Emperor George II was today a guest on Life Matters, a daily social affairs programme broadcast nationwide by ABC Radio National, a part of Australia’s public television and radio network.

Emperor George II speaking with Radio National's Jane Carow this morning.

His Imperial Majesty appeared on this morning’s edition of the programme with Dr Judy Lattas of Macquarie University’s Department of Sociology, with whom he is co-convenor of PoliNation – the world’s first academic conference on self-declared polities and ephemeral statelike entities, which is taking place in Sydney this week.

The interview can be heard in its entirety here.

A newly-published book by Australian author William Pitt is set to reintroduce Atlantium to readers interested in the long and fascinating history of micronations and similar unrecognised statelike entities in the Great Southern Land.  

The new book that's introducing Atlantium to readers everywhere.

The first half of An Australian Monarch focuses on the four decade-long history of the Hutt River Principality in all its colourful and sometimes excruciating complexity – as well as the personal story of its maverick founder – octogenarian farmer, bush lawyer and homespun royal Leonard George Casley – better known to the world as Prince Leonard.

In the second half, the author goes on to explore the concept of frontier-society individualism, its imputed relationship to numerous historical instances of regional secessionism in Australia, and its apparent contemporary manifestation in the form of a clutch of notable micronations – including Atlantium – whose individual histories, philosophical bases and contemporary operations are explored in some detail.

An Australian Monarch is to be formally launched by Prince Leonard on 4 February 2010, in Sydney. The event will take place in the Dixon Room of the State Library of New South Wales, commencing at 3pm. Atlantium will be represented by Emperor George II and his entourage.

Atlantian citizens and supporters are welcome to attend the event as part of the Emperor’s official party. To register, contact the Office of the Emperor. Telephone: +61 420 55 49 49 or email emperor@atlantium.org   

An Australian Monarch, by William Pitt, ISBN 978 1 876344672, is published by Copyright Publishing, Brisbane. Email: info@copyright.net.au

Emperor George II this week hosted a two-day private visit to Atlantium’s Province of Aurora by Kieran Bennett and friend, of Wodonga, Victoria.

The visitors thus became the first to Aurora whose presence was officially designated as being for “private tourism purposes”.

Aurora visitor Kieran Bennett raises the flag of the micronation of Lavalon over Capital Hill.

The visit included a walking tour conducted by His Imperial Majesty, which took in all of the province’s major natural and modern man-made features, as well as several historical sites, including Capital Hill, Castle Hill, the Foundation Monument site, Constitution Hill, Lake Carla, the Via Concordia, the Old Taylors Flat Road cutting and the Battery Flat archaeological site.  

The visitors also enjoyed a day trip taking in the town of Cowra, with its unique joint Australian-Japanese War Cemetary, and nearby Wyangala Dam, the current condition of which serves as a powerful demonstration of the environmental impacts of climate change.

The dam was built between 10447 and 10490 (1928 and 1971 CE) to control the flow of the Lachlan River, near whose headwaters Aurora is situated. In recent years the Lachlan has effectively ceased to flow due to the effects of a prolonged decade-long drought affecting southeastern Australia, and the dam currently holds barely 5% of its intended capacity.  

Wyangala Dam is currently at barely 5% capacity.

The Wyangala visit was of particular interest to Mr Bennett, who is an active environmetalist, political progressive and former member of the Australian Greens party. In addition to standing unsuccessfully as a Greens candidate in the most recent Victorian municipal elections, he has worked as campaign manager for Greens candidates in several elections in both the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria.

He also maintains an active interest in the phenomenon of micronations and unrecognised statelike entities, and currently serves as an administrator of the List of Micronations Forum - the world’s leading online micronation discussion group.  The LOM Forum is owned and managed as a private concern by His Imperial Majesty – who is widely recognised as an international authority on the subject. 

Mr Bennett is the founder of his own micronation – the Republic of Lavalon - which currently exists as a largely theoretical exercise, strongly grounded in liberal, progressive, environmental and social justice concerns.

As a unique courtesy offered to Aurora’s first official tourists, the Emperor personally authorised the raising of the Lavalonian flag over Capital Hill by Mr Bennett on the second day of his stay. 

The visitors pronounced themselves impressed with Aurora’s natural beauty, and the abundance of its wildlife – as well as with the plans for the Province’s future environmentally-sensitive development as an eco-tourism destination that were outlined at length by their host.

At the conclusion of their stay the visitors expressed a desire to return for  further visits, and were issued an open invitation to do so.

The Empire of Atlantium’s Province of Aurora is located 310 kilometres southwest of Sydney, in the Southwest Slopes region of the Australian state of New South Wales.

