The 0500 arrival into Perth meant that we’d have trouble resting our sleep-deprived heads in a hotel unless we paid for the night before. Because of this, we drove straight to New Norcia, less than 2 hours outside of Perth.
For a combination of reasons, we still arrived at New Norcia Hotel too early at 0800. We were very fortunate enough to get a room straight away.
We took a tour of this historic monastic town in the afternoon. It was founded by a Spanish Benedictine monk in 1846 to establish a mission for aboriginal people. It eventually expanded to include several schools, including some for posh whites (which subsidised the missionary work for the aboriginals).
Today it is home to 14 monks … they own the whole town and employ about 90 people in various trades, businesses and the visitors centre. It is also home to European design and arts held in the various buildings.
The frescoes in the churches were gorgeous. In the Abbey Church, we learnt about a technique new to us called “sgrafitto”. But in fact they’re layers of different coloured plasters … scraped off to form the design. To my untrained eyes, they initially looked like chalk paintings.
Unfortunately the weather wasn’t the best for our visit. Also, the famed New Norcia bakery with its wood-fired oven was closed; the solo baker likes to take Mondays and Tuesdays off!
Here are some shots from inside some buildings. Fortunately the weather turned better tomorrow for outside photos.
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- Sgrafitto technique inside Abbey church.
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- Inside St Idelphonsus.
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- Inside St Idelphonsus.
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- Inside St Idelphonsus.
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- Inside St Gertrude.
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- Above the altar at St Gertrude.
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- Inside St Gertrude.
