Royceston

Royceston is Jarraban’s capital and second-largest city. An enclave of Budibella, it is encompassed by the Territory of Royceston and owes its name to Robert Royceston, Governor of Jarraban from 1806 to 1815. Its government has fewer legislative powers than the provinces, with local courts, roads, taxation, environmental laws, planning regulations and sports facilities administered by the national government in conjunction with Budibella.

First settled by Europeans in 1808, it became the nation’s capital city in 1924 and was subjected to a nearby Japanese World War II attack on September 27 1943. Nowadays, it is renowned for its historic architecture, picturesque gardens (including Norfolk Park, home to the National Parliament), and annual Flour Fight which takes place over the first weekend of May.

The Flour Fight began in the 1920s when, at the end of wheat harvests in March, a group of grain farmers staged meetings within Norfolk Park and “fought” each other with flour ground from their leftover stock. After a prolonged hiatus, the tradition was revived in the 1950s and has been staged at five different locations (currently in Bockullat Gardens beside the city’s main harbour). It attracts visitors from overseas and in 2010 was declared a public holiday within the territory. Throughout the city’s suburbs, families and neighbourhoods stage their own local fights across Saturday and Sunday morning, with Sunday afternoon reserved for aiding sanitation workers in the cleanup process.