Principality of Hutt River

Principality of Hutt River
Micronation
1970–2020
Flag of PHR
Flag
Seal of PHR
Seal
Motto: Dum Spiro Spero
"While I Breathe, I Hope"
Anthem: "It's a Hard Land" by Keith Kerwin
Location of PHR
Location28°4′28″S 114°28′14.5″E / 28.07444°S 114.470694°E / -28.07444; 114.470694
CapitalNain
Official languagesEnglish
(official language)
French, Esperanto
(per constitution)[1]
Ethnic groups
Anglo-Celtic Australians, Aboriginal Australians (Nunda people)
Demonym(s)Hutt Riverian
Organizational structurePrincipality
Prince 
• 1970–2017
Leonard I
• 2017–2020
Graeme I
Establishment
• Declared independence
21 April 1970[2]
• Dissolved
3 August 2020
Area claimed
• Total
75 km2 (29 sq mi)
Purported currencyHutt River Dollar, tied 1:1 with the Australian Dollar (from 1974 to 2020)
Time zoneUTC+08:00
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Australia
Australia
Today part ofAustralia

The Principality of Hutt River, often referred to by its former name, the Hutt River Province, was an unrecognized micronation in Australia, proclaimed on 21 April 1970 when farmer Leonard Casley declared his farm to be a sovereign state, the "Hutt River Province". He claimed to have seceded from Australia, which occurred during his dispute with the authorities concerning wheat production quotas. A few years later, Casley began styling himself as "Prince Leonard" and granting family members royal titles, although he did not include the word "principality" in the official name until 2006. In 2017, Casley's claim to rulership was taken over by his son Graeme,[3][4][5] who dropped the claim to sovereignty on 3 August 2020.[6][7]

The claimed territory was located 517 km (354 mi) north of Perth, near the town of Northampton in the state of Western Australia. It had an area of 75 square kilometres (29 sq mi), making it larger than several recognized countries. It was not recognised as a country by the Australian Government nor any other national government, and the High Court of Australia and Supreme Court of Western Australia rejected submissions arguing that it was not subject to Australian laws.[8]

The "principality" was a regional tourist attraction until it announced it was closed to tourists after 31 January 2020.[9][10] It issued its own currency, stamps and passports (which are not recognised by the Australian government or any other government).[11]

Leonard Casley died on 13 February 2019.[12][13]

  1. ^ "Constitution" (PDF).
  2. ^ Casley, Leonard (21 April 1970). "The Fate [sic] Accompli" (PDF). Principality of Hutt River. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  3. ^ Sarah Taillier (1 February 2017). "Prince Leonard of Hutt River Principality abdicates to son Graeme". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Australian micronation 'prince' abdicates after 46 years". BBC News. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  5. ^ Sarah Taillier; Sebastian Neuweiler (11 February 2017). "Hutt River Principality now ruled by Prince Graeme as Prince Leonard stands aside". ABC News. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Principality of Hutt River to close its borders!". 27 December 2019.
  7. ^ Hedley, Kate (3 August 2020). "End of an empire: Hutt River to rejoin Australia after 50 years". WA Today. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  8. ^ Casley v Commissioner of Taxation [2007] HCATrans 590; Casley v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2017] WASCA 196, [8].
  9. ^ Pascual Juanola, Marta (10 January 2020). "Hutt River Principality will close its doors 'until further notice' due to financial hardship". WAtoday. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  10. ^ Ministry of Electronic Communications, Principality of Hutt River (1 April 2020). "Official Home Site of the Principality of Hutt River". Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference MacBeth was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Francesca Mann (13 February 2019). "Hutt River micro-nation founder Prince Leonard dead aged 93". PerthNow. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  13. ^ Natasha Harradine (13 February 2019). "Prince Leonard, who founded Hutt River Province after stoush with WA government, dies aged 93". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 February 2019.

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