New Norcia

Town in the midlands of Western Australia, 152 km/94 mi north of Perth, population (1996) 200. New Norcia is a religious settlement, with the Benedictine monastic community owning most of the town.

The town was named by Benedictine monks after Nursia, the Italian birthplace of St Benedict. New Norcia was first established in 1846 when a group of Spanish Benedictine Monks travelled to the region in an effort to meet the native Aborigines. The monks established a mission 8 km/5 mi north of present day New Norcia, hoping that the settlement could become self sufficient through wheat production, livestock breeding, and fruit and vegetable farming. In 1847 the monastery moved to its present location, and a small flour mill, silk works, workshops, and houses for the native Aborigines were established. By 1848 the mission had over 400 ha/1,000 acres of land and large numbers of sheep and cattle. The status of the monastery was raised to the equivalent of a diocese in 1869. St Gertrude's College was opened in 1908, along with schools for Aborigines and orphans.