Independent State of Aramoana

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Independent State of Aramoana
Coat of Arms


Seal
Motto: none
Musical Anthem: none
Type of entity: Micronation
Location: Aramoana, New Zealand
Area: tba km².
Membership: tba
Date of foundation: 23 December 1980
Leadership: tba
Purported organisational structure: tba
Language: English
Currency: New Zealand Dollar

The Independent State of Aramoana was a micronation that existed in New Zealand during the early 1980s.

It was founded in response to a plan by a consortium composed of New Zealand-based Fletcher Challenge, Australia's CSR Limited and Swiss firm Alusuisse to build a large aluminium smelting facility in an environmentally sensitive area known as Aramoana at the head of Otago Harbour, near Dunedin, on New Zealand's South Island.

The smelter plan called for the destruction of the villages of Aramoana and Te Ngaru, and also threatened a local wildlife reserve. In response to this the residents of the area duly announced their secession from New Zealand on 23 December, 1980, established a "border post" and "travelling embassy", printed passports, citizenship certificates and stamps, and set about using the resultant publicity to build a national grassroots campaign in opposition to the smelter.

The stamps issued in 1981 by Aramoana to raise funds for the anti-smelter campaign. The design for these stamps was based on the painting "Puketotara, Twice Shy" by New Zealand regionalist artist, Don Binney.
The stamps issued in 1981 by Aramoana to raise funds for the anti-smelter campaign. The design for these stamps was based on the painting "Puketotara, Twice Shy" by New Zealand regionalist artist, Don Binney.

The consortium was strongly endorsed by the New Zealand Government, which initially proposed to subsidise the cost of electricity required for the smelter's operation, leading to fears that the wider population of New Zealand would be faced with significant electricity price hikes in the longer term. However, the campaign waged by Aramoana and its supporters eventually forced a Government backdown, calling into question the economic viability of the project.

This development combined with declining aluminium prices on world commodity markets, eventually led to the withrawal of Alusuisse from the consortium in October, 1981. The remaining partners failed to secure additional investment capital, and eventually abandoned the project, paving the way for the peaceful reintegration of the Independent State of Aramoana back into New Zealand.