Murrawarri Republic Micronation | |
---|---|
Flag | |
Status | Current |
Location | Parts of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia |
Capital | Barringun |
Official languages | Muruwari, Australian English |
Ethnic groups | Murrawarri people European Australians |
Religion | Dreamtime Religion |
Organizational structure | Republic |
• Chairman of the Provisional Council of State | Fred Hooper |
Establishment | |
• Declared | 30 March 2013 |
Area claimed | |
• Total | 81,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi) [1] [Note 1] |
Purported currency | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Time zone | UTC+10:00 UTC+11:00 (DST; NSW territory only) |
The Murrawarri Republic is a micronation that declared its independence from Australia in 2013, that claims territory and sovereignty over an area straddling the border of the states of New South Wales and Queensland within Australia. The territory is the traditional homeland of the Murrawarri people, an Aboriginal people, but the population of the territory claimed now comprises mostly non-Indigenous Australians. The Government of Australia has not acknowledged the declaration of independence, and their independence has been wholly unrecognised.
On 30 March 2013, the Murrawarri Republic released a declaration announcing its independence. The Peoples Council of the Murrawarri gave the Queen of England [sic] (Elizabeth II), the Prime Minister of Australia (Julia Gillard), as well as the Premiers of Queensland (Campbell Newman) and New South Wales (Barry O'Farrell) 21 days to respond to the declaration. [1]
The specific requests made to Queen Elizabeth II were:
The deadline expired on 8 May 2013, with the Crown failing to give a response. The Council interpreted their failure to produce the requested documents to be affirmation by the Crown of "the Murrawarri Republic to be a continued Free and Independent State, in line with International law and covenants". [2] On 12 May 2013, the Murrawarri people took their sovereignty campaign to the United Nations, asking that they be recognized as the world's newest country. [1] On 13 May 2013, the Murrawarri Republic established a Ministry of Defence. [3] The Declaration of Continued Independence, states that there shall be a referendum for the establishment of the elected not later than 1 April 2014 and that until such a referendum the People's Council shall act as the governing body. [4]
On 30 May 2013, Time reported that Attorney-General’s Department of the Australian Government had not replied because there was no legal basis for a reply, a view backed by George Newhouse, a Sydney-based human-rights lawyer known for his work with Indigenous Australians. [5]
The Murrawarri Republic website identifies its territory as being roughly triangular in shape, traversing the Queensland/New South Wales border with its easterly apex close to the two state borders about 600 km from the Pacific Ocean, on the landward side of the Great Dividing Range, its north-westerly apex close to the Queensland town of Cunnamulla and its southwesterly apex at the confluence of the Darling and Warrego Rivers. It is roughly 200 km from east to west and about 250 km from north to south. The republic’s website [6] quotes its area as being 81,796 km2, but this area is inconsistent with measurements taken from the map. [Note 1]
The micronation uses Australian currency. [7]
The inconsistency between Murrawarri's land claim and the claimed land's true area has been specifically examined in a study published by Indigenous Policy Journal, which confirms that Murrawarri's true area is about 22,170 km2, less than one third of what is officially claimed. The study also concluded that "the proclamation of the Republic of Murrawarri is currently exerting a significant influence over similar contexts in Australia", thus reinforcing the debate on Aboriginal sovereignty. [8]
The First Peoples Worldwide website quotes the population of the Murrawarri republic as being approximately 4,000, [9] but this value is inconsistent with census figures. [Note 2]
The dominant vegetation and climate, based on the Köppen classification, is described as hot, persistently dry grassland. [10] The average maximum and minimum temperatures in January are about 36°C and 18°C respectively and in July are 22°C and 5°C respectively. The rainfall is approximately 360 mm per annum, with more rain falling in the summer than in the winter. [Note 3]
The Mitchell Highway (A71) traverses the territory from north to south.
"Today is a historic moment. The Murrawarri Republic now has a formal interim government that is responsible for the governance of the Republic. This day is very significant as it begins to free the Murrawarri Peoples from the tyranny of our colonial oppressors"
–Fred Hooper at the first meeting of the People's Council [11]
The Provisional Council of State is the governing body of the Murrawarri Republic. The first meeting of the People's Council was held at Weilmoringle on 13 July 2013, where the meeting passed a unanimous resolution to establish the Provisional Council of State.
