The Prince of Hutt River

When the wheat quota for his Western Australia farm was cut in 1969, Leonard Casley protested that the government was trying to make him a pauper. Rather than let that happen, Casley decided to make himself a prince.

On April 21, 1970, he served notice of secession and declared his 18,500-acre farm a sovereign state, which he called the Province of Hutt River (pop. 20). Clad in white tie and tails and sporting an old British naval sword, he dubbed himself Prince Leonard and elevated his family and friends to the peerage. Deeming him a harmless eccentric, the federal government pretended not to notice the prince and his province. But Casley, 47, the son of a Kalgoorlie railroad fireman, has proved difficult to ignore. United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim recently received a letter from Prince Leonard--on Hutt River letterhead--applying for acceptance as an observer member country.

The application was politely shunted aside. Nonetheless, with the help of his wife Princess Shirley and their three sons--Postmaster General Ian, 28, Foreign Minister Wayne, 25, and Treasurer Richard, 21--Prince Leonard is still printing his own currency and stamps. He is also establishing foreign trade (largely through the sale of his stamps). He hopes to give a more monumental appearance to the province's capital, whose growing population (now 30) is presently housed in half a dozen unimposing brick and cement buildings. Hutt River already has its own flag, its own anthem and its own coat of arms (a bull's head, eagle and scales symbolizing agriculture, freedom and justice).

Curiosity seekers started streaming into the province, a scrubby sand plain 14 miles from the Indian Ocean and enlivened only by an occasional kangaroo. Tourism rose from 3,000 in 1970 to 40,000 last year. Mail from round the world is running at 200 letters a week, many from prospective settlers who apparently see the province as a potential Elysium-on-Hutt. An air service flies in from Perth (370 miles south) twice weekly, first circling the capital as a signal to the prince to clear the grassy landing strip of grazing cattle.

Modest Success. Casley's ambitious future plans for Hutt River include $260 million worth of hotels, casinos, a sports complex and a broadcasting system "as large as Radio Luxembourg." He has a 14-man diplomatic corps, which includes a Canadian archbishop and a London brewer who have volunteered to serve as "ambassadors." These envoys are looking for investors, so far with only modest success. As yet, the capital's sights include only a chapel, a restaurant and souvenir shop-cum-post office, where tourists can buy Hutt River T shirts ($4) and wall plaques ($5.30)--but no Hutt River ashtrays. Sniffs the protocol-conscious prince: "You never stub cigarettes on heraldry." Casley plans soon to station a sentry on the Hutt River border and require visitors to purchase visas for 53-c-. Although the prince will not divulge financial details, he concedes that an estimated $200,000 a year from tourism "could be about right."

Casley has had only a few minor skirmishes with Australian authorities. When charged with selling liquor without a license, he paid the fine but described the case as "an aggressive act by a neighboring power." When Foreign Minister Wayne was called for national service, he objected and asked to be deported to his own country; the matter was dropped.

But as the legend of Prince Leonard grows, the Canberra government and the Western Australia state government are finding his quixotic tilts at their bureaucracy increasingly nettlesome. Federal authorities recently issued a starchy departmental memo instructing that Casley must not be addressed by his title. "The Australian government does not recognize the existence of Hutt River province," says the Prime Minister's office. To Canberra, Prince Leonard remains plain Mr. Casley of Lockhart Street, Como, Western Australia.

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