A Provincial Mindset

In 1861, eleven states seceded from the United States of America. Collectively, their actions propelled America into the bloodiest four years of its history, pitting North against South and brother against brother. In 1970, the Hutt River Province seceded from the Commonwealth of Australia. The result? Confusion, at first; then, acceptance and three decades—and counting—of peace.

Today, the Hutt River Province is the Hutt River Principality, a 75 square-km "micronation" several hours north of Perth. It exists as an affirmation of the customary Australian amiability that has made an inhospitable country a little more welcoming, as a testament to Australian eccentricity, and as a little-known and unorthodox tourist destination.

Before he was His Royal Highness Prince Leonard of Hutt, Leonard George Casley was just a pissed-off wheat farmer. Back in 1970, he was angered by the Australian government's imposition of wheat quotas, which would have reduced Casley's profits by forcing him to curtail production. Casley's refusal to comply with quotas was initially just an annoyance for the government, which told the farmer that if he didn't wise up, his lands would be seized under the eminent domain. So Casley did what any right-minded agriculturalist would do: he started his own damn country.

Founded on April 21^st, 1970, the Hutt River Province took advantage of the British Treason Act of 1495, which Casley argued gave him the right to secede. His new nation was initially greeted with skepticism by the Australian government, which threatened Casley with prosecution. The farmer fired back by declaring himself a royal—hence the "His Royal Highness"—knowing full well that Commonwealth Law considered charging a monarch with a crime as treasonous. The ploy worked. Western Australia decided that it couldn't interfere with the mini-revolution unless the Governor General intervened, and, unfortunately for officials in Perth, the bemused Governor General had no desire to crack down on Casley.

The intervening years have been largely uneventful for Hutt River. While province passports have been granted to around 13,000 people—citizenship requirements are fairly lax—nearly all of these Huttites live overseas. The actual number of ex-Australians that can call Hutt River home numbers about 20.

That counts both Prince Casley and his wife, Princess Shirley. Together, they have seven children, including His Royal Highness Crown Prince Ian (b. 1947), who will eventually succeed his father on the throne.

In many ways, Casley’s micronation is a legitimate entity. It has its own national anthem, its own bill of rights, and even its own “armed forces.” (Of course, it's hard to gauge the merits of the Hutt River Navy, which protects a country that’s completely landlocked.) Plus, the province has issued an almost absurd amount of different coins and stamps over the years, and while its currency is useless outside its own borders, its coins have become collector’s items in certain circles.

The darker side to Hutt River is its current status as a tax haven. Like the Cayman Islands, foreign companies of varying infamy can set up off-shore accounts in the Hutt River Province. It’s unclear how many corporations have taken advantage of Hutt River tax status since its designation as a haven in 1994.

Tourists have also reaped the benefits of Casley’s daring. Hutt River warmly welcomes all visitors, and its monarch will even personally lead guided tours of his kingdom, which includes a limited art collection and several modest buildings. Limited camping facilities are available for those tourists overwhelmed by the prospect of seeing all of Hutt River’s sights in a single day.

While the Australian government still refuses to officially acknowledge Hutt River Province, Casley’s nation has become an Aussie institution, and it’s even the subject of a permanent exhibit in the ACT’s National Museum of Australia. In a country full of quirky stories, Hutt River’s stands out as one of the strangest.