Chapter 155 Warship docks

After Arthur's speech, there was the routine raising of the national flag and the playing of the national anthem.

During this period, although some countries already had national anthems that represented the royal family and the country, most countries still had a vague impression of the national anthem, and the songs used in large-scale rituals and celebrations were also different.

However, the song used by the British Empire in formal occasions and ceremonies is "God Save the King", which is also the only song that can represent the British royal family.

As a member of the royal family of the British Empire, Arthur naturally has the right to perform "God Save the King".

For now, the only song designated for Australia's major celebrations is also "God Save the King."

As solemn songs rang throughout the shipyard, escorted by a team of Guardsmen, a large Australian flag was slowly delivered to the flagpole and then fixed on the pull rope that raised and lowered the flag.

"Long live Australia!"

As the national flag was slowly raised on the flagpole, warm cheers rang out again in the nearby open space.

For Australians now, being able to witness the flag representing their country and royal family slowly flying in the sky is the best news for people who love their country.

After watching the flag rise from the bottom of the flagpole to the top of the flagpole, and then gradually unfolding and flying over the venue, Prime Minister Evan slowly stepped forward and continued to preside over the National Day ceremony.

"The next step will be the most important item of the entire National Day ceremony, which is to review the Australian naval fleet under the order of His Royal Highness the Duke!" Prime Minister Evan said slowly.

After Prime Minister Evan finished speaking, people on the venue were already looking towards the distance of the port with expectation.

They could vaguely see that in the distance of the port, at the midpoint of the horizon, there were several medium-sized black spots that were gradually getting larger. That was the Australian warship they were thinking about.

The naval parade is the main event of this National Day ceremony, and it is also what these people are looking forward to seeing.

Although it is known that the Australian Navy fleet does not have large warships, the largest is only an armored cruiser of more than 5,000 tons.

But this does not stop Australians from being enthusiastic about watching their country’s warships.

Since the colonial period, the navy has been one of the most important arms of a country. Even in some island countries, the importance of the navy has surpassed that of the army, and the country's financial investment in the navy is much greater than that of the army. For example, the British Empire is now the world's most powerful empire.

The British Empire has invested a lot in its navy, which is why the Royal Navy of the British Empire has been able to maintain its first place in the world and even crush the second and third places.

The famous two-power policy also reveals how much the British attach importance to their investment in the navy. It can be said that maintaining the superiority of the Royal Navy is one of the most important policies of the British Empire.

At present, the vast majority of Australians are immigrants from the British Empire, and they have naturally inherited the British tradition of attaching importance to the navy.

As immigrants from the previous colonies, even if they had some identification with their current hometown of Australia, they had no way of expecting Australia to invest in the navy.

Although Australia has a large land area, its population at that time was only a little over three million.

Despite this, Australia is still divided into six colonies, each of which operates independently without interfering with each other.

Under such circumstances, how can people expect the Australian Navy? You must know that at that time, Australia's six colonies could not even afford the expenditure of 6,000 troops for the army. The construction of the navy was even mobilized from some retired warships and small warships of the Royal Navy.

Now it has finally been combined into a complete principality, and it has indeed made certain investments and achievements in the navy.

This is why Australians attach so much importance to the navy. After decades of silence, they finally saw the hope of the rise of the Australian Navy, although it is only a hope and a small sign at the moment.

Seeing that everyone was looking forward to the arrival of the navy, Arthur did not hesitate. He stepped forward and solemnly announced to the loudspeaker: "Now, under the witness of the Australian flag and all the people, I declare that in 1903 Australia The naval parade has officially begun!"

Following Arthur's order, some officials on the field also began to prepare.

The coastal defense gun next to it fired three shots towards the deserted coast, symbolizing the third year of the founding of the Principality of Australia.

At the same time, this is also a signal to the Australian fleet in the distance. The sound of coastal defense artillery also represents the official start of the naval parade.

The leaders of the fleet are the armored cruisers Australia and Duke Arthur, which have just been launched.

The launch of these two new warships happened just before the National Day, and it was also just in time for Australians to see Australia's latest warships during the National Day.

The fleet in the distance looks like just a few large or small black spots. Although these black spots are slowly approaching, they only look like the size of a sesame seed.

Australians are full of anticipation, attentive, and staring intently beyond the coast.

As one warship after another gradually approached the port, people gradually saw the full picture of the warship.

At this time, the sesame dots in the distance had gradually grown in size, slowly becoming the size of soybeans, and then becoming the size of broad beans.

Because the port cannot accommodate all the warships, the navy review was conducted in two ships.

Of course, the first to dock at the port were the two new warships Australia and Duke Arthur.

After the warship was completely docked at the port, the Australians could clearly see the full picture and true size of the warship.

Although the Duke-class armored cruiser is only a medium-sized warship, its cost and performance are far inferior to the current mainstream battleships.

But in front of tiny humans, just an armored cruiser is already a behemoth.

The length, width and height of the Duke-class armored cruiser are 93.5 meters, 17.63 meters and 7.01 meters respectively. From a close distance, it looks almost like a building.

The port where the two armored cruisers docked seemed to have two buildings built on the coast.

"Gentlemen and ladies. The two warships you are seeing now are the two latest Duke-class armored cruisers launched by our navy. The one on the left is named Australia, and the other is Duke Arthur." Below the reviewing stand, two officials from the Ministry of National Defense were introducing two warships to everyone in another place with a loudspeaker.

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