Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands
Encyclopedia
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| Anthem: "I Am What I Am" | |
| Type of entity: | Micronation Micronation Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations... |
| Location: | Coral Sea Islands Coral Sea Islands The Coral Sea Islands Territory includes a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. The only inhabited island is Willis Island... |
| Area claimed: | Coral Sea Island Territory |
| Membership: | Gay & Lesbian people |
| Date of foundation: | 14 June 2004 |
| Leadership: | Emperor Dale Anderson the I |
| Purported organisational structure: | Constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution... |
| Language: | English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
| Purported currency: | The Pink Dollar |
The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands is a micronation
Micronation
Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations...
established as a symbolic political protest by a group of gay rights activists based in southeast Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Declared in 2004 in response to the Australian government's refusal to recognize same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
s, it was founded on a group of uninhabited islets on the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
. It is an expression of Queer nationalism
Queer nationalism
Gay nationalism is a phenomenon related both to nationalism and to the gay and lesbian liberation movement. Adherents of this movement support the notion that the LGBT community forms a distinct people due to their unique culture and customs.- Gay Nation :...
.
History
Coral Sea Islands
The Coral Sea Islands Territory includes a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. The only inhabited island is Willis Island...
as their location. The main island chosen for their new micronation
Micronation
Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations...
is called Cato Island. The leader of the protesters, Dale Anderson, was "declared emperor" of the kingdom, becoming Dale Anderson the I. Currently, other than the protester inhabitants, the island itself is uninhabited
Uninhabited
Uninhabited is a 2010 Australian horror film directed by Bill Bennett. The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and in Australia during the 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival....
and the kingdom is not recognized by the Australian, or any world, government. After spreading to a number of other Coral Sea Islands nearby to Cato Island, Emperor Dale also appointed a "high court" and "chief justice".
On Cato Island itself, the settlers found a "disused weather station" and converted it into a post office, where they obtain funds for their kingdom by "selling its unique coins and stamps."
In May of 2010, Dale Anderson attended a conference in Sydney for the leaders of all the micronations in the world, in order to determine ways to obtain recognition as sovereign countries.
Declaration of Independence
Coinciding with the decision to secede from Australian sovereignty, the Kingdom's founders drafted a Declaration of Independence. The Declaration begins,"Homosexual people have honestly endeavoured everywhere to merge ourselves in the social life of surrounding communities and to be treated equally. We are not permitted to do so. In vain we are loyal patriots, our loyalty in some places running to extremes; in vain do we make the same sacrifices of life and property as our fellow citizens; in vain do we strive to increase the fame of our native land in science and art, or her wealth by trade and commerce. In countries where we have lived for centuries, we are still cried down as strangers... In the world as it is now and for an indefinite period... I think we shall not be left in peace.”Stated to have been inspired by its American counterpart
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, the Kingdom's Declaration of Independence also stated: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Economy and Tourism
The kingdom issued its first stamps in July 2006 "with the aim of creating a high and distinctive reputation amongst the philatelic fraternity". The kingdom's defunct website used to say that tourism, fishing and philatelicPhilately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
sales were its only economic activities. However, swimming, reef walking, lagoon snorkeling, bird-watching, seashell-collecting, and shipwreck-exploring were all government-sanctioned non-economic activities.
In a scheme similar to Israel's right of return
Law of Return
The Law of Return is Israeli legislation, passed on 5 July 1950, that gives Jews the right of return and settlement in Israel and gain citizenship...
, a person was automatically granted permanent resident status and was immediately eligible for citizenship in the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands simply by being gay or lesbian. There was no visa requirement to visit the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, but there was a requirement that visitors be gay or lesbian.
The kingdom's national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
is "I Am What I Am
I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)
"I am what I am" is a song originally introduced in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles . The song is the finale number of the musical's first act, and performed by the character of Albin Mougeotte, first played by George Hearn...
" by Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
.
Further reading
- Dapin, MarkMark Dapin-Writing career:From 1998 to 2002, Dapin was editor and then editor-in-chief of Ralph magazine. He has written for a variety of publications including The Australian Financial Review, Meanjin and Good Weekend...
, "If at first you don't secede...", The Sydney Morning Herald - Good Weekend, 12 February 2005, pp 47–50
External links
- "Gay & Lesbian Kingdom website" (version from archive.org 27 June 2007)