Planet Perth: The Hutt River Province
Once upon a time in a land far away, there lived a King and Queen who ruled over a vast sunburnt land, rich with wheat crops.
Except the land was just up near Kalbarri and the family were not royal, but the self proclaimed sovereigns of the so-called Hutt River Province.
Located 500km from Perth, Hutt River Province was a small micronation created by Prince Leonard who seceded from Australia in 1970 after conflicting with the state government over wheat production quotas.
For 50 years, Hutt River was a popular tourist destination, welcoming hundreds of national and international tourists each year…under it all came crashing down.
How did it all come to be and why is Australia dubbed the micronation capital of the world? Jeff Bullen find outs when he speaks with University of Technology Sydney constituational law and human rights expert Dr Harry Hobbs.
Planet Perth is an RTRFM podcast series about the weird, wacky and unexplained history of our eccentric city.
Join Jeff Bullen each fortnight for a deep dive into the events, personalities and bygone icons that have shaped one of the most isolated cities in the world.
