The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands is a micronation established as a symbolic political protest by a group of gay rights activists based in Australia. Declared in 2004 in response to the Australian government’s refusal to recognise same-sex marriages, it was founded on Australia’s external overseas Territory of the Coral Sea Islands, a group of uninhabited islets east of the Great Barrier Reef. It is an expression of queer nationalism.
They chose the Coral Sea Islands Territory as their location. The island chosen for their capital is the largest island in the territory, Cato Island. The leader of the protesters, Dale Parker Anderson, was elected Administrator of the territory and then “declared emperor” of the kingdom upon its independence, becoming Dale R. Other than the protester inhabitants, the islands of the Coral Sea Islands Territory are uninhabited and the kingdom’s independence is not recognised by Australia or any world government. The Coral Sea Islands are recognised as an external overseas Territory of Australia by the United Nations. On Cato Island, the settlers founded a camp site they named Heaven after the famous gay nightclub in London, and set up a post office where they obtain funds for the kingdom by “selling its unique coins and stamps”.
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.”
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 website says that tourism, fishing and philatelic sales are its only economic activities. However, swimming, reef walking, lagoon snorkelling, bird-watching, seashell-collecting, and shipwreck-exploring are all gay government-sanctioned non-economic activities. In a scheme similar to Israel’s Law of Return, a person is automatically granted permanent resident status and is immediately eligible for citizenship in the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands simply by being gay or lesbian. The kingdom’s national anthem is “I Am What I Am” by Gloria Gaynor.
