The fate of Princeland: the real winners emerge in the aftermath

Fed up with being the neglected little brother to the larger metropolitan counterparts, the separationists did not gain a new state; however, they did gain attention.

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After the Queen rejected the ambitious bid to allow Princeland to become Australia's ninth colony, the state parliaments seized the opportunity to appease its vexed citizens.

The South Australia government enhanced local representation in parliament, improved the mail service, and invested in roads and public buildings.

In January 1863, Premier George Marsden Waterhouse dispatched a high-powered trio - William Milne (Commissioner of Public Works), George Goyder (Surveyor-General) and William Hanson (Colonial Engineer and Inspector of Railways) - through the south-east for 28 days to defuse local discontent.

They inspected public works, noted the state of roads where they existed, and recorded the level of settlement and volume of trade.

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The University of SA Emeritus Professor Roger Harris said the Governor paid the region a personal visit too.

"Governor Dominick Daly personally toured the South-East in 1863 to see firsthand what was going on," Professor Harris said.

"From 1863, the District was allocated one additional political representative. The inhabitants ... employed new methods of protest after 1862. Therefore, the separation movement did successfully serve as an agitator for the rectification of local wants."

Professor Harris noted the feeling of isolation could not be wholly eradicated. Those feelings still manifest today.

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"The spirit of Princeland lives on and is often useful whenever there are grievances needing redress in the South-East, such as rail services, drainage, forestry leases or the refurbishing of Larry the Lobster in Kingston," he said.

"The most vivid manifestation is the recent events of COVID-19, particularly the backdown by the SA Government in August 2020, on its absolutely no border-crossing.

"The media's front-page headline "Over the line: Communities win battle to reinstate border buffer zone with Victoria" (The Advertiser, August 26, 2020), while a farmer with operations each side of the border announced "governments had not understood the complexities of border living" (The Advertiser, August 27, 2020).

"Such incidents serve to illustrate the power of the Princeland voice that continues to echo in corridors of State politics today."

Several outbreaks of COVID-19 in 2021 have prompted more statewide lockdowns and the rapid closures of borders.

Cross-border citizens are forced to ensure a frustrating permit system, despite being more than 400km from the nearest case.

Unfortunately, Dr André Brett, from the University of Wollongong, said no matter how many signatures a new Princeland petition could hypothetically receive, the new separation bid would not succeed.

"I have four words for budding separatists: tell 'em they're dreamin'," he said.

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"Chapter 6 of the constitution gives the details for admitting new states: section 124 is the section for creating a new state from the territory of an existing state or states. It requires the consent of the relevant state parliaments.

"The closest anyone has got is New England, which had a statehood referendum in 1967, but NSW included Newcastle and the Hunter in the area that participated in the referendum, on the grounds that New England needed an export harbour, and the anti-separation vote there was enough to ensure the referendum failed."

Even with a majority vote, some separation bids have failed.

In 1933, most Western Australians voted for secession from the Commonwealth; however, their petition was rejected by the head of state, the British Parliament.

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Professor Harris said improved transport and communication had made the prospect of a new state moot... until you introduce politics.

"Bickering states, encased in a federal arrangement, often stand in the way of cooperation and collaboration," he said.

"Rex Jory recently wrote on September 21, 2020, that we are now living in a new world. 'Australia, a continent of two islands and eight divided, squabbling and selfish nations...

"We have become insular and self-focused. We have lost trust in each other.'.

"We still seem to see ourselves as competing colonies.

"Australia is often considered to have far too many politicians, spread over three layers.

"I often ask myself whether we are now politically mature enough to abolish district councils and States, rather than forming new ones, and leave the federal government handling national matters and regional councils handling local matters, extending notions of Green and Iron and other Triangles from economic to political entities.

"It is unlikely to happen."

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