Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
collection of Renaissance art—but New Norcia is no mirage. Boasting a popu-
lation of 70 (when everyone's at home), this pretty town and the surrounding
8,000-hectare (19,760-acre) farm were established in 1846 by Spanish Benedic-
tine missionaries. Visitors can tour beautifully frescoed chapels, marvel at one of
the finest religious art collections in Australia, stock up on famous New Norcia
nut cake straight from the monastery's 120-year-old wood-fired ovens, and
attend prayers with the 18 monks who live here.
New Norcia is an easy 2-hour drive from Perth. From downtown, take Lord
Street, which becomes Guildford Road, to Midland; here join the Great North-
ern Highway to New Norcia. Government rail organization
WA G R
(
&
13 10
53
in Western Australia, or 08/9326 2000) runs a coach service (there is no rail
line) Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from Perth for A$14 (US$9.10)
one-way.
Greyhound Pioneer
(
&
13 20 30
in Australia) coaches run from
Perth on Fridays only for A$40 (US$26). Coach schedules will probably require
you to stay at least overnight, if not longer, in order to have time to see anything.
Check ahead if you plan to travel on a public holiday or during Western Aus-
tralian school vacations, because schedules sometimes change then. Day tours
from Perth are available.
Conference groups can book the town solid, so reserve accommodations and
tours in advance, especially in wildflower season August through October.
You can get information at the
New Norcia Tourist Information Centre,
New Norcia, WA 6509 (
&
08/9654 8056;
www.newnorcia.wa.edu.au), in the
Museum and Art Gallery, off the highway behind St. Joseph's, beside the Trading
Post and Roadhouse. Its hours are those of the museum and gallery (see below).
EXPLORING THE TOWN & MONASTERY
The New Norcia Tourist Information Centre's intriguing 2-hour walking tours
are a must. Tickets cost A$12 (US$7.80) for adults and A$5.50 (US$3.60)
for children 12 to 17, free for younger children. Tours depart daily except
Christmas at 11am and 1:30pm, and they allow time for you to attend prayers
with the monks if you wish. The guide strolls you around some of the town's
27 National Trust-classified buildings and gives an insight into the monks'
lifestyle. You will also see the frescoes in the old monastery chapel and in
St. Ildephonsus's and St. Gertrude's colleges. Much of the monastery is closed
to visitors, but the tour does show you the fruit gardens and a glimpse of the
men-only courtyard. Heritage walking-trail maps sold for A$3.30 (US$2.15) at
the Tourist Information Centre include more buildings not visited on the tour,
such as the octagonal apiary.
The
museum and art gallery
is full of relics from the monks' past—old
mechanical and musical instruments, artifacts from the days when New Norcia
was an Aboriginal mission, gifts to the monks from the Queen of Spain, and an
astounding collection of paintings by Spanish and Italian artists, dating back to
the 1400s. Give yourself at least an hour here. The museum and gallery are open
daily from 9:30am to 5pm August through October, and from 10am to 4:30pm
November through July (closed Christmas). Admission is A$4.50 (US$2.90) for
adults, A$3.50 (US$2.30) for seniors and students, and A$1 (US65¢) for chil-
dren 6 to 12.
Apart from joining the monks for 15-minute prayers in the monastery chapel
five times a day (noon and 2:30pm are the most convenient for day visitors), you
can join them for Mass in the Holy Trinity Abbey Church Monday through Sat-
urday at 7:30am and on Sunday at 9am, or at 5:30pm for vespers.
