How Leonard became a Prince

Prince Leonard looking out over his country
Originally uploaded by Petra Bos.

In the late nineteen sixties wheat production in Australia flourished. The government applied strict production quota to farmers in order to control the production and wheat prices. Not all farmers were pleased with the quota they were allowed. Leonard was one of them, he owned a big farm (75 square kilometers) and was doomed to loose a lot of his income by the new production limitations. He wasn’t pleased at all.
Leonard decided to take matters in his own hands and find a way to ensure his income. He studied the Australian constitution and found one or two loopholes that would allow him to claim independence if only the prime minister wouldn’t object. So he wrote his letters and sent them to the prime minister, waiting for his reply. The set objection period came to an end and still there was no official response from the prime minister; this meant that he was now independent!
He now had his own country; Hutt River Province. From now on, he would be Prince Leonard, his wife would be Princess Shirley and best of all: he would be able to produce and sell as much wheat as he wanted.
It worked out well for our new prince. By the time the prime minister realized his mistake, there was nothing more he could do to stop our new prince, all international laws were followed. The only thing the prime minister could do was to make sure he would not make a mistake like that again.
Hutt River Province is now an independent country recognized by some other countries, but not by others, not by Australia for example, they claim he misinterpreted the law. Although the Australian government does grant special rights to citizens of Hutt River Province, the exemption of paying income tax to the Australian government for example. At the moment the country is trying to increase its international recognition by applying for official membership of the United Nations. Hutt River Province is located about 100 km from the town of Geraldton in Western Australia. It is still a wheat producing farm with just under a thousand residents.
A couple of months ago I got the chance to visit this principality. Prince Leonard, now 82 years old, showed us around himself. We started in the post office / government office. This is where the Prince checked our traveling documents and provided us with the necessary visa. This is also where you can buy national stamps, bank notes or coins (numerous collectors editions are available of these products). The building also functions as a little exhibition room in which the prince showcases photographs and letters from other country leaders. He is very eager to tell us the story of each and everyone of those special encounters and letter exchanges that he had with internationally important people.
The tour then leads to the chapel / ceremonial hall. Plenty of special paintings and decorations in here. The most impressive being a painting of Jesus accompanied by the sons of Leonard. This is also where Leonard offered me the once in a lifetime opportunity to have my photo taken with a prince and my photo taken while sitting on a royal throne! What a day!
Our tour continues along a big sculpture of Leonard himself made by an artist who was flown in from Hawaii to create this tribute to the Prince. The tour finishes in the last of the main buildings; this is again a museum which double functions as a souvenir shop. It is now time for Leonard to explain to us how we can become citizens. It is very easy, for any interested readers: just go to the website and download the application form, fill it out and pay the application fee and, provided that you don’t have a criminal background, you are ready to become one of the approximately 20.000 citizens of Hutt River Principality. Your next step would be to apply for a passport, which entitles you travel in all the countries that have acknowledged the independence of Hutt River Province.
I ask the Prince about the health care facilities. Leonard has taken care of it all; two of his citizens are German doctors who visit twice a year and perform health checks on him and his family. For emergencies they have to cross the border and use the Australian health care system, this is free of charge for Leonard since he is an Australian war veteran. His wife is fortunate enough to be able to afford her own health care. They must have done well for themselves, selling all this wheat.
But I have my doubt about how independent the country really is. True, they do have their own constitution, army, navy (the country is land-enclosed!), air force, anthem, flag and royal family, but where do they get their electricity, water, shopping, telephone, internet, etc. from? I bed they don’t have import quota on Australian produce. It makes me wonder, Hutt River Province: just a big joke or a very clever invention by a farmer who carefully read the law? Either way it sure makes an interesting visit and an impressive story.