When Australia refused to allow its gay citizens equal rights to marriage, a group of activists deserted the country, sailed 200 nautical miles to an island off the Great Barrier Reef and hoisted a rainbow flag in the highest spot they could find.

They declared it the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands.

The impetus came in 2004 during the Brisbane Gay Pride festival, when a collective of friends decided that without being granted legal marriage rights they would leave and start their own more inclusive country.