CHAPTER 427: CHAPTER 104 NEW HAMBURG PORT

November 12, 1872.

Julian, a lieutenant colonel in the East African Navy, and the East African port designer Royavis boarded two naval warships heading to Richards Bay. Julian was a legitimate Austrian Navy officer. Due to the great distance between Richards Bay and East Africa, Grand Duke Ferdinand could not personally oversee the situation there, so he appointed Julian to go.

Standing on the deck at the bow of the ship, Julian was filled with high spirits, watching his small "fleet" ride the wind and waves on the ocean. This was a completely new feeling that he could never experience in the Adriatic Sea, as rolling black smoke drifted northward with the sea breeze.

The Navy must roam freely on the ocean, unlike the Austrian Navy cramped inside the Adriatic Sea’s big bathtub. However, Julian still felt slightly unsatisfied; it would be even better if he could commandeer an Ironclad Ship, which would better embody the romance of a naval officer at sea.

Richards Bay is located on the east coast of South Africa, with Maputo to the north and Durban to the south. The defense pressure on East Africa here is self-evident.

Therefore, Grand Duke Ferdinand allocated the two operational warships of the East African Kingdom’s Navy to Julian’s command, which was an absolute unexpected joy for the fledgling Julian.

In the Austrian Navy, Julian couldn’t even make it to ship captain, yet he rose in ranks upon arriving in East Africa, not only that but he also directly commanded two warships.

Of course, the most important thing is that the East African Navy never defaults on salary and the welfare benefits are superior to Austria. Although the salary is lower than that of the Austrian Navy, the cost of living in East Africa is significantly lower than in Austria.

The East African Navy only has eight main warships in total, with two set to retire to Haiti, meaning that the East African Kingdom actually only has six usable warships.

The two warships under Julian’s command were previously retired from the Austrian Navy to East Africa, so they were like old comrades, thus not unfamiliar.

Had it been earlier when dividing the two warships for the South African defense, Grand Duke Ferdinand would be quite distressed. However, ever since East Africa decided to procure new vessels, Ferdinand became more generous. If it weren’t for the new ships not arriving yet, even bundling the entire East African Navy for South Africa would not meet with his opposition.

However, due to East Africa’s occupation of the area, the name Richards Bay does not exist. It is instead referred to as New Hamburg Bay by the East African Kingdom, and the port planned to be built here is also named New Hamburg Port.

The reason New Hamburg Port’s name differs from other ports such as Dar es Salaam or Mombasa is because it is constructed entirely by the East African Kingdom without any historical burdens, while Hamburg holds a significant place in German history, especially during the Hanseatic League period.

The Zulu people, who migrated from the inland as nomadic tribes, had no concept of ports at all, leaving the entire coastal line of the Zulu Kingdom in a desolate state.

Royavis: "The positioning of New Hamburg Port is for dual military-civilian use. Based on the geographic conditions of New Hamburg Bay, we can establish two ports: a civilian port at the bay’s outlet and a military port in the southern hinterland, achieving a double insurance for the military port."

New Hamburg Bay is shaped like a trumpet, though it has two narrow areas: the bay’s mouth width is around eight hundred meters, and along the channel inward, there’s another narrow section about five hundred meters wide. This width isn’t considered wide, but it is considerably better than the conditions at Durban Port, whose bay mouth is only about four hundred meters wide.

Furthermore, this layout naturally divides New Hamburg Port into inner and outer ports. Interestingly, Durban Port also had this layout, although its inner and outer ports were achieved by building dikes on both sides.

Julian: "Isn’t placing the military port at the bay’s mouth better? Putting it inside seems unnecessary, and I feel the northern side of the inner port also has great construction conditions, perhaps even better than the two locations you’ve chosen. Why not utilize it?"

Royavis: "Because there’s no need. Before coming here, I discussed with the Crown Prince, and initially, I also wanted to select the northern side of the inner port as the area for port construction. However, the Crown Prince told me that currently, South Africa isn’t the focus of East African development, so there’s no need for the port to aim for grandeur; adequacy is sufficient."

Ernst is considering that New Hamburg Port might become East Africa’s largest coal and mineral export port in the future, thus reserving space in advance.

In the past, New Hamburg Port, known as Richards Bay, was one of the world’s largest coal export ports. South Africa, in former years, produced over two hundred million tons of coal annually, and most coal exports were completed through New Hamburg Port. Currently, only Ernst is aware of South Africa’s enormous coal reserves.

Regarding South Africa’s coal mines, Ernst isn’t planning on developing them for now, as East Africa (primarily referring to Tanganyika and Kenya) has sufficiently usable coal mines. The role of New Hamburg Port is to facilitate the export of goods from East Africa to South Africa, saving costs.

Because South Africa is bordered by British Cape Colony and the Natal Colony, it is the area of greatest defense pressure for East Africa. A certain number of troops will be maintained here for a long time, and troop consumption is inevitable. Sea transportation is clearly the most economical and affordable mode of transport, while land transportation costs are exceptionally high, unless Zimbabwe is developed, agriculture thrives, and goods can be exported to South Africa nearby.

Julian: "If that’s the case, then that makes sense. But our current trouble is that this place is too desolate; you can’t even see a single human shadow."

Royavis: "Because the Zulu people generally live inland, they don’t consider the coast. Having lived in East Africa for so long, except for some Black people from the Zanzibar Sultanate who believe in the Arab religion, I’ve never seen Black fisherman. But don’t worry about port construction issues, as the South African army will assist us; they currently have a large number of slaves."

The East African Army stationed within the former Zulu Kingdom mainly defends north of the Tugela River, directly across from the British Natal Colony. Meanwhile, South Africa’s army headquarters is in Pretoria City.

Julian: "The map shows that there are two large lakes north and south of New Hamburg Port. Can we make use of them?"

Royavis: "The lake to the south is probably not an option; it’s actually a large swamp with very shallow water. The northern one is possible; its area even surpasses New Hamburg Bay, and the best part is that there’s a natural river connecting it to New Hamburg Bay."

In reality, the population of Richards Bay in the past was mainly distributed along the northern shores of the large lake. As for the natural river, only minor modifications are needed to better connect it with New Hamburg Port.

The river mouth connecting the lake is only seven meters wide; however, simply widening it by around eight hundred meters increases the river width downstream over twenty meters, reaching over a hundred meters at the lower end. If utilized properly, it will greatly enhance New Hamburg Port’s value.

Julian: "That being said, South Africa’s lakes are indeed peculiar; these lakes occupy considerable areas and are distributed close to the coastline. Around New Hamburg Port alone, there are three large lakes, and further north there’s a Lake Saint Lucia of over three hundred square kilometers, also distributed close to the coastline."

This series of lakes string along the South African coastline like a pearl necklace, with some lakes being less than two kilometers from the sea. On maps, the intervening land appears like a thin line, completely opposite to East Africa’s coral reef island chain along the coast.