WHEN the news broke last week that some business owners on Tamborine Mountain wanted to up stumps from the Scenic Rim and become part of the Gold Coast, there were some passionate arguments on both sides. Gold Coast Mayor seemed overjoyed at the prospect and said he would welcome the move, while Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen said people moved away from the Gold Coast to escape the artifice the glitter strip had become. The Beaudesert Times conducted an informal poll to let people have their say on the matter and the results were suprising. Readers were invited to respond to the question: should Tamborine Mountain become part of the Gold Coast? Of the 138 responses so far, 56 per cent voted no, 38.1 per cent voted yes and the remainder said Tamborine Mountain should ditch both the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim councils and opt for autonomy. One reader even said the area should secede from Australia altogether and become a province, like Hutt River in Western Australia. Hutt River province is thought by many (with the glaring exception of the Australian Taxation Office) to be Australia’s first micronation after wheat farmer Leonard Casley declared his property an independent sovereignty in 1970 and proclaimed himself Prince Leonard. The area has its own currency, passports, postage stamps and national anthem and while it is not recognised by the Australian federal government as a separate entitiy, the self-proclaimed principality claims to have overseas embassies in Canada, Pakistan, South America, Monaco and the US. The informal survey conducted by the Beaudesert Times is not a definitive indication of local opinion but intended to give a small sample of what our readers think about the idea of shifting the boundaries to make Tamborine Mountain part of the Gold Coast.
SWITCHING SIDES: Some Tamborine Mountain business owners want to change the boundary lines and join team Gold Coast.
WHEN the news broke last week that some business owners on Tamborine Mountain wanted to up stumps from the Scenic Rim and become part of the Gold Coast, there were some passionate arguments on both sides.
Gold Coast Mayor seemed overjoyed at the prospect and said he would welcome the move, while Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen said people moved away from the Gold Coast to escape the artifice the glitter strip had become.
The Beaudesert Times conducted an informal poll to let people have their say on the matter and the results were suprising.
Readers were invited to respond to the question: should Tamborine Mountain become part of the Gold Coast?
Of the 138 responses so far, 56 per cent voted no, 38.1 per cent voted yes and the remainder said Tamborine Mountain should ditch both the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim councils and opt for autonomy.
One reader even said the area should secede from Australia altogether and become a province, like Hutt River in Western Australia.
Hutt River province is thought by many (with the glaring exception of the Australian Taxation Office) to be Australia’s first micronation after wheat farmer Leonard Casley declared his property an independent sovereignty in 1970 and proclaimed himself Prince Leonard.
The area has its own currency, passports, postage stamps and national anthem and while it is not recognised by the Australian federal government as a separate entitiy, the self-proclaimed principality claims to have overseas embassies in Canada, Pakistan, South America, Monaco and the US.
The informal survey conducted by the Beaudesert Times is not a definitive indication of local opinion but intended to give a small sample of what our readers think about the idea of shifting the boundaries to make Tamborine Mountain part of the Gold Coast.