New Norcia was a surprise. Unlike anything we have seen in Australia. After driving through the countryside, suddenly we came upon this town filled with grand buildings ......like something you might expect to see in Italy or Spain!
This is a community of Benedictine Monks and is Australia’s only monastic town and was founded in 1846. These days it’s quite a tourist attraction.
We had heard it was a lovely serene little place to stop a while....and so we pulled into a paddock behind the service station, for the night, where they have a few powered sites available for travellers. However.....nobody mentioned that very big noisy road trains roar through town all night long and it seemed that most of them stop out front of the service station at New Norcia to kick their tyres and relieve themselves.......before roaring off again, into the night!!................. No sleep!!
Next morning we explored the town and visited the very interesting combined Museum and Art Gallery housed in the building that once was a mission school for aboriginal girls....... St Joseph’s, I think it was called. (there had also once been a school for aboriginal boys in the town.....children the monks thought needed “saving”, I guess) Unfortunate and sadly unavoidably our history!
After lunch it was back on the road again to visit old friends, Deb and Tony, in Rockingham , south of Perth. We spent 2 nights and a lovely day there “catching up” and having a few too many red wines!! We will miss being greeted in the mornings by Pippa, Kenny and Tizzy!
We are now following that white line, heading east.
