‘We just couldn’t find a way forward’: Casley family to wind up Hutt River Province and rejoin Commonwealth

A well-known little country within Australia’s borders has come to an end. The Casley family has decided to wind up the independent Principality of Hutt River and rejoin the Commonwealth of Australia. Located in the Shire of Northampton, the micro nation operated as a tourist attraction for 50 years until Graeme Casley, known as Prince Graeme, closed it to visitors early this year to restructure the business. “After a number of months we just couldn’t find a way forward so we’ve just got to bring it to a close,” he said. “We are in the midst of dissolving the government and cabinet and all the formalities and selling the property. “I will be a ‘Prince in Exile’ down in Perth.” Mr Casley said dissolving the government involved “a bit of paperwork and cabinet meetings, getting the procedures and the wording correct, printing a document and signing it off.” “It just takes time,” he said. “We all operate as one joint family so we all have a share plus the government will want a bit as well.” Yallabatharra farmer Leonard Casley announced he was seceding from Australia 50 years ago after a dispute over agricultural quotas. He evoked a provision in the Magna Carta and declared himself Prince and the 75 sqkm property an independent state, which he ruled until he abdicated to his son Graeme in 2017. However a 2017 court case saw the late prince (Leonard George Casley) and Prince Graeme’s elder brother Wayne (Arthur Wayne Casley) ordered to pay more than $3 million in back taxes they maintained they did not owe. Prince Graeme said during the court case his father and brother’s bank accounts were garnisheed, or seized. The downturn in farm income further contributed to the February decision to close the gate and concentrate on restructuring the family business. Prince Graeme said since then his “aide de campe” and IT manager Steve Baikie and his own brother Ian Casley had passed away. “I haven’t got any plans for other business other than collecting all the documents and archiving memorabilia,” he said. “Down the track I may pen a book on the human side rather than all the legal jargon.”