Hutt River Principality - Micronation

Regarded by some as the world’s most established (and lucrative) micronation, the Hutt River Province Principality is something of a template for modern micronationalism.

Founded by a disgruntled Australian wheat farmer in 1970, the Hutt River Province has seemingly done it all. Declarations of war, rumours of coups, bad poetry and a curious, quasi-religious obsession with the power of numbers are at the heart of this groundbreaking, desolate province.

In addition to its own remarkable story, Hutt River is also a poster child for the many Australian micronations that sprang up in its shadow.

LOCATION
The Hutt River Province Principality is in Yallabathara, 10km north of Northampton, Western Australia, 595km north of Perth.

FACTS ABOUT THE HUTT RIVER PROVINCE PRINCIPALITY

POSTAL ADDRESS
Hutt River Province Principality, PO Box 173, via Northampton, 6535 Western Australia, Australia

TELEPHONE
+61 8 9936 6035

WEBSITE
www.hutt-river-province.com

FOUNDED
1970

HEAD OF STATE
His Royal Highness Leonard I and Her Royal Highness Princess Shirley, Dame of the Rose of Sharon

CAPITAL
Nain

LANGUAGE
English

CURRENCY
Hutt River Dollar

AREA
75 sq km

POPULATION
Although actual residents are very few, the principality claims a worldwide citizenship of 13,000

HISTORY
It all started in 1969 with a shift in Australia’s agriculture policy. Concerned about an over-supply of wheat, the government announced new restrictions for farmers. Leonard Casley, a farmer from regional Western Australia, was gutted; with thousands of acres of wheat ready to go, he was informed that he was only permitted to produce about 100 acres.

After a failed campaign to change the policy, Mr Casley believed there was only one option open to him: secession. According to an old English law (upon which Australian law is based), the government may not threaten a citizen’s livelihood. Mr Casley lodged notice with state and federal authorities on 21 April 1970. According to Australian law, the government had two years from this date in which to protest. Along with their failure to respond came legal status for the Hutt River Province, which was officially a new country on 21 April 1972.

The following five years saw the emergence of the Hutt River Province’s national structures and symbols, including the issuing of coins, banknotes and stamps. The relationship with Australia, however, continued to be difficult. At one point the Australian Postmaster refused to handle outgoing Hutt River mail, forcing it to be diverted via Canada. This philatelic Berlin Wall was just one example of poor relations, prompting Prince Leonard to write the following to Australian authorities in 1976: I wish that relations between us could be more cordial, after all Hutt River Province is the second largest country in this continent. Australia could be a more neighbourly neighbour.

Ultimately, however, Australia’s failure to recognise the Province, along with repeated demands for the payment of taxes, prompted Prince Leonard to take the most drastic of actions: he declared war on Australia on 2 December 1977. Ignored again by its massive neighbour, the prince notified Australian authorities of the cessation of hostilities less than a week later. Having actively demonstrated its independence – and in accordance with international law (including the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, 1933) – the Hutt River Province had done all that is required to attain statehood.

Although the political situation in the principality hasn’t always been entirely stable (see Kevin the Hutt, left), the nation has benefited from the ongoing leadership of Prince Leonard, who still keeps a tight reign on his nation to this day. And aside from a brief flirtation with the political structure of a ‘kingdom’ in the early 1980s, the Hutt River Province Principality has remained structurally consistent since its formation.

From disgruntled farmer to national leader, Prince Leonard has certainly made a splash. Like his enormous neighbour, Australia, the prince recognises Queen Elizabeth II. His nation is also deeply religious, with the prince having met Pope John Paul II. According to Prince Leonard, the future of Hutt River is not only assured, it’s positively exciting.

ECONOMY
Exports include wildflowers, agricultural produce, stamps and coins. Tourism is increasingly important to the Province’s economy.

PEOPLE & CULTURE

EDUCATION
The Hutt River Province has already taken great steps towards establishing itself as a centre for academic research. While Prince Leonard has signalled his desire to open a university at Hutt River, he is already the founder and trustee of the Royal College of Advanced Research (motto: This We Have Seen and Know).

With a stated mission to ‘advance the research and teachings into the fields of Spiritual in relation to pure Physics without relationship to any individual religious doctrine’, the Royal College has produced papers written by the prince as well as other Hutt River academics. Vaguely cultish, these articles are based on numerical studies (especially concerning the Christian Bible) and ‘wave theory’.

PEERAGE
Hutt River’s system of peerage is an essentially patriarchal and hierarchical one. While Prince Leonard still retains ultimate power over each of the Province’s three Orders, he has bestowed control on two of his sons. The Royal Order – the most important – is controlled by Prince Leonard’s oldest son, Prince Ian. The Serene Order of Leonard is headed up by the younger
Prince Wayne.

