New NorciaBrief History New Norcia was founded in 1848 by two Spanish
Benedictine monks, Bishop Rosendo Salvado and Bishop Dom
Joseph Serra who travelled to Australia to set up
Catholic missions in the new colony of
Western Australia. They were granted 7,500 hectacres of
freehold land which they developed into the New Norcia
Mission and a profitable farm. Their hardwork eventually
paid off, as it would become one of the most successful
missions in Australian history.The town was named after
Norcia, a town in the Umbria Province of Northern Italy,
in honour of the birthplace of the Order's founder, St
Benedict.Salvado's original idea was to create a
self-sufficient town based on Christian ideals and
agriculture. In 1867 Bishop Salvado was appointed
Abbot.During the 1860's-70's the mission flourished with
the monks building a series of wells, breeding horses,
producing silk & olive oil and growing grapes,
almonds, dates & carob. After Salvado's death in 1900
a new successor arrived from Spain, Bishop Fulgentius
Torres. He became the new Abbot and was responsible for
the design and supervision of new buildings. Click here
for more History of New Norcia
Things You May Not Know About New Norcia The postcode for New Norcia is 6509.
In the late 1860's Bishop Salvado made a short trip to Colombo in Sri Lanka to obtain information about cultivating coffee. He intended to experiment with coffee, cinnamon and coconut as potential commercial crops for New Norcia.
What's an old town without a good ghost story. It is believed that a ghost of a nun dressed in blue, can sometimes be seen wandering around the clocktower of the monastery just as the bell tolls midnight.
One of the ways Bishop Salvado raised money for New Norcia was to hold a public piano recital.
Twenty seven of the sixty five building spread throughout the five acre site are listed by the National Trust. During one of Salvado's trips to Italy, he took two Aboriginal boys from his mission school with him. On arrival in Italy both boys were clothed in the black Benedictine habit by Pope Pius IX himself. The boys were then taken to Cava monastery to begin their novitiate. Sadly they both died within a few years of their stay, due to poor health.
Horses bred at New Norcia were of such good quality that for many years they were sold in India for use by the British Army. In 1986, 26 paintings from the 16th, 17th and 18th century were stolen from the monastery. All were recovered except for 'The Annunciation' which was believed to have been destroyed by the thieves after they couldn't fit it into their getaway car.
Things Are Looking Up In New Norcia It doesn't take long to realise that the town
of New Norcia was built with a Mediterranean
architectural influence. Founded by two Spanish
Benedictine Monks it isn't surpising that Bishop Torres
who designed many of the buildings, would add a
distinctive European feel to this remote location.
Driving into town from such a rural landscape it comes as
almost a shock to see such architecture in the middle of
nowhere. For more about the architecture of New Norcia check here.
Important Links To New Norcia |
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Bishop Salvado died in Rome at the age of 86,
but he requested his body be returned and buried in New
Norcia. Today it is in a tomb inside the Abbey Church.
The Abbey Church houses one of only two Moser
organs in the world. The organ was created in Germany and
arrived in WA in the 1920's.
In 2003, the 100 tonne 