Aurora welcomes one-day or short-stay visits by private individuals or travel groups.  All visits must be scheduled in advance through the Office of the Emperor. Email emperor@atlantium.org, or telephone +61 420 55 49 49 for further information.

Atlantium is to be the subject of a story to be broadcast on Barcelona-based radio station COMRàdio.

Emperor George II is to be interviewed by journalist Roger Seró as part of the segment, which will feature on a regular weekly programme specialising in geographical and national curiosities. The story will air during  Octavus (September).

As the Empire’s contribution to Utopics – the 11th Swiss Sculpture Exhibition, the flag of Atlantium is set to fly over Switzerland’s Lake Biel, beginning tomorrow.

The Swiss Sculpture Exhibition has been conducted  periodically since 10473 (1954); this year it is being held in the city of Biel (known to French-speakers as Bienne), which is world renowned as the centre of the Swiss watchmaking industry.

The event will feature fifty artworks by Swiss and international artists focusing on the theme of  “utopias, micronations and intentional communities”, which will be installed throughout the city.

At the invitation of  Utopics’ director, Simon Lamunière, the Empire’s Dawn Sky Tricolour will fly beside the flags of 29 other self-declared, unrecognised statelike entities and micronations throughout Septimus/Octavus (September).

In an historic realisation of decades-old plans, the Imperial State Vexillum of Atlantium was formally raised and flown over the Empire’s global capital for the first time today.

The Imperial State Vexillum flies proudly over Capital Hill, central Concordia, today

The Vexillum – known colloquially as the Dawn Sky Tricolour, is the Empire’s oldest and most revered symbol. It has served as Atlantium’s ‘national flag’ since its creation, and may be freely flown by any Citizen who wishes to do so.

It was created by Imperial Fiat on 19 Quartus, 10501 (8 May, 1982), but existed solely as a design concept until 10520 (2001) when the first fabric versions were produced; however, until today the flag had only been ceremonially displayed indoors at the Prefecture of Idalia and at several international exhibitions and conferences in Europe and the United States; it had never been flown from an outdoor flagpole.

The leading vexillological society of record in Australasia – the Flag Society of Australia Inc – has been notified, and president Ralph Bartlett has advised the Imperial Administration of his intention of reporting the matter in the Society’s journal in due course.  

Mr Bartlett initially reported on the flags of Atlantium as part of a paper he delivered to the XI International Congress of Vexillology in Madrid, Spain, in 10504 (1985). 

Readers wishing to purchase their own Imperial State Vexillum may visit Mr Flag – official vexillological supplier to the Empire of Atlantium.

The Brazilian Senate today approved a congratulatory motion in honour of Atlantium’s most senior diplomat – and one of the most eminent members of the Imperial Administration – His Excellency Count Lamartine de Hollanda Jr.

HE Count Lamartine de Hollanda Jr, head of Atlantium's Imperial Legation to Brazil.

The motion to honour Count de Hollanda for his lifetime achievement across the fields of medicine, academia, journalism, public relations and diplomacy (Vote of Congratulations Number 534 (2009)) was moved by Senator Mozarildo Cavalcanti, and passed unanimously.

The Vote of Congratulations also specifically recognises Count de Hollanda’s receipt of the 2008 Mahatma Gandhi Prize Against Torture and Discrimination, which he was awarded by the European Council Against Torture and Discrimination, in Monaco, in Secundus 10528 (February 2009). 

The Imperial Administration of Atlantium offers its enthusiastic congratulations to Count de Hollanda, and endorses the sentiments of both the Brazilian federal legislature, and ECATD in honouring him.

A delegation headed by prominent Shanghai residents Mr Dai Zhi Kang and Professor Yang Liwei today visited Emperor George II at Idalia.

Professor Yang and Emperor George II at Idalia

Professor Yang is a senior academic specialising in international affairs, while Mr Dai as chairman and CEO of Shanghai Zhendai Investment Group is one of China’s wealthiest businessmen, as well as one of its best-known cultural philanthropists. In 2008 Mr Dai was ranked as the 127th richest person in China by Forbes Magazine.

Both are members of the Bangkok-based Asian Dialogue Society, a transnational group of eminent persons advancing topical socio-political discussion, policy development and policy implementation across the world’s fastest-growing region.

Explaining the flag's symbolism to Mr Dai

Discussions were wide-ranging, and explored a number of practical options for the expansion of Sino-Atlantian relations – including the possible establishment of Atlantian legatine offices in mainland China.

