Avram

For information about the Biblical Abram, see Abraham.

The Duchy of Avram is a micronation currently located near the town of Sorell in the south eastern part of Australia's island state, Tasmania.

It was founded in the early 1980s by John Charlton Rudge, an anti-taxation campaigner and hermetic kabbalah adherent, who thereupon adopted the title "Duke of Avram".

The chief early manifestation of the Duchy was a bank which initially operated from retail premises owned by Rudge in the town of George Town, and which issued its own banknotes and coinage. This enterprise was later relocated to Strahan, on Tasmania's west coast. Customers were required to exchange Australian currency for the Avram equivalents in order to transact business in Rudge's store. In an attempt to circumvent Australian banking statutes Rudge did not trade as a bank, but instead referred to the operation as a b_nk.

The unlicensed nature of the Avram "b_nk" roused the ire of the Australian government, who promptly confiscated Avram's entire currency reserves and initiated proceedings against him in the Australian Federal Court system. Eventually, after a total of six court cases, costing the federal government some $22 million Australian Dollars, the courts ruled that Rudge had not engaged in any illegal activity, and he was permitted to resume his banking practices unhindered. He has issued several sets of coins and banknotes in the name of the Royal Bank of Avram since the 1980s (the most recent of which are dated 2005) and has asserted to a number of media representatives that the bank operates from a number of unspecified sites inside and outside of Tasmania.

Rudge's success in what was perceived by many as a David and Goliath battle ensured him a degree of notoriety, and this later assisted his election as a conservative member of the Tasmanian state parliament, where he served a single term and held the position of Shadow Minister for Construction. He has previously served as Deputy Mayor of the municipal council of Sorell, and as at 2005 he remains an elected member of that council. His term of office on the council has at times been controversial, and on one occasion accusations of corruption made by him against a council employee has resulted in legal action being initiated against him by the offended party.

The Duke claims dozens of noble and religious titles (among them "Earl of Enoch" and "Cardinal Archbishop of The Royal See"), which he asserts are of ancient origin. He also claims to be the grand master of a handful of ancient orders of chivalry, and to travel on an Australian passport that lists his various titles. However, none of these claims are verifiable, and most of the Duke's titles appear to be have relatively modern hermetic kabbalistic origins. The Duke has also frequently promoted his biographical entry in a publication entitled Who's Who of the World - where he is listed between Elton John and Pope John Paul II, and has an entry longer than both - as evidence of the legitimacy of his titles, however the entry is in fact a paid insertion.

The Duchy of Avram has never claimed territory in the manner of other Australian micronations such as the Hutt River Province, and the Duke is on record as saying that the Duchy is a "state of mind".

References

• If at first you don't secede... by Mark Dapin, The Sydney Morning Herald - Good Weekend, Feb 12 2005, pp 47-50

External link

• Official website (http://www.grandduchy.org/)
• Coins and banknotes (http://home.zonnet.nl/shiboleth/coin-avram1.html) issued by the Royal Bank of Avram