Province of Bumbunga

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Province of Bumbunga
Flag	Arms
Motto: none Musical Anthem: God Save the Queen
Location:	Near Lochiel, South Australia
Co-ordinates:	33°56′S 138°09′E
Area:	0.04 km2
Capital:	None designated
Membership:	< 5
Date of foundation:	29 March 1976
Leadership:	Governor Alex Brackstone
Organisational structure:	Autonomous British colony
Language:	English
Currency:	Australian Dollar

The Province of Bumbunga was an Australian micronation that existed during the 1970s and 80s. It was founded by British-born Alex Brackstone, a former circus monkey-trainer, uranium prospector and postmaster, and was located on a farm near the town of Lochiel, 125 kilometres northeast of Adelaide, South Australia.

On 11 November, 1975, the Australian Labor Party government of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed under controversial circumstances by Governor-General John Kerr. Under the Australian system of constitutional monarchy, Kerr acted in this matter in his capacity as the Australian vice-regal representative of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

Brackstone - an ardent British monarchist - became alarmed by what he saw to be a drift towards republicanism as a result of this set of circumstances, and resolved to do what he could to ensure that at least part of the Australian landmass would always remain loyal to the British Crown. To that end he declared his 0.04 km² property to be the independent Province of Bumbunga on 29 March, 1976, assuming the position and style of "Governor".

Brackstone then set about attracting tourism by building a large scale map of the island of Great Britain in his backyard, using approximately fifty thousand strawberry plants. He intended to conduct weddings on this facility, during which soil from the appropriate county would be sprinkled on the ground. The Australian Customs Service prevented the implementation of this plan by seizing the soil Brackstone attempted to import from the UK, and the whole enterprise failed when the strawberry plants died during a drought.

In 1980 Bumbunga began issuing stamps with British monarchist themes. Later issues also embraced humanitarian and anti-nuclear themes. However, changes to Australian investment laws reducing the attraction of philatelic investments led Brackstone to abandon his philatelic operations in 1987. Bumbunga thereafter slid into relative oblivion until 1999, when he faced court on illegal firearms charges, and unsuccessfully claimed immunity from prosecution due to his status as its Governor.

Brackstone's present whereabouts is unconfirmed, but as at March 2011 there is a telephone directory listing for an A J Brackstone in Lochiel, South Australia.^[1]

References

1. ↑ Telstra White Pages - A J Brackstone, Lochiel SA Access date: 13-03-2011

• Local Stamps of Australia by Bill Hornadge, pub Review Publications, Dubbo, NSW, 1st ed. 1982, pp 49–52.
• Cinderellas Australasia, Vol 2, No 1, Jan 1985, ISSN 0814-2971 p11
• Cinderellas Australasia, Vol 3, No 3, Aug 1986, ISSN 0814-2971 p62
• Stamp News, Vol 34, No 6, Jun 1986, p38
• The Sydney Morning Herald - Good Weekend, If at first you don't secede.., Mark Dapin, 2005-02-12, pp 47–50

External links

• Stamps of Bumbunga from the Imperial Collection.

Gallery

Map of Bumbunga.

Aerial photograph of Bumbunga.

Alex Brackstone.

Stamp issued by Bumbunga.