His Imperial Majesty and Mr Dai in discussion

At the conclusion of the day’s proceedings the visitors expressed a desire to visit Aurora proper during their next visit to Australia, and issued an open invitation for the Emperor to visit them in Shanghai.

Hong Kong-based Minister of State, the Right Honourable Count Derek Gould, has been tasked with managing the nascent Sino-Atlantian relationship established as a consequence of today’s visit.

His Imperial Majesty George II today delivered the keynote address at the monthly meeting of Australia’s peak heraldry group, Heraldry Australia, on the subject of micronational heraldry.

The Emperor, who in his youth was an avid student of European heraldic traditions, was invited to address the group by Secretary Stephen Szabo.

Fourteen members of the Heraldry Australia were in attendance in the crypt of historic St James’ Church, Sydney, for the entertaining 90-minute presentation, which explored the heraldic traditions of a number of Australian and international ephemeral states, including Hutt River Province, Bumbunga, Rainbow Creek, Wy, Camside, Sealand and Seborga.

His Imperial Majesty’s presentation is available for download as a pdf from the website of the Unrecognised States Numismatic Society.

Earthmoving and construction works commenced today at Concordia, as decades-old plans for the development of Atlantium’s Caput Mundi, or Global Capital, are at last realised.

Above: Excavations underway at Founders’ Square, Concordia

Moving quickly after its Primus (January) establishment of the Empire’s 0.76 square kilometre Province of Aurora, the Imperial Administration recently authorised today’s clearing and leveling of a several hundred square metre section of Capital Hill on the eastern edge of Founders’ Square. The site, which is adjacent to the Scott Building, is to serve as the location of a visitor information and accommodation centre, an ablutions block and an equipment storage facility.

Phase Two of the Imperial Capital Development Programme is expected to commence during 10528 (2009), and will involve construction of the Imperial Throne Hall and several commemorative monuments. 

The succesful installation of a solar-powered lighting system in Concordia’s Scott Building today has been hailed by Emperor George II as an important first step towards transforming the Province of Aurora into a compelling demonstration of how a concerted government commitment to environmental sustainability can be achieved without significant capital outlay, and without detrimentally impacting the high standards of living currently enjoyed by those fortunate enough to reside in the world’s wealthier nations.

The Scott Building, which is located on the north side of Founders Square in central Concordia currently serves as a combined administration and residential facility. It is currently the only habitable structure in Aurora. Although the Australian electricity grid traverses part of Aurora, the Scott Building is not connected to it. Until today interior illumination for the Building was supplied by inefficient, dangerous and polluting fossil fuel-burning lanterns.

Above: Power to the people! Could this be Aurora twenty years from now?

The building now boasts a complement of low-energy fluorescent ceiling globes sufficient to fully-illuminate its 10 metre-long interor for perods of up to 8 hours. The system draws its power requirements from a pair of batteries that are charged via two small roof-mounted solar panels. With batteries and globes that have lifespans measured in years, the system is virtually maintenance-free, and its operating costs over a 30 year period almost negligible. 

The purchase, although intended for a public building, was personally funded by the Emperor, who stated that in facilitating the installation he had been “motivated by an altruistic desire to show how the Imperial Administration’s deep commitment to the responsible stewardship of Aurora and to environmental sustainability in general can deliver immediate, practical, measurable quality-of-life improvements for almost negligible cost.”  

The Emperor also noted that the system required an investment “roughly equivalent to the cost of a couple of tanks of unleaded petrol in an average sized motor vehicle” - but that its installation will save the Imperial Treasury thousands of Solidis that would otherwise have been expended on the purchase of increasingly expensive kerosene and other fossil fuels, over the estimated 30-year lifespan of the new system’s solar panels.

His Imperial Majesty today also revealed that the Administration has agreed to fund the purchase of a 500 Watt wind turbine, inverter and bank of batteries, which, as the first components of a possible independent Atlantian power grid will provide Aurora with a robust, secure, reliable, scaleable, fully autonomous, on-demand 240 Volt AC power source for use in all non-lighting applications. The Emperor suggested that the future expansion of this system could deliver longterm economic proserity to Atlantium via the sale of its excess capacity to “our increasingly power-hungry Australian neighbours” 

Atlantium’s first turbine is expected to be operational prior to the arrival of the first of 10527′s (2008′s) blustery southerly midwinter winds.

“Vivat Aurora! Vivat Concordia! Vivat Atlantium!”

With those words His Imperial Majesty George II today issued the Executive Decree creating the Province of Aurora, the Empire’s long-planned permanent territorial homeland and global capital.

