Principality of Hutt River

Principality of Hutt River
Motto: Dum Spiro Spero (While I Breathe, I Hope)
Status	Current
Capital	Nain
Demonym(s)	Hutt River citizens
Membership	30 full time residents, 13,000-18,000 overseas citizens

Map of Principality of Hutt River

The Principality of Hutt River, previously known as the Hutt River Province, is the oldest micronation in Australia. The principality claims to be an independent sovereign state, although it remains unrecognized except by other micronations.

The principality is located 517 km north of Perth, near the town of Northampton.

The principality was founded on the 21st of April 1970 by Leonard George Casley when he and his associates proclaimed their secession from the state of Western Australia.

History

The Principality of Hutt River was created in 1969, as a province by the name of Hutt River Province, in response to a dispute with the government of Western Australia over what the Casley family considered draconian wheat production quotas. The Casley farm had around 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of wheat ready to harvest when the quotas were issued which allowed Casley to sell only 1,647 bushels or approximately 40 hectares (99 acres). Initially the five families who owned farms in Hutt River banded together to fight the quota and Casley lodged a protest with the Governor of Western Australia Sir Douglas Kendrew. The Governor replied "no rectification of our Quota would be allowed" which, as he acts as the Queen's representative, made Her Majesty technically liable, in Tort, for applying an unlawful imposition as the quota had not yet been passed into law. Casley then lodged a claim under the Law of Tort for $52 million in the belief the claim would force a revision of the quota. Two weeks later the government introduced a bill into Parliament to "resume" their rural lands under compulsory acquisition. After approaches to the government to reconsider the acquisition bill failed, Casley and his associates resorted to a British law (the Treason Act 1495) which they felt allowed them to secede and declare their independence from the Commonwealth of Australia. Casley states that he nonetheless remains loyal to Queen Elizabeth II. Casley was elected administrator of the new "sovereign state" by his family.

The government of Western Australia determined it could do nothing without the intervention of the Commonwealth. The Governor-General of Australia, Sir Paul Hasluck, later stated that it was unconstitutional for the Commonwealth to intervene in the secession. In correspondence with the governor-general's office, Casley was inadvertently addressed as the "Administrator of the Hutt River Province" which, under the application of Royal Prerogative, makes this recognition binding on all courts. After the government threatened him with prosecution, Casley styled himself His Majesty Prince Leonard I of Hutt to take advantage of a Commonwealth law that a monarch could not only not be charged but that anyone who interfered with his duties could be charged with treason. Although the law in this matter has since changed, the Australian government has not taken any action against Hutt River since the declaration. Under Australian law, the government had two years to respond to Casley's declaration; the failure to respond gave the province de facto legal status on 21 April 21, 1972.

In 1976, Australia Post refused to handle Hutt River mail, forcing mail to be redirected via Canada. Following repeated demands by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for the payment of taxes, on 2 December 1977 the province officially declared war on Australia. Prince Leonard notified authorities of the cessation of hostilities several days later. The mail service was restored and tax requests ceased. Hutt River citizens are now classed by the ATO as non-residents of Australia for income tax purposes; thus income earned within the province is exempt from Australian taxation. The province levies its own income tax of 0.5% on financial transactions by foreign companies registered in the province and personal accounts.

While the principality does not pay taxes, the Australian government's current official position is that it is nothing more than a private enterprise operating under a business name.

In the early 1980s Hutt River Province declared itself to be a kingdom, but soon after reverted to its original status of a principality. The principality proceeded to release a number of its own stamps and coins.

In September 2006 Prince Leonard decided to change the name to "Principality of Hutt River" and dropped the word "Province".

Statistics

The Principality of Hutt River is situated 517 km north of Perth along the Hutt River. It is about 75 km² (approximately 18,500 acres) in size. Exports include wildflowers, agricultural produce, stamps and coins, while tourism is also important to its economy.

Although actual residents are very few, the principality claims a world-wide citizenry of 13,000.

The Principality has no standing army, but a number of its citizens have been awarded military commissions, honorary guardsmen attend the prince on formal occasions and, despite being completely landlocked, naval commissions have been conferred on supporters of the principality.

Since 2 September 2004, Hutt River Province Principality has had the authority to accept company registrations. At least one company experienced in the registration of entities in traditional offshore jurisdictions (British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands etc.) as tax havens has been authorised to act as a registered agent for PHR incorporations. A variety of licenses are also available.

Hutt River also allows car registrations, including issuing of license plates to overseas vehicles.

The principality's capital, Nain, is named after Nain in Galilee.

Government

Principality of Hutt River Western Australia
Principality of Hutt River
Coordinates	28°4′28″S 114°28′14.5″E

When the Principality of Hutt River seceded, a bill of rights was drafted. This bill of rights was, as the name suggests, a brief document outlining the rights of "Hutt River" citizens. It also provided for an administration board to govern over the principality until a permanent form of government could be established. When Casley declared himself a prince, the administration board clause lost effect and the Hutt River Principality became a benevolent absolute monarchy with a legislation committee to draft new legislation. In 1997, the legislation committee finished a proposal for a constitution and presented it to the prince and his cabinet. Although the prince and cabinet are still yet to officially adopt and promulgate the proposal, it is not without effect as there is a decree stating that any constitution will be in effect while still under consideration except for clauses that conflict with the bill of rights. To this end, the proposal remains in effect as a sort of provisional constitution.

Royal Family

Obverse of a 50 cent coin depicting Prince Leonard.

