New Norcia () is a town in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, north of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, near the

Great Northern Highway Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...

. It is situated next to the banks of the

Moore River Moore River is a river in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Geography The headwaters of the Moore River lie in the Perenjori, Carnamah and Dalwallinu Shires. The river then drains southwards through Moora, flows westerly before j ...

, in the

Shire of Victoria Plains The Shire of Victoria Plains is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about north of the state capital, Perth. It covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Calingiri. History The Victoria ...

. New Norcia is the only

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

town in Australia, with its

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbey founded in 1848. The monks later founded a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

and schools for Aboriginal children. A series of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

colleges were created, with the school that became St Benedict's College in 1965 later gaining notoriety for being the site of sexual abuse that took place in the late 1960s and 1970s. The town has many heritage sites and places of interest. A

ground station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

for the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

is located south of the town. Since a road bypass was complete in 2017, heavy traffic bypasses the town.

History

On 1 March 1846, a Benedictine mission to the local

Yued Yued (also spelt Juat, Yuat and Juet) is a region inhabited by the Yued people, one of the fourteen groups of Noongar Aboriginal Australians who have lived in the South West corner of Western Australia for approximately 40,000 years. European ...

Aboriginal people was started about to the north, led by the Spanish

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks Giuseppe Serra and

Rosendo Salvado Rosendo Salvado Rotea OSB (1 March 1814 – 29 December 1900) was a Spanish Benedictine monk, missionary, bishop, author, founder and first abbot of the Territorial Abbey of New Norcia in Western Australia. Early life and background Salvado was ...

. Within a year the mission was moved to where the town is today and on 1 March 1847 the foundation stone of the monastery was laid. The place was named New Norcia after

Norcia Norcia (), traditionally known in English by its Latin name of Nursia (), is a town and comune in the province of Perugia (Italy) in southeastern Umbria. Unlike many ancient towns, it is located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a su ...

in Italy, the birthplace of

St Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Christianity in Italy, Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho ...

. Unlike the Italian town, which is pronounced "nor-cha", New Norcia is pronounced "new nor-sia". A significant diversion of the Great Northern Highway completed in 2017, known as the New Norcia Bypass, diverted heavy traffic away from the buildings and town.

Abbey history

The abbey was founded by two Spanish Benedictine monks, Giuseppe Serra and

on 1 March 1847. After two years spent among the local

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, Serra and Salvado came to the conclusion that they could be more easily converted by establishing a mission rather than following them on their journeys. Salvado was appointed the first abbot of New Norcia on 12 March 1867. In 1886, of land was leased to Salvado, in order to fulfil his aim of encouraging local Aboriginal people to settle there, become farmers, and eventually own the land. However, after Salvado's death, the new abbot, Fulgentius Torres, turned the focus of the mission away from Aboriginal children, and was more concerned with the education of children of Catholic settlers. In 1949, the Benedictines applied to the government to purchase the land, which the government eventually permitted, despite other competing interests, in order to honour the 1886 agreement with the monks. However, the agreement did not include any ongoing obligation on the part of the Benedictines to ensure that Aboriginal people could use and benefit from the land. Abbots at the monastery include: *

, 12 March 1867 – 29 December 1900, died as abbot, aged 86 years * Fulgentius Torres, 1902 – 6 October 1914, died as abbot, aged 53 years * Anselm Catalan, 1915–1951 (resigned), died 29 July 1959, aged 80 years * Gregory Gomez, 1951–1971 (resigned), died 31 May 1995, aged 91 years * Bernard Rooney, 31 March 1974 – 15 June 1980 (resigned) * lacid Spearritt, appointed apostolic administrator of the community 1983 -1997ref name=smhspearritt/> * Placid Spearritt, 29 January 1997 – 4 October 2008, died as abbot, aged 75 years * John Herbert, 23 January 2009 to present

New Norcia Mission

There were also two institutions for Aboriginal children: St Mary's (for boys) and St Joseph's (for girls), collectively known as New Norcia Mission. The children were taught mainly practical skills, and after leaving school they often worked at the Mission. The New Norcia Mission was scheduled under the ''Industrial Schools Act 1874'', meaning that the abbot had "complete control" over the children living there. Both schools closed in 1974. St Mary's Mission, also known as St Mary's College, was founded in 1848 as a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for Aboriginal boys. Some boys, including wards of state in the 1960s, were place there by the state government. In his 2021 autobiographical book ''God, the Devil and Me'', Alf Taylor recounts the horrific verbal and physical abuse meted out to Aboriginal boys living in the mission by the brothers and nuns during the 1950s and 1960s. The book was short-listed for the 2022

