Hutt
River Province (Principality)
The
Hutt River Province Principality is a self-proclaimed independent
nation-state consisting of an approximately seventy-five square
kilometre enclave located 595 kilometres north of Perth, on the western
side of the Australian continent. It was founded on 21 April, 1970 by
farmer Leonard George Casley when he and his associates proclaimed their
secession from the state of Western Australia and the Commonwealth of
Australia.
Early
autographed publicity photograph of Prince Leonard in his study.
In
1969 the Casley family became involved in a protracted dispute with the
Western Australian government over a reduction in wheat quotas, fearing
that their farming business would be rendered fiscally unviable were the
new restricted quotas to be imposed. The introduction into the Western
Australian Parliament of legislation intended to not only close off the
option for appeal against future quotas, but also to deny any
compensation to affected parties pointed to an impending further
deterioration of the family’s situation, so in response, Leonard
Casley - who was a well-read amateur in matters of constitutional law -
resorted to an arcane provision in British common law that he
interpreted as allowing he and his family to secede from Australia and
create a “government of self-preservation” with authority over their
extensive farmlands.
Secession
monument and government buildings in the capital.
Formal
notifications of the secession were sent to bemused state and
federal government officials, and Casley was duly elected to the
position of Administrator of the newly-formed Hutt River
Province. Shortly afterwards further legal advice prompted him
to assume the title of Prince, and so farmer Casley became His
Royal Highness Leonard I, Sovereign of the Hutt River Province
Principality - population twelve.
The
Prince’s natural charm and flair for attracting attention, his
apparent success at staring-down the Australian government
establishment and bureaucracy against which he had set himself,
and the sheer novelty of the newly-minted “rustic royals”
proved to be a winning combination; local and international
media outlets clamoured to bring Prince Leonard’s
quixotic story to public attention, and tour operators
began bussing crowds of curious visitors along
The
Prince in ceremonial regalia, attended by several Hutt River Peers.
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The
Royal Couple: HRH Prince Leonard and
HSH Princess Shirley of the Hutt River Province.
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the
dusty track leading to the nation’s capital. The hamlet of
Nain soon boasted a secession monument, a multi-denominational
chapel and a series of government buildings - including a post
office from which a steady stream of new postage stamp releases
proceeded to emanate. Banknotes and coins were also issued, and
the worldwide
sales of these quickly put the Principality on a sound economic
footing. |
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Soon
the Prince was issuing visas and passports and appointing
ambassadors and consuls to represent the Province's interests
around the world.
A Peerage and a number of Orders of Knighthood were also
established and these were quickly populated by all manner of
regalia-bedecked friends, family and supporters. |
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However, none
of these activities gained the Province formal
acknowledgement from the Australian government. Indeed, certain
government agencies seemed affronted by its very existence and
went out of their way to make life as difficult as possible for
the Prince and his family. The
nearest Australian local government
authority
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Aerial
view of the Hutt River Province. |
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threatened to order the demolition of much of Nain -
which had been constructed without their planning
permission, and the Australian Postmaster General's department
placed an embargo on the Principality's mail, forcing items
posted from the Province to addressees in Australia to be routed
via Canada!
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Full
Armorial Achievement of HRH Leonard I. |
Despite
the constant low-level sniping, unpleasant physical
confrontations were avoided - even though on one occasion the
Prince found it necessary to prove a point by declaring war on
Australia. The conflict lasted several days, involved no action
from either party and resulted in a maintenance of the status
quo.
A
string of public announcements throughout the 1970s foreshadowed
the imminent development of the Province into an outback version
of Hong Kong or Monaco. Nothing of substance came of these, but
they did ensure that
media attention remained fixed on Hutt River, ensuring a
continuation of the
free publicity that fed a thriving tourist industry.
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Attempts at
establishing a radio station and an air force also foundered,
but strangely enough the landlocked nation did succeed in
establishing a Royal Navy consisting of several privately-owned
yachts.
In
the early 1980s the Hutt River Province unexpectedly declared
itself to be a Kingdom, but the experiment proved short-lived,
and it just as quickly
and inexplicably reverted to its original status of
Principality.
At
about that time a charismatic individual by the name of
Kevin Gale became associated with the Province, swiftly
rising through the ranks of the nobility to the position of
Prince Regent –
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Prince
Leonard conducting a ceremonial investiture in the Chapel of
Nain. |
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second
only to Prince Leonard himself.
Gale, a computer business owner and former
convicted forger who lived in the state of Queensland - on
the opposite side of the Australian continent from Prince
Leonard - progressively effectively
gained control over the Province's commercial operations.
The
result was a powerhouse business that issued
staggering volumes of Hutt River Province stamps, coins,
knighthoods and peerages - all of them aggressively marketed
via direct mail. |
Prince
Kevin, the Prince Regent (aka Kevin Gale) |
By
the early 1990s Gale's activities had become independent of
those of his sovereign in all but name - and apparently very little of the money raised as a result of his activities
was finding its way to Prince Leonard's treasury. The Prince
Regent regularly hosted lavish public functions and ceremonial
investitures, was
associated with high-profile charitable fundraising activities on the Queensland Gold Coast, and
at the time of his sudden
death in 1995 was also allegedly seeking to overthrow
Prince Leonard, install himself as Sovereign, and establish
Hutt River Province as an independent state on an island in
the Pacific Ocean. |
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When
the extent of Gale's activities came to the attention
of Prince Leonard, the Prince Regent was declared a traitor to
the Hutt River Province, and was posthumously stripped of all
his titles and honours. The entire fifteen-year episode
remains highly contentious to the present day; Prince
Leonard's administration refuses to even acknowledge it, and
supporters of Gale continue to claim that he has been a victim
of misrepresentation. The dramatic split between supporters of
the two princes certainly appears to have had a detrimental impact on the Province's
viability, and activities since that time have been of a
considerably more subdued nature.
Conflicts
with Australia having long been consigned to history, the
Hutt River Province Principality marked the 30th Anniversary
of its foundation in 2000 with celebrations attended by media,
supporters and many of the 13,000 citizens it claims
worldwide. It appears that the dogged determination of
the septuganerian Prince Leonard - now viewed
affectionately by most observers - has
transcended his own achievement and attained a degree of
immortality, as the subject of an exhibition at the Australian National Museum in
Canberra. |
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Postage
Stamps of the Hutt River Province - coming soon
Coins
of the Hutt River Province
Banknotes of the Hutt River Province - coming soon
Awards and Medals of the Hutt River Province - coming
soon
Main Hutt River Province Page |
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