Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands
This month we remember a short-lived micronation that was born as a political response to LGBTQ+ discrimination in Australia. This micronation was founded in 2004 and lasted until 2017. The territory was comprised of small and mostly uninhabited islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia.
Set of nine stamps from the GLK
Officially founded in 2004 the inspiration for the Kingdom began in 2003 by Matthew Briggs. Australian LGBTQ+ activists believed the push to change marriage laws to explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage represented an assault on the right for homosexual people to be treated equally. Based on their interpretation of international law and the law of “Unjust Enrichment” the activists claimed "territorial compensation" for the harm inflicted on the queer Australian community. They claimed the Coral Sea territory as this compensation.
On June 14, 2004 LGBTQ+ activists sailed a ship named the Gayflower to Cato Island and raised a pride flag. They declared the Coral Sea Islands an independent gay and lesbian state, declared Dale Parker Anderson emperor, and placed a plaque which stated:
On the 14th day of June 2004, at this highest point in the Coral Sea, Emperor Dale Parker Anderson raised the gay rainbow flag and claimed the islands of the Coral Sea in his name as homeland for the gay and lesbian peoples of the world. God Save our King!
The activists established a camp on Cato Island they named ‘Heaven’ after a gay nightclub in London and granted immediate permanent resident status, and immediate eligibility for citizenship, for anyone who identified as gay or lesbian. On September 13, 2004 the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom declared war on Australia, and which would result in pride flags being banned from display in the Department of Finance in 2017 after Liberal Senator Eric Abetz raised objection to taking sides in a political debate and flying the flag of a “hostile nation.”
the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands was officially dissolved on November 17, 2017 following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Australia.
Learn more about the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands:
Gay Kingdom Declares War On Australia - Gay News
Gay and Lesbian Kingdom Website - Wayback Machine