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

, Indigenous Writers' Prize. St Joseph's Native School and Orphanage was founded in 1861 by the monks. Benedictine Missionary Sisters sent from Spain took over in 1904 and ran it until its closure in 1974. Aboriginal girls and young women lived and attended school there, sometimes sent by their families, and sometimes placed there as government policy if they were children of single mothers. The school and orphanage were rebuilt in 1909. There were stories of physical and emotional abuse of the girls at St Joseph's. The monks Latinised the children's Aboriginal names, making it hard to trace who they were later. From the time of Abbot Fulgentius Torres onwards, the focus changed and tensions arose in how the "orphanages" were being run. Adults were prevented from visiting their children, and in 1907 an incident occurred in which 32 Aboriginal fathers were arrested by police when they tried to storm the mission to see their children. In 2001 there was a reunion of former residents of New Norcia Mission.

Post and Telegraph Office

A post office was opened as Victoria Plains in April 1857. A

telegraph line Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...

was erected through to Victoria Plains in 1873 and the position of

postmistress A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

was created. Mary Ellen Cuper was appointed to that position in January 1874. The post and

telegraph office Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

s were combined on 4 March 1874, on the same day that the name of the offices was changed to New Norcia. Cuper was appointed as the first post and telegraph mistress of New Norcia – thus becoming the first Aboriginal person to be appointed to such a position in any of the

Australian colonies The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing pol ...

. Her health started to deteriorate in the last part of 1875 due to

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

so she trained Sarah Ninak – another Aboriginal woman - in all of the required skills. Ninak took increasing responsibility for the duties, and by 1876 was acting in charge of the office. Cuper died in January 1877. Grt Nthn Hwy gnangarra-295

New Norcia Hotel

Originally known as the New Norcia Hostel, showcasing

neo-classical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

, the multifaceted building was opened in 1927 and was used for the parents of boarders at the town's colleges. It later opened to the public, and by the late 20th century, the New Norcia Hotel functioned as a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. It closed in January 2020.

Land sale

In early 2021,

Andrew Forrest John Andrew Henry Forrest (born 18 November 1961), nicknamed Twiggy, is an Australian businessman. He is best known as the former CEO (and current non-executive chairman) of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), and has other interests in the mining i ...

's company, Tattarang, via its subsidiary Harvest Road, acquired the land that the government had sold to the monks in 1949, with over changing hands for it this time. The new owners said that they were planning to meet with the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of the land, the

people, and discuss opportunities for training and employment.

Colleges

There has been a number of colleges situated in the town associated with the monastery, situated on the west side of the current main road alignment which passes through the town. St Gertrude's College was completed in 1908. St Ildephonsus' College was opened in 1913. It operated until 1964 as St Ildephonsus' under the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brother ...

order. From 1965 onwards, it was run by the

Benedictines , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

as St Benedict's College. In 1972, St Benedict's and St Gertrude's become co-educational, with student from both colleges sharing classes, and in 1974 the two became known jointly as Salvado College. Each building was still referred to individually as St Benedict's and St Gertrude's. In 1986 Salvado College became New Norcia Catholic College, which closed at the end of 1991. The colleges were among those investigated by the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Government of Australia, Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 t ...

for historical accusations. The colleges were among the worst for historical accusations of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

of any Catholic institution in Australia. Of the 53 priests who were at New Norcia between 1950 and 2010, the proportion accused of sexually abusing children was 21.5 per cent. That compares with 7 per cent nationally. The figures were contained in a report released by the

in February 2017. During the 1960s, 29 per cent of the clergy at New Norcia had allegedly molested or abused children at some point during their career. There were 65 claims of abuse made about New Norcia, of which 26 were about a single perpetrator. The Catholic Church paid victims $869,000 in compensation. In 2016, a trial in the District Court of Western Australia was told about perverted behaviour by monks at St Benedict's College during the 1960s and 1970s. Brother Dominic "Goofy" Benedict allegedly took indecent photographs of boys and measured one student's penis with a tape measure. Bishop Max Davis, who was acquitted by a jury, said Brother Dom would hit boys or push them up against brick walls.

