This area is not claimed by any of the signatories to the Antarctic Treaty, however it was claimed in the early 1990s by the Dominion of Melchizedech, a well-known micronation some of whose members have been indicted on a range of fraud charges. McHenry originally named his state the Achaean Territory of Antarctica (apparently inspired by the works of Homer), before changing it to the current configuration on 10 June, 2004.  

Apart from selling his friends and associates bargain-priced Westarctican peerages and instituting a constitution establishing the Grand Duchy as a “Protestant Christian" nation, Westarctica’s ruler took a relaxed attitude to the administration of his vast domains; as far as is known, neither McHenry nor any of his handful of subjects have ever set foot anywhere near Antarctica, and assertions on Westarctica’s website that a “relocation project” involving the “construction of new cities” has been underway since 2003, can safely be dismissed as fantasy. In January 2006 McHenry abdicated his position, handing over to Philip Karns, who now rules as Grand Duke Philip I.

The only physical evidence of Westarctica’s existence outside the internet are its coins, which were designed and produced by Mr Jorge Vidal, a member of the USNS who also serves as Westarctica’s Minister of the Treasury."

Westarctica disappeared from the web sometime in early 2008.  It was reborn 12/31/2008 as Westarctica.org.- Jon-Lawrence Langer