Southland: Canberra and Bligh

THE SOUTHLAND

A Fantasy Core Setting

© Jerry Harris 2014

Published here as Open Game Content.

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Southland Index

Colony Index

Settlement Index

Canberra

This land-locked in-land site might have once been an Ancient fortress judging by the scant ruins.  As a defensible position with plenty of arable farmland, it was chosen as the chartered site of the Southland’s capital.  All administration and governance come out of Canberra, so there is a large population here of bureaucrats.  The Southland’s main University is also present. 

While it is about the size of a large town, Canberra has a very cosmopolitan and sophisticated look to it.  Its main famous artifact is in the Capitol building.  It was built on top of a large Ancient floor mosaic, which was uncovered by explorers.  The so-called “Map Room,” contains a detailed continental map of the Southland.  It still being studied for details.     

Governor-General William Bligh is the Commonwealth appointed leader of the Southland colony.  He is a former naval captain, unfortunately famous for a mutiny under his command.  Though cleared of wrong-doing, the admiralty promoted Bligh to keep him from directly interfering with their ships’ operations anymore.  As an admiral, he excelled, or alternately irritated enough important people, that he was posted to the ends of the earth.  

Bligh was of course told that he was being handed a monumental challenge in a very important part of the world, and that he was the only one who had the skills and leadership necessary to rule it.  At least half of that was true.  Bligh was set up to fail, but never underestimate a man who survived a month at sea in a lifeboat.  The main mistake of the Colonial Service was that they gave unsupervised and unchallenged power to a despotic autocratic. 

He is accountable to the Colonial Service Auditing Board once a year and must follow the laws of the Commonwealth, but other than that, Bligh’s word is law.  No checks, no balances, no congress, no lobbyists, no voters.  The responsibility of the position provides enough shackles.  In his first briefing, Bligh was told that the interior of the continent was full of monsters, there was foreign intrigue on the coasts, and complete corruption in the colony’s economy.       

He stopped government agents from fighting the Cartel and endorsed them (as long as the government got a cut via taxation).  He authorized the Ranger Service to help facilitate intra-continental travel and the creation of a string of forts across important routes in the Outback.  He stopped any further foreign investment and has carefully limited foreign immigration and employment.   

He successfully lobbied the admiralty for a larger Southland fleet and has kept the pirates and the Gillmen in check.  The Cairns settlement massacre happened shortly after his arrival.  The retribution for it happened by his command.  There haven’t been any major incidents since then.

While Bligh has increased security and commerce in the colony, he’s not well-loved.  He’s taxed everything, insulted important foreign dignitaries and businessmen, stepped on the toes of every civic leader in the Southland, over regulated the citizens, and run the military and navy into exhaustion following his orders.  But Auditing Board loves what he’s doing, so Bligh remains in command.  While this continent is still a warzone, don’t hold your breath waiting for a democracy to develop.

It is said by his staffers that Bligh never really sleeps, that he is constantly working on colonial matters.  “The Southland is in mortal danger if Bligh ever takes a nap,” as they say.  This isn’t true of course, but the Governor-General is a man of strict regimen and few pleasures.  One of those perks was the creation of the artificial fresh-water Lake Burley Griffen in Canberra.  For whatever practical purposes it serves, Bligh delights in taking his small yacht out on it occasionally, reminiscing about his sea-faring days.

[Yes, that Captain Bligh from Mutiny on the Bounty.  He actually was a governor in Australia.  I’d like to say I least watched one of the film versions to research this, but actually the closest I’ve come is seeing Mutiny on the Bunny with Bugs Bunny.  The fictional Bligh here, I’d like to think embodies the colonists’ spirit of being tough, pragmatic survivalists.  If he’s one day overthrown by some guy that looks like Marlon Brando or Mel Gibson, I won’t be surprised.]