Darwin, Townsville, Sydney, Trincomalee, Ceylon, Bombay, Durban, Simon's Town, and other hubs gave the Royal Navy global options, while many smaller stations offered little repair support. Western Australia remained a conspicuous gap in an otherwise wide network. Much of this infrastructure originated in the mid-to-late nineteenth century and only revealed its full value in later wars; Halifax, for example, mattered far more in the Second World War than when its facilities were built. Colonial investment also formed a commercial feedback loop because better local infrastructure increased production, taxable activity, and demand for goods moving through the wider imperial economy. Fleets and economies could both depend on infrastructure created before its exact strategic payoff was visible.
Chapter · 2:16:05-2:20:42
The Royal Navy's global base map still had major gaps
The imperial network offered unmatched reach, but bases varied from self-maintenance stops to major yards and left conspicuous gaps such as Western Australia.