Presented on Saturday 17th April 2010 on Dangar Island, NSW, Australia
In response to an invitation from Dr Judy Lattas, Sociology Department, Macquarie University, NSW Extract
When one considers the maxim that; ” An Englishman’s house is his castle” the current rate of proliferation of secessions could result in a serious diminution of the population of good old Oz.
We were thinking, would there be room on the island on the day?
With regard to The Principality of Wy, our move to secession in 2004 was taken with a heavy heart but soon after replaced by a sense of relief.
Having been cut off from Mosman we could only reciprocate. Here was something positive we could do with regard to our predicament .
Why a Principality? – well it rhymes with Municipality – from which we seceded and The Prince of Wy had an artistic provenance going back to 1960. It is also an appeal to tradition.
We briefly considering calling our secession a “People’s Republic” but did not want to incur any confusion with The Republican Movement in Australia. You have to be so careful.
We were surprised but heartened by the understanding response of Mosman Council and the huge level of support in the general community. The Mayor of Mosman donned her Regalia and graciously accepted our Document of Secession in The Council Chambers in the presence of television and print media.
Mosman Council has since recognised the catalogue of bureaucratic errors and, happily, has set about remedying the situation, for the third time having another go at getting the zoning right.
It all takes years. In the meantime as council and governmental processes rumble on “We of Wy” have been giving shape to the art of resistance in a leisurely fashion in our little Principality, the name of which we drew from a nearby nature reserve.
Having constructed the” Big Magnifying Glass” as our answer to the “Big Banana” or the” Big Sheep” we have otherwise been, to the public, singularly modest in our ambitions and pronouncements.
We have not seceded from our beloved Commonwealth of Australia, nor from the esteemed State of New South Wales – only the Municipality of Mosman.
Thank you, Dr Lattas and Macquarie University for this kind invitation to speak to your assembled guests.