‘It’s mocking the system’: life in tiny self-declared ‘republic’

Anna Rankin

On a lonely stretch of highway that snakes through the North Island stands the town of Whangamōmona, New Zealand’s only self-declared “republic”, with its own borders and passport. Earlier this year, it held its biennial jubilee and elections where locals participated in old-fashioned carnival amusements: racing sheep, cracking whips and swimming in tanks with eels. The elections are openly rigged, and past winners include a goat and a poodle. The winner is presented with a presidential chain fashioned from beer bottle tops and boar tusks. President John Herlihy has held the role for eight years. He says his family and friends pushed him into it, and it keeps him busy. Whangamōmona has a handful of buildings including a pub, arts and crafts shop and a small school. But there are…

You're reading a preview of

Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 14 March 2025

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.