49 Chapter 49: The Crowd at Sydney Port

On October 26, 1900, after a journey of more than a day, Arthur finally arrived in Sydney with his army and entourage of over two thousand people.

Transporting such a large number of people was not an easy task, and it was impossible to rely solely on Australia's weak navy. William II saw Arthur's predicament before leaving and dispatched a transport ship from German New Guinea to complete the transportation of these people to Australia.

After World War I, the families of Wilhelm II and Nicholas II could be brought to Australia, and it could attract a wave of high-quality immigrants.

The port of Sydney was now surrounded by crowds of people and officials to greet Arthur. After several days of spreading the news, the world had already learned of the departure of Queen Victoria, one of Britain's greatest monarchs.

Arthur's deeds, along with Queen Victoria's will and final instructions, would become known to the world.

At this moment, everyone at the port was there to welcome Arthur and to express a stance: that Australians would always stand behind Arthur, and that Australia would always be Arthur's support.

Do not underestimate Queen Victoria's prestige throughout the entire British Empire, nor Arthur's current prestige in Australia.

It was precisely because of the combination of Queen Victoria and Arthur's prestige, as well as Queen Victoria's final instructions, that the British began to sympathize with Arthur, sympathize with this boy from the British royal family who had been forced to go to Australia before he came of age.

However, Australians' feelings towards Arthur were different. They had personally experienced his various welfare policies, and they were the only beneficiaries of his tax reduction policies.

They had already accepted and recognized, and even greatly respected, this new ruler. They believed that he was truly capable of leading Australia to prosperity and making Australians proud of having such an excellent monarch.

In this situation, some passionate Australians involuntarily came to the port of Sydney. They wanted their monarch, Arthur, to know that Australians will always love and support him, and Australia will always be Arthur's support.

In short, perhaps Queen Victoria's last words were just a sincere expression of emotion, without any additional purpose.

But these heartwarming words did indeed win Arthur the favor and sympathy of all British people, and most Australians chose to stand together to support and endorse this kind lord.

As the warship approached the port, the cheers of the crowd could already be heard through the thick steel plates and into Arthur's ears.

Arthur was stunned. He didn't expect so many people to gather at the port at this moment, and they were all shouting so loudly.

"Long live His Highness!"

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

Although the cheers of the crowd were chaotic, Arthur could still clearly hear a few unified phrases.

After hearing the cheers of the crowd, even the heavily burdened Arthur couldn't help but be moved.

The fact is, Arthur's various policies in Australia have not been without results. In this era where monarchy still prevailed, a monarch like Arthur, who is kind and loves his people, will inevitably win the love and loyalty of most of the people.

At the moment Arthur stepped off the warship, Prime Minister Evan and all the cabinet members came to greet him.

Everyone bowed to Arthur and then urged him to grieve.

"Prime Minister Evan, what is this?" Arthur pointed to the crowds around him, looking at Prime Minister Evan with a puzzled expression.

"Your Highness, this was not arranged by the government. These people came spontaneously to welcome and console you after hearing of the passing of Her Majesty the Queen," Prime Minister Evan quickly explained with a smile.

"Okay, let everyone disperse! Everyone has work to do, there's no need to gather here. Tell everyone that I won't fall down because of setbacks, and Australia won't fall down because of setbacks. We have the support of Britain and the country will develop even faster." Arthur waved his hand, signaling for the crowd to disperse.

Although thousands of people were here to welcome Arthur, in reality, Australia was currently in a phase of rapid development and most of these people had jobs.

It wasn't worth it to have their work unfinished or directly owe a day's work just to welcome Arthur.

"Your Highness, is it true that we will be managing British New Guinea and New Zealand?" Suddenly, a voice of doubt came from the crowd.

"Oh?" Arthur looked towards the source of the voice, which came from a young man who appeared to have just become an adult.

"What's your name?" Arthur asked with some interest.

Although many Australians participated in the cheers, there were still very few people who dared to ask Arthur such a loud and direct question, if not basically none.

"Harry Murray, Your Highness, William Henry Harry Murray," the young man replied.

"Oh?" Arthur was a bit dumbfounded. He didn't expect that the person he randomly encountered in the crowd would have some fame in later times.

Harry Murray, or William Henry Harry Murray, was an Australian soldier during World War I, and in World War II, he was widely described as the British soldier who received the highest honor.

The honor that William Henry Harry Murray received was the Victoria Cross, proposed by Queen Victoria herself.

How difficult is it to receive this medal? Since its inception in 1856 until later times, it has only been awarded over 1,300 times, and only 13 times from the end of World War II until later times.

Originally, this medal was created by Queen Victoria to reward heroes in the Crimean War, but it eventually evolved into the highest honor for British soldiers, a medal that all British soldiers dreamed of receiving.

Being able to receive this medal as an individual is enough to show that William Henry Harry Murray's contribution and achievements in World War I were not small.

"Great name, Harry. Indeed, Her Majesty has handed British New Guinea over to Australia, and I have been appointed as the Governor-General of New Zealand. From now on, British New Guinea will become a part of Australia," Arthur nodded and said.

Upon hearing Arthur's words, the surrounding crowd immediately erupted into strong cheers. There's nothing more satisfying than expanding the country's territory, especially when it's done peacefully without any military action.