Chapter 414 New Hamburg Port
November 12, 1872.
Lieutenant Colonel Julian of the East African Navy and East African port designer Royavis boarded two warships of the navy to Richard Bay. Julian was from the Austrian Navy. Because Richard Bay was too far away from East Africa, Archduke Ferdinand could not go to Richard Bay in person, so he delegated Julian to go there.
Julian stood on the bow deck, full of high spirits, watching his small "fleet" sailing on the sea. This was a completely new feeling that could never be experienced in the Adriatic Sea. The billowing black smoke drifted towards the north with the sea breeze.
The navy is supposed to roam freely on the ocean, rather than being confined to a big bathtub in the Adriatic Sea like the Austrian Navy. However, Julian still felt a little unsatisfied. It would be even better if he could drive an ironclad ship, which would better reflect the romance of soldiers on the sea.
Richards Bay is located on the east coast of South Africa, with Maputo to the north and Durban to the south. One can imagine the defense pressure on East Africa here.
So Archduke Ferdinand assigned the two warships currently in service in the East African Kingdom to Julian for command, which was definitely a pleasant surprise for the fledgling Julian.
He couldn't even become a captain in the Austrian Navy, but when he arrived in East Africa, not only was he promoted, he also directly took command of two warships.
Of course, the most important thing is that the East African Navy never delays salary payments, and its welfare benefits are better than those of Austria. Although the salary is lower than that of the Austrian Navy, the cost of living in East Africa is much lower than that of Austria.
The East African Navy has a total of eight main battleships, two of which will be retired to Haiti, which means that the East African Kingdom actually has only six usable warships.
The two warships commanded by Julian were previously retired from the Austrian Navy and sent to East Africa. They could only be said to be old friends, so they were not unfamiliar to him.
If two warships had been deployed to defend South Africa before, Archduke Ferdinand would definitely have felt the pain. However, since East Africa wanted to purchase new ships, Archduke Ferdinand became generous. If the new warships had not arrived, Archduke Ferdinand would not object even if the entire East African navy was sent to South Africa.
However, because East Africa occupied this place, the name Richard Bay does not exist. Instead, it is called New Hamburger Bay by the East African Kingdom, and the port planned to be built by East Africa here is also called New Hamburger Port.
The reason why the name of the New Hamburg Port is different from other ports such as Dar es Salaam and Mombasa is that it was built entirely by the East African Kingdom and has no historical burden at all. Hamburg has an important position in German history, especially during the Hanseatic League period.
As a nomadic people who migrated from inland, the Zulus had no concept of ports, which made the entire coastline of the Zulu Kingdom a barren state.
Rojavis: "The New Hamburg Port is positioned as a dual-use port for both civilian and military use. Based on the geographical conditions of the New Hamburg Bay, we can set up two ports, a civilian port at the mouth of the bay and a military port in the hinterland on the south side. In this way, the military port can achieve double insurance."
The shape of New Hamburg Bay is similar to that of a trumpet, but there are two narrow areas. One is the bay mouth, which is about 800 meters wide, and along the channel, there is another narrow mouth of about 500 meters. This width is not wide, but it is much better than the conditions of Durban Port, where the mouth of Durban Port is only about 400 meters wide.
Moreover, such a layout naturally divides the New Hamburg Port into the inner and outer ports. The previous Durban Port also had such a layout, but the inner and outer ports of Durban Port were achieved by building embankments on both sides.
Julian: "Wouldn't it be better to place the naval port at the mouth of the bay? It doesn't seem necessary to place it inside. I also feel that the north side of the inner harbor has good construction conditions, even better than the two locations you selected. Why not use them?"
Royavis: "Because it is not necessary. I discussed it with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince before coming here. In fact, I also wanted to choose the north side of the inner harbor as the port construction area at the beginning, but the Crown Prince told me that South Africa is not a key construction area in East Africa at present, so there is no need to pursue a port that is too large. It only needs to be large enough for use."
Ernst took into account that the New Port of Hamburg may become the largest coal and mineral export port in East Africa in the future, so he reserved space in advance.
The Port of New Hamburg was called Richards Bay (or Richards Bay Port) in its previous life. It is one of the world's largest coal export ports. In its previous life, South Africa produced more than 200 million tons of coal annually, and most of the coal exports were completed through the Port of New Hamburg. At present, only Ernst knew that there were huge coal reserves in South Africa.
Ernst currently has no plans to develop the coal mines in South Africa. The coal mines in East Africa (mainly Tanganyika and Kenya) are now more than sufficient. The role of the new Hamburg Port is to facilitate the export of materials from East Africa to South Africa and save costs.
Because South Africa borders the British Cape Colony and the Natal Colony, it is also the region with the greatest defense pressure in East Africa. A certain number of troops will be maintained here for a long time, and the consumption of the troops is inevitable. Sea transportation is obviously the most economical and affordable mode of transportation, and the cost of land transportation is very high. Unless Zimbabwe is developed and agriculture is developed, materials can be exported to South Africa nearby.
Julian: "If that's the case, then it makes sense. But our problem now is that this place is too desolate. There's not even a shadow of a person to be seen."
Royavis: "Because the Zulus generally live inland, they don't consider the coast. I have lived in East Africa for so long, and I have never seen a black fisherman except for some black people who believe in Arabic in the Sultanate of Zanzibar. But there is no need to worry about the port construction. The army in South Africa will assist us. Now they have a large number of slaves."
The East African Army stationed in the former Zulu Kingdom was mainly deployed north of the Tugela River, across the river from the British colony of Natal, while the South African Army's headquarters was in Pretoria.
Julian: "The map shows that there are two large lakes to the north and south of New Hamburg Port. I wonder if we can use them."
Royavis: "The lake in the south is unlikely. In fact, it is a large swamp with very shallow water. The one in the north is possible. Its area is even larger than New Hamburg Bay. The best thing is that there is a natural river connecting it to New Hamburg Bay."
In fact, in the previous life, the population of Richards Bay was mainly distributed along the two sides of the Great Northern Lake. As for the natural river channel, only some modifications would be needed to better connect it with the New Hamburg Port.
The river channel is only seven meters wide where it connects to the lake mouth, and only needs to be widened by about 800 meters. The width of the river channel below will be more than 20 meters, and the width of the downstream will reach more than 100 meters. If it can be used well, it will greatly enhance the value of the new Hamburg Port.
Julian: "So, the lakes in South Africa are indeed quite strange. These lakes are not small in size and are distributed close to the coastline. There are three large lakes around the New Hamburg Port alone, and there is also a Lake St. Lucia with an area of more than 300 square kilometers further north, which is also distributed close to the coastline."
This series of lakes is strung like a pearl necklace along the South African coastline. The nearest lake is less than two kilometers away from the sea. When shown on the map, the land in the middle looks like a thin line, which is exactly the opposite of the coral reef island chain along the coast of East Africa.
(End of this chapter)
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