Australia may be on the tourist map, but there is a wild frontier feel about it. Sure, there’s great surfing, colorful coral reef to explore before it disappears, the sounds of variations of a Crocodile Dundee accent, and indeed, kangaroos hopping about. Those are all typical reasons for which people flock to Australia. But after you’ve satisfied your tourist checklist, and after you’ve ascertained if, when flushing the toiled, water in the Southern hemisphere actually swirls in the opposite direction to that of the Northern hemisphere — consider going off the beaten path and seeing some of the truly wild and wonderful oddities that only Australia offers. As Mark Twain wrote during his visit, “It is full of surprises, and adventures, and incongruities, and contradictions, and incredibility's; but they are all true, they all happened.”
Here are three ideas to get you started:
Alice Springs is located in the heart of the Outback, and not exactly known for its juicy plethora of water sources. In fact, at the annual Henly-on-Todd Regatta, (held in September), teams race their boats down the dry and dusty riverbed. They can’t paddle of course, so team members simply pick up their boats and run them in Fred Flinstone-esque style to the finish line. It’s a sight not to be missed.
Lionard George Casley and his associates, landowners with 9,900 acres to their name, seceded from Western Australia in 1970, and actually achieved de facto legal status just two years later. They have their own monetary system, a constitution, and even a Prince. This is the result of a rather outlandish dispute between a farmer and his government.
In the 1960s, one Lionard George Casley disagreed with the government of Western Australia over wheat production quotas. The governor refused to change the quota, and because the quota had actually not yet been passed as law, and the governor, acting as a representative of the Queen, made Her Majesty liable in Tort for applying an unlawful imposition.
Casley sued for a claim of $52 million under the Law of Tort. The government of Western Australia reacted by attempting to reclaim the rural land under “compulsory acquisition,” but failed. Casley and his associates then seceded from the Commonwealth of Australia, an act that they considered to be within their rights based on the British Treason Act of 1495.
The government of Western Australia couldn’t do anything without the backing of the Commonwealth, but the Governor General of Australia, Sir Paul Hasluck, said that it would be unconstitutional to intervene in secession. To make matters even more interesting, correspondence from the governor general’s office erroneously addressed Casley as the Administrator of the Hutt River Province. Under the application of Royal Prerogative, this makes the recognition of Casley as such binding in all courts. When the government threatened prosecution, Casley simply declared himself His Majesty Prince Leonard I of Hutt. Under Commonwealth law, a monarch cannot be charged, and anyone who interferes with his duties can be charged with treason.
Under Australian law, the government must respond to such issues within two years. As you may have surmised, they did not address the Hutt River secession in a satisfactory or timely fashion, and therefore, Casley and his associates achieved de facto legal status in 1972.
The drama continued for years. For instance, in 1976, the Australian Post refused to deliver Hutt River mail and redirected it to Canada. While the postal relations have been worked out since the 70s, sending postcards from the Principality of Hutt River is still not recommended. Visiting the Hutt River region however, is highly recommended.
Hutt River is occupied by about 13,000 citizens, with military commissions by the way, and while meandering through the capital city of Nail (named after Nain in Galilee), enjoy the scenery, and be sure to take a few coins embossed with Prince Leonard’s profile home as a souvenir.
Cooper Pede is the opal capital of the world and occupied by about 2,000 people. Its desert location keeps the temperature near 100 degrees on most days, so people simply live in dug out houses underground, where the temperature is bearable. There’s a distinct lack of water, and therefore not much in the way of greenery. Welded together from scrap iron and perched on a hill, is the first tree ever seen in the town. The lack of vegetation doesn’t stop the local golfers though — while you’re there, be sure to visit the dusty course, where players take a scrap of turf around with them in order to tee off. If you think that sounds a bit subpar, consider that the Coober Pedy Golf Club is the only one in the world with reciprocal rights to The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the first and perhaps most prestigious golf club in the world.