CITIZENSHIP
As with many emerging nations, the old Australian mantra ‘populate or perish’ has taken hold in Hutt River. While the prince fixes a visionary stare and speaks of a future in which the Province is home to tens of thousands of people, at the moment he has to console himself with granting citizenship to residents of other countries. Application forms are available on the official Hutt River website.

FACTS FOR THE VISITOR

PLACES TO STAY
Visitors can stay overnight with inexpensive facilities for campers and caravaners, but you do need to take your own food. There are ablution facilities, generated power and limited fresh water available. The Province even offers visitors free use of their private swimming pool! Booking accommodation or a campsite in advance is essential.

PLACES TO EAT
The Hutt River Province has tearooms serving basic refreshments and light snacks. Those intending to stay over should bring their own food.

SHOPPING
The Hutt River Province Memorabilia Department is responsible for housing and displaying important artefacts from the Province’s history. They also operate two gift shops in the Province. Magnets, T-shirts, stickers, commemorative spoons, badges and even a CD recording of the national anthem are all available. The Man is the title of an 86-page biography of HRH Prince Leonard, available for A$20.
Many visitors also like to purchase stamps and exchange money.

TOURS
Organised tours to the Hutt River Province from the coastal resort town of Kalbarri are operated by Kilbarri Coach Tours (adult/concession/child A$45/42/22; hMon & Fri from 1pm).

THINGS TO SEE & DO
All of the province’s major tourist attractions can be viewed while on an official tour. Ring ahead to check the royals are in residence; you don’t want to miss the opportunity of a royal-guided tour. Of particular interest to Secessionist Monument and the Chapel of Nain. Consisting of over 300 works, the Royal Art Collection is on display throughout the official buildings. The collection is viewed during the official tours of the government complex. Of special interest are the Bible-inspired paintings in the chapel. The most appropriate adjective is unique.

GETTING THERE & AWAY
A long way from anywhere in particular, Hutt River is nonetheless not too hard to reach. The quickest way from Perth – itself the most remote city in the world – is to fly on Skywest Airlines’ daily service to Geraldton.
From there, it’s only about another 100km to your destination. The drive from Perth takes about six hours; the principality is just off the Brand Hwy.

Once you’re on the main highway north of Northampton, turn off at Chilimony Rd. Turn left at Ogilvie Rd. The main border entry is on the right, about 10 minute’s drive along the road.

Greyhound and Integrity Coachlines run regular buses between Northampton and Perth and also north to Exmouth and Broome. The trip as far as the Hutt River region takes a bit over eight hours. Note: the Province is open to international visitors from 9am to 4pm daily.

CUSTOMS & VISAS
For visitors, the Hutt River Province Principality allows entry with a visa (available at the border). Passports are stamped upon entry.

KEVIN THE HUTT
Kevin Gale is part of Hutt River’s hidden history. This enigmatic and – by all accounts – charismatic figure from Queensland on Australia’s east coast loomed large over the principality in the 1980s.

Mr Gale became a ‘Prince Regent’ of Hutt River in the early ’80s, and worked hard to establish the province’s now formidable commercial operations. After a trickle of official stamp and coin releases in the previous decade, Gale oversaw a dramatic increase in printing and minting operations, and also began selling positions within the nobility to interested people around the world.

In the economically heady days of the late ’80s and early ’90s, Gale operated as a maverick from his Queensland base, capitalising on the fame of the Province, but reportedly operating without the authority of Prince Leonard.
Kevin Gale died unexpectedly in 1995, amid rumours that he and his associates were planning a coup. Some say there was even a plan to relocate the province to an island in the Pacific. He was posthumously declared a traitor.
These events are not included in any official history of the Hutt River Province, and – to this day – Prince Leonard declines to comment.

GEMATRYA FILES
From these numerical ‘resolvements’, the Royal College hopes to produce a system that will assist in describing the world: To all of us here at the Royal College it also appears that the Gematrya Code has and will continue to be an extremely effective mathematical tool with potential to open up a vast field of scientific investigation into the interpretation of Ancient Symbolic Prophecy and resolve many factors relative to today, which has, we feel, taken us into the realms of relatively Newer Spiritual Concepts.

The Gematrya Files Master List of Word Values: Special 8th Edition, February 2004, is a collection of gematryatical values for the English language. Based on the simple code A=1 to Z=26 (a favourite principal used by the prince to solve problems) this publication contains the equivalent numerical value of almost 26,000 English-language words. It is available on CD from the Hutt River gift shop, and from the government website.

18 February 2007