The demise of the ‘second largest country in Australia’: micronations and Australian exceptionalism

The Principality of Hutt River was founded in 1970. Led by a committed and eccentric family, the Principality was Australia’s most famous micronation. Micronations assert their claims to sovereignty in myriad ways. In this article, we explore what it means to be a micronation by contrasting this phenomenon with Indigenous peoples and communities who also assert a right to sovereignty. As we explain, Indigenous nations are not micronations because they possess a historical claim to legitimacy. We also explore Australia’s approach to micronations. Australia has a disproportionately high representation of micronations relative to its population. We consider three reasons why this may be the case.