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Nation: Commonwealth of Australia

Leader: Governor-General Mark Chapman

History: The Great War

Only thirteen years before the Great War began, Australia had achieved federation of the colonies. The Commonwealth had only been named a dominion of the British Empire seven years before that great conflict began. A temporary seat of government was established in 1901 in the city of Melbourne. When news came that Great Britain had gone to war, the Commonwealth of Australia rallied a force of 400,000 men and sent them off to fight in the Great War. The entirety of Australian Commonwealth forces joined the British on the Western Front. As the war waged, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (simply known as ANZAC) was formed, adding extra manpower to the depleting Commonwealth forces and solidifying command between the two peoples. In 1925, when the Great War was officially brought to an end, it was reported that of the 400,000 Australians who fought in the conflict, 70,000 had been killed and 200,000 more had been wounded. The war had cost the Commonwealth of Australia, however it hadn’t cost them nearly as much as it had cost many other countries. Some people would argue that the Great War had started Australia’s rise to power.

The Great Anarchy

After the Great War ended, many a war torn country was low on resources that they were in desperate need of. Australia was more than happy to export to these countries, and to loan out funds that would be repaid in full and then some in the long run. The more Australia helped, however, the more other countries demanded assistance as well. Australia began to create more supply to meet this demand, and Australia’s wealth continued to grow. However, this growth was stunted severely by the starting of the Great Anarchy across the British Empire. The Commonwealth of Australia watched as other dominions of the British gained their independence. The state of Western Australia was the first state to threaten succession when the Great Anarchy began. Prime Minister Stanley Bruce, however, refused to allow Western Australia to leave the British Empire. Many people questioned the Prime Minster’s faith in the Crown; however the Prime Minster’s stubborn attitude allowed him to gain the support of many of his colleagues, including Governor-General Lord Stonehaven. Stonehaven led the fourth Australian Brigade into Western Australia when riots broke out. The riots were put down without a shot being fired, and Stonehaven was praised for his good leadership during the crisis.

The Great Anarchy continued to affect the people of the Commonwealth; however support for the British was highest in the Oceania colonies than in any other region. This can be attributed to the various pro-British Prime Ministers who took office during the Great Anarchy. There were many more riots and attempts to overthrow the Australian regime, however they were all put down with brutal efficiency. The Australian government had to keep up a constant propaganda campaign to keep the populace supporting a return of power for the royal family. Little to no information came from the United Kingdom until the 1940s, when the Commonwealth was officially disbanded. After the Commonwealth was disbanded, Australia’s leaders were ousted by the people for wasting their time. A vote was held, and the majority of the Australia’s people wanted to create their own parliamentary monarchy. Eventually they decided to start a ‘new’ royal line, using Linda Burbanks, who claimed to be a distant relative to one of the members of the royal family. She became Queen Elizabeth II, and the Kingdom of Australia was born. Other surrounding colonies recognized Queen Elizabeth’s authority, including Fiji and New Zealand.

The New Kingdom, the Civil War and the New Commonwealth of Australia

The fledgling monarchy did well in its first few years of existence. The people gave the new royal family their full support, and everything seemed to be going well. That is until word arrived that a Prime Minister named Christian Brent had started attempting to reform the British Empire. By this time, all support for the British had been trampled by a wave of nationalism that started when Australia became its own governing power. There were the occasional rebel movement, however, that attempted to throw out the false royal line and secure Australia back for the British. These movements always failed, however they continued to grow in strength as the years passed. In 1972, when Sir Owen Pyke restored the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, the rebellion came to its peak. Governess Mary Chars declared that the Commonwealth of Australia should be restored, and deserted the Kingdom of Australia. The governors of Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania declared their support for the Governor-General, and joined his rebellion.

The civil war lasted two years; two long years of guerilla warfare and death. The war took the lives of 10,000 civilians, and 20,000 military personnel. Tens of thousands more people were injured during the conflict. The civil war ended when Elizabeth II and her two children were assassinated, ending the royal line and causing a major morale issue within the Kingdom. Governor-General Mark Chapman, the newly elected leader of the rebellion, formed an armistice with the Prime Minster of the Kingdom of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia was to be restored, with Chapman at its head, and the Kingdom of Australia would be abolished. For the next six years, Chapman worked to rebuild Australia and restore peace and order to the region. Eventually, public opinion of Chapman became more positive as he restored parliament to power and prepared to step down as Governor-General. However, the populace of Australia did not wish for Chapman to step down, and instead appointed him as their head of state for life.

With peace restored, the Commonwealth of Australia has begun its plan to restore the old British Empire to its rightful place. The first act of business would be to contact the United Kingdom and the various colonies that used to belong to the British…

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