The creation of Aurora is the culmination of nearly 27 years of planning by His Imperial Majesty and the Imperial Administration, and constitutes a significant milestone in the continuing evolution of the Empire as a global commonwealth of citizens.

Above: View from central Concordia across southwestern Aurora. The Via Concordia is currently the Province’s sole public roadway, and bisects it from south to north.

Aurora consists of a 0.76 square kilometre enclave – largely comprised of rare remnant native eucalypt forests and grasslands – located approximately 350 kilometres southwest of Sydney, Australia, in the scenic, pastoral Lachlan Valley, on the southwestwern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, within the Australian state of New South Wales.

The landscape is rugged and consists of a series of east-west-aligned hilly prominences bisected by valleys. The latter form an extensive northwest-draining catchment that currently terminates in a small man-made lake. The extensive expansion of that facility into a large recreational wetland zone is planned, in order to ensure Aurora enjoys both a reliable source of water during periods of extended drought, and can more effectively serve as a haven for threatened native amphibian and bird species whose habitats in the districts surrounding Aurora have been rendered unviable by more than a century of wholesale land clearances and pastoral activity.   

The Province posesses a 4.5 kilometre border, and is approximately twice the size of the Vatican City State, and about half the size of Monaco. Its aquisition thus robs Atlantium of its status as the world’s smallest sovereign state.   

Aurora is divided into three administrative divisions – the District of Hickey, the District of Duggan and Concordia Capital District. Simultaneous to the creation of Aurora, today’s Decree also transferred the Atlantian Caput Mundi, or Global Capital, from the former Imperium Proper Territory in the inner Sydney suburb of Potts Point, to Concordia.

The Imperium Proper itself has been renamed the Prefecture of Idalia, and is now considered an exclave of Concordia for administrative purposes. The Province in its entirety is initially to be administered under the direct personal authority of the Emperor.

Human habitation and development of Aurora will be limited entirely to Concordia, as Hickey and Duggan Districts have been gazetted as permanent Nature Conservancies. The development of Concordia will adhere to strict environmental controls intended to ensure the Province’s self-sufficiency, and the minimisation of its carbon footprint, wherever practicable, and to the greatest possible extent.

Above: Flagstaff Hill, near Aurora’s easternmost border, is the Province’s highest elevation.

Resident wildlife is abundant throuought Aurora, and includes the Empire’s totemic animal - the majestic Wedge-Tailed Eagle (Aquila Audax), which with a wingspan of some 2 metres, is among the world’s largest birds of prey. “Wedgies” as Australians affectionately term them, can be seen year-round, soaring on thermal currents high above Aurora. Other resident wildlife includes common Australian marsupial species such as kangaroos, wallabies and echidnas, various species of native lizard (including metre-long goannas) and dozens of smaller, visually spectacular native bird species. Introduced pest species such as red deer, pigs, dogs, cats, foxes and rabbits are also present to various degrees; the systematic eradication of these species from Aurora is reportedly a key priority of the Administration. 

The Office of the Emperor has foreshadowed the release of an Imperial Capital Development Plan later in the year, for which wideranging public input and comment will be sought. It is understood that this will outline a modest, several decades-long programme of construction intended to adorn Concordia with such structures as an Official Residence for the Emperor, a Senate House, a Throne Hall, a Post Office, various other Government Offices as well as a number of State Monuments designed to serve as the focus of solemn public ceremonial events, affirmations and commemorations. General accommodation, conference and service facilities are also envisaged, as tourism is viewed by the Administration as a key contributor to the Empire’s longterm economic sustainability. 

Further information, photographic images and Google Maps data concerning the Province of Aurora, and Concordia, can be found here.

A report published recently by the World Bank in its Global Economic Prospects for 2006 publication has strongly endorsed the concept of the unrestricted global movement of labour – a policy which the Imperial Administration of Atlantium embraced more than half a decade ago.

The Bank’s computer modelling suggests that were people able to accept employment in any country in the world, unhampered by passport, visa or other legal impediments, global incomes would more than double – rising by about US $356 billion annually by (2025).

The report indicates that developing countries would benefit most were such a policy to be implemented - mostly in the form of alleviation of poverty resulting from the receipt of remittances from family members temporarily employed in wealthier countries – but the report also concludes that incomes in wealthy countries would also rise significantly.

The Atlantian Imperial Administration supports unrestricted global freedom of movement for all peoples, in the belief that freedom of movement and trade liberalisation are two sides of the same coin, the joint implementation of which will deliver untold economic and social benefits of millions of people around the globe. As a consequence the Empire does not issue visas, passports or any other form of restrictive travel documentation.