We Met Micro-Nation Royalty – The Prince of Wy!

The Greg Poppleton 1920s – 30s trio has never for a moment ever dreamt we’d one day meet royalty!

To set the scene, we were playing outside a church converted into an art gallery/community centre. The event was a Christmas party for local artists and volunteers… It was something of a windy summer afternoon, as you might tell from my windswept locks. Jim Elliott on the bass saxophone had to keep a tight hold on his woodwind so it wouldn’t go crashing to the ground.
Chuck Morgan played guitar to make up the Greg Poppleton vocals, guitar, bass 1920s trio.

We played in the shadow of the church, now Art Gallery, spire. What were those poles in the background of the band photos? Here’s a better view, and their story… The 24 poles were created by artist Warren Keen for the Bungaree’s Farm exhibition (2012). The poles are carved with dendroglyphs of Aboriginal design as used in NSW to signify burial and initiation sites. More info here.

Now to royalty. One of the artists who came up to say hello to me and the band said my blue, striped, double-breasted suit reminded him of Duke Ellington. That’s not quite the royalty bit. The artist had painted Duke Ellington’s portrait, while Duke Ellington was touring Australia with his Orchestra in 1970. Duke Ellington tour news clippings. That artist’s name is Paul Delprat.

Now to royalty. One of the artists who came up to say hello to me and the band said my blue, striped, double-breasted suit reminded him of Duke Ellington.

That’s not quite the royalty bit. The artist had painted Duke Ellington’s portrait, while Duke Ellington was touring Australia with his Orchestra in 1970. Duke Ellington tour news clippings. That artist’s name is Paul Delprat.

Paul Delprat, pictured above in a snap I took (with his permission) while we were talking, is principal of the Julian Ashton School of Art – Australia’s oldest continuous art school. Paul is a distinguished painter and illustrator. His art hangs in the National Gallery of Australia and in collections around the world. He has also founded scholarships at the Julian Ashton School of Art.

Paul comes from a long line of famous and distinguished Australian artists, including Howard Ashton, Julian Howard Ashton and Julian Ashton CBE.

One of his great grandfathers, Guillaume Daniel Delprat CBE, was a developer of the froth flotation process for separating minerals (something I’m personally familiar with, separating and concentrating copper, zinc and lead ores as a young engineer at Cobar Mines in 1980).

And he’s THE PRINCE OF WY.

Paul leads a micro-nation. His ‘The Principality of Wy‘ seceeded from Australia due to a council dispute that Paul has now creatively turned long-term art project.

We’d met Royalty!!!