vanguard of the world.

Yet in civil shipbuilding, Australasia still lagged behind certain nations with long-standing maritime histories.

There was simply no avoiding this reality. The nation's focus was invariably placed upon the far more critical military sphere, and the civil sector could never catch up to nations that had been building ships for centuries through the sole efforts of ordinary citizens alone.

Take the Netherlands, for instance—a nation that once ruled as a European overlord possessed a history of civil shipbuilding tracing back many hundreds of years.

Even so, the civil shipbuilding domain remained vital to national economic development. As the primary mode of transportation for long-distance travel and hauling, the advancement of shipping technology brought substantial improvements to every facet of the state.

Cargo vessels enhanced freight efficiency, while passenger liners improved transit efficiency to distant regions, saving precious time.

For a nation like Australasia whose territory spanned the entirety of Oceania, the advancement of passenger liner technology effectively boosted domestic travel efficiency among citizens across all regions, strengthening the government's grip on every corner of the realm.

In truth, civil shipbuilding was not the only industry to receive attention; Arthur had promulgated numerous policies encouraging dozens of other sectors as well.

Innovators were rewarded based on the advancement of their developed technologies and their importance to a given industry, with prizes spanning funds, land, medals, and peerage titles.

Stimulated by this array of rewards, the shipbuilding industry's technology was bound to usher in a significant upgrade before long.

This was ultimately the boon brought by