His Majesty Prince Leonard I of Hutt is the style that has been used by Leonard George Casley since his creation of the Hutt River Principality. Prince Leonard is married to Her Royal Highness Princess Shirley of Hutt, Dame of the Rose of Sharon (née Shirley Butler), by whom he has seven adult children, among them is Crown Prince Ian (born 1947) who is the Prime Minister of the Principality, has been designated as Prince Leonard's eventual successor as "heir presumptive".

Prince Ian is involved heavily in the wildflower production, with the product not only being exported to Perth, Western Australia but to many cities internationally.

Princess Shirley plays host to the many dignitaries and diplomatic representatives visiting the principality each year as well as receiving many of the television crews and magazine journalists. She is also royal patron and chairwoman on the board of directors of the Red Cross of Hutt.

In the royal family there are 24 grandchildren and 23 great-grand children in the direct line.

Prince Leonard pursued a number of occupations before purchasing a large wheat farm near Northampton, Western Australia and Geraldton, Western Australia in the 1960s. A former mathematician and physicist who worked for NASA in the 1950s, the prince has had a star named in his honour.

Despite his advancing years the prince is known as a keen-minded "bush lawyer". He is also an adherent of hermeticism, a subject on which he has privately published a number of research papers.

Some Australians view "Prince Leonard" affectionately as a harmless eccentric and view his tenacity in taking on "big government" with wry amusement.

Prince Leonard is the subject of a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.

Currency

A set of low denomination banknotes was introduced in 1974. The first Hutt River coins were not issued until 1976. The currency of the Hutt River Province Principality is the Hutt River Dollar, which is divided into 100 cents. The Hutt River Dollar is tied at a one-to-one ratio with the Australian dollar.

First series: 1976 - 1978

There were four denominations: 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c. These were issued between 1976 and 1978, but the 1978 issue was a proof only issue. There was also a silver $30 coin and a gold $100 coin, struck only in proof.

First Series
Value	Technical parameters		Description			Date of first minting
	Diameter	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
5c	16.5 mm	Aluminium	Plain	Prince Leonard	Coat of arms	1976
10c	19.1 mm	Copper
20c	22.4 mm	Brass
50c	24.9 mm	Cupronickel
$30	38.1 mm	999‰ silver	Reeded
$100	25 mm	24 carat gold	Plain
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Silver Jubilee $1 coin

A 100 Dollar coin (front and back) issued by the Principality of Hutt River

A 1991 commemorative coin.

In 1977 $1 coins were struck to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. These coins are known as "holey dollars", a nickname which is applied to the extremely rare New South Wales 5/- coin and the Prince Edward Island 5/- coin, which were cut and counterstamped from Spanish-American Pieces of Eight (8 Reales).

Coins of the same design were struck again in 1978, without the inscription "Queens's Jubilee".

Later series

Most of the coins of later series have specific commemorative topics and are usually made of precious metal. The issuance of coins went on until 2000, and resumed with new issues beginning in 2007 to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of the Prince and Princess.

Status and criticism

The Australian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Jeremy Bruer, upon hearing that an office purporting to represent the “Hutt River Province” was operating in Dubai and allegedly selling travel documents, stated that the Australian Government did not recognise the "Hutt River Province", legally or in any other way.

He further stated that: "The area of land which is described as the 'Hutt River Province' is a privately owned wheat-growing property on the Hutt River, north of Geraldton in the State of Western Australia. It has no special status. It has no separate sovereignty and remains subject to the Australian Constitution and the laws of Australia."

Regarding the use of titles, the ambassador said that: "The Australian Government does not recognise the 'royal titles' nor titles of office, such as 'Head of State', 'State minister' and 'Minister for Foreign Affairs' assumed by the family owning the property nor the use of terms such as 'consulates' and 'principality' in relation to the 'Hutt River Province'."

However, the Hutt River Province argues that it is an independent entity within the Australian legal system and the Commonwealth has no right to dispute the claimed de facto legality it was given in error by the Governor General's office, and its own failure to respond to the claim. The Principality claims that to overturn this de facto recognition, the Governor of Western Australia would have to submit the secession to arbitration, something which they claim is not done due to legal uncertainty related to the fact that Western Australia was never proclaimed as British Territory officially.

Although passports issued by the "Hutt River Province" are not legally recognised by the Australian Government, they have been accepted on a case-by-case basis for overseas travel.

Treatment by Australian Government departments

On the whole, Australian Government departments do not interfere with Hutt River Province. While the Australian Taxation Office has issued a warning on its website for the public not to purchase companies from the PHR, it has not acted against the principality. The principality had plans to start a university in its territory, which is illegal within Australia. However, the government authorities did not act against PHR. Similarly, the PHR does not pay taxes to the ATO.

See also

• Proposals for new Australian states
• Secessionism in Western Australia

References

• "Mini-states Down Under are sure they can secede", by Nick Squires, The Daily Telegraph (UK), February 24, 2005.
• "If at first you don't secede…", by Mark Dapin, The Sydney Morning Herald — Good Weekend, February 12, 2005, pp 47–50
• "Unusual World Coins", by Colin R Bruce, Krause Publications, 2005, ISBN 0-87349-793-7, p240

External links

PHR

• Principality of Hutt River (PHR) website
• Permanent Representative of the PHR Berlin-Germany, multilanguage site
• PHR website/Charge D'Affaires for New England
• HRP US Representative Office website (Updated 2007)
• Hutt River Principality, Cabinet Magazine

Australian Government

• Australian Taxation Office's viewpoint on HRP's business
• National Museum of Australia

Other

• Time Magazine article/1975
• ABC TV transcript/2003
• Interview with H.R.H. Prince Leonard