Railways, ports, and the foundations of maritime power

Australian railways and Darwin's oil-storage infrastructure belong to the history of naval power. Lines such as the Ghan and Indian Pacific connect ports, inland supply networks, and trade routes across a continent. Moving stores overland can avoid sailing around Australia, shorten delivery times, and release merchant or naval hulls for other work. Fuel storage likewise determines whether ports can sustain fleets and maritime traffic at operational tempo. Naval operations depend on transport, storage, and port systems as much as they depend on the ships using them.