It is made up of 11 members, who are Fred Hooper (the leader [1] ), Kevin Hooper, Phyllis Cubby, Evelyn Barker, Sam Jefferies, Desmond Jones, Phillip Sullivan, Julie Johnston, Gloria Johnston, Sharni Hooper, and Alison Salt. Fred Hooper is the current chairman of the Provisional Council of State. [11]
The brown represents the land, and the light blue represents the sky, where Murrawarri spirits reside until their return on the falling star, as well as the water and the people. Together, the colors represent mother earth. The white star in the upper left corner has eight points which represent the eight clan groups of the Murrawarri Republic. [12]
A micronation is a political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from de facto states and quasi-states; they are also not considered to be autonomous nor self-governing as they lack the legal basis in international law for their existence. The activities of micronations are almost always trivial enough to be ignored rather than disputed by the established nations whose territory they claim—referred to in micronationalism as "macronations." Several micronations have issued coins, flags, postage stamps, passports, medals and other state-related items, some as a source of revenue. Motivations for the creation of micronations include theoretical experimentation, political protest, artistic expression, personal entertainment and the conduct of criminal activity. The study of micronationalism is known as micropatriology or micropatrology.
Australian Indigenous sovereignty, also recently termed Blak sovereignty, refers to various rights claimed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over parts or all of Australia. Such rights are said to derive from Indigenous peoples' occupation and ownership of Australia prior to colonisation and through their continuing spiritual connection to land. Indigenous sovereignty is not explicitly recognised in the Australian Constitution or under Australian law.
Cunnamulla is a town and a locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is 206 kilometres (128 mi) south of Charleville, and approximately 750 kilometres (470 mi) west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Census, Cunnamulla had a population of 1,233 people.
Bourke is a town in the north-west of New South Wales, Australia. The administrative centre and largest town in Bourke Shire, Bourke is approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north-west of the state capital, Sydney, on the south bank of the Darling River. it is also situated:
Thargomindah is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Bulloo, Queensland, Australia. The town of Thargomindah is the administrative centre for the Shire of Bulloo. In the 2016 census, Thargomindah had a population of 270 people. It was founded on Wongkumara and Kalali territory.
The Warrego River is an intermittent river that is part of the Darling catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, which is located in South West Queensland and in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The Warrego River is the northernmost tributary of the Darling River.
Hope Vale is a town within the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and a coastal locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the Shire of Cook, both in Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2016 census, the locality of Hope Vale had a population of 1,015 people.
The Shire of Paroo is a local government area in South West Queensland, Australia. The administrative centre is the town of Cunnamulla. The Paroo Shire covers an area of 47,623 square kilometres (18,387 sq mi). In the 2021 census, the Shire had a population of 1,679.
Yarrabah is a coastal town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2021 census, the locality of Yarrabah had a population of 2,505 people.
The Shire of Aurukun is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The shire covers part of western Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland.
The Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah is a special local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, east and southeast of Cairns on Cape Grafton. It is managed under a Deed of Grant in Trust under the Local Government Act 2004.
The Aboriginal Provisional Government (APG) is an Indigenous Australian independence movement.
Barringun is a rural locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the 2016 census, Barringun had a population of 7 people.
The Muruwari, also spelt Murawari, Murawarri, Murrawarri and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of New South Wales and the southwestern area of Queensland.
Cheepie is a town in the locality of Adavale in Shire of Quilpie, Queensland, Australia. It has a population of 2 people.
The Galali or Kalali were an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland.
Widgeegoara is a rural locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Widgeegoara had a population of 34 people.
This article relates to historical and current and separatist movements within Australia. Separatism includes the seeking of autonomy and secessionism.
Enngonia, formerly known as Eringonia, is a small town in the north-west of New South Wales, Australia, in Bourke Shire, approximately 98 kilometres (61 mi) north of the regional centre of Bourke. The Warrego River runs just to the west of the town. The central street, Belalie Street, is otherwise the Mitchell Highway running north-south.