The town today

The town of New Norcia has buildings in a Spanish style of architecture, along with some other historical sites. Among these are the two old

s, St Ildephonsus' and St Gertrude's (both now used for accommodation and various social functions), the abbey church (containing the tomb of Rosendo Salvado), an old mill, a wine press, and the monastery itself. The town has attracted interest and tourist visits for most of its existence and as a consequence a number of guide books and histories have been produced. The visitor and information centre is in the Museum & Art Gallery. The Benedictine monks continue to occupy the monastery and are involved with most of the enterprises in the town. The last Spanish monk of New Norcia, Dom Paulino, died on 18 January 2010, aged 99. He had worked in the monastery bakery, as a shoemaker, and "in retirement" in reviving the production of olive oil.. New Norcia is respected in Australian culinary circles for its quality bakery (built in 1886) offering bread, nutcake and

biscotti Biscotti (; ; en, biscuits), known also as cantucci (), are Italian almond biscuits that originated in the Tuscan city of Prato. They are twice-baked, oblong-shaped, dry, crunchy, and may be dipped in a drink, traditionally Vin Santo. Name ...

. Also maintaining olive oil production and locally made wines, port and ale can be purchased at the community or from special outlets. Much of the New Norcia farm has been sold off to pay the costs of damages resulting from the sexual abuse of children who were residents in the boarding colleges by the Benedictine monks.

New Norcia Museum and Art Gallery

The New Norcia Museum and Art Gallery is located in the converted buildings of St Joseph's Native School. Beside displaying many Christian relics and historical paintings, the gallery hosts an exhibition of finalists for the

Mandorla Art Award The Mandorla Art Award is an Australian religious art prize, where the artists are given a theme inspired by the Christian scriptures akin to the historic requests by the church to create visual images that tell the stories of the Bible. The awa ...

, the only Australian award solely for Christian religious artworks based on Bible scripture themes. In 1985 the first winner of the prize was

Theo Koning Theo Koning (born 1950 in the Netherlands) was a Western Australian painter, sculptor, printmaker and art teacher, who for a time exhibited with the Galerie Dusseldorf in Perth. Koning immigrated to Western Australia in 1953 at the age of thr ...

with based on the theme Creation from the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...

15:3. In 1986, 26 paintings were stolen. Several weeks later, all but one of the stolen paintings were returned. They were badly damaged, but were eventually repaired.

Heritage sites

With decreasing numbers of active colleges, and changes in the organisation of the town, some buildings and sites have been restored and incorporated into a heritage trail within the town. The following buildings are among the heritage buildings situated on the site of the monastery, which is registered on the Register of the National Estate and classified by the National Trust of Australia WA: File:New norcia gnangarra 1.jpg, Abbey Church, contains the tomb of Dom Rosendo Salvado File:New Norcia, St Gertrude's.jpg, St Gertrude's File:New Norcia, Interior of St Gertrude's.jpg, Interior of St Gertrude's File:New Norcia, Handball Court.jpg, Handball court File:Blacksmith workshop new norcia.JPG, Blacksmith workshop

Pipe organs

There are two

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

s located within the abbey buildings. In the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity is a large German organ, built in 1922 by Albert Möser of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, with 34 speaking stops. The organ was designed in consultation with the abbey organist, Dom Stephen Moreno. The second pipe organ, of 11 speaking stops and much more modern in style, is located in the oratory chapel. This organ was built in 1983 by Bellsham Pipe Organs.

Space station

The

New Norcia Station New Norcia Station (also known as NNO) is an ESTRACK Earth station in Australia for communication with spacecraft after launch, in low earth orbit, in geostationary orbit and in deep space. It is located south of the town of New Norcia, West ...

, a ground station for the

, is located south of the town.Press Release about the European Space Agency information about the New Norcia dish
/ref>

Footnotes

References

External links

*

in the Catholic Encyclopedia {{Authority control Benedictine monasteries in Australia Towns in Western Australia Australian Aboriginal missions Religious buildings and structures in Western Australia Spanish-Australian culture New Norcia, Western Australia 1846 establishments in Australia