New Norcia (New Norcia)
New Norcia is a town in Western Australia, 132 km north of Perth, near the Great Northern Highway. It is situated next to the banks of the Moore River, in the Shire of Victoria Plains. New Norcia is the only monastic town in Australia, with its Benedictine abbey founded in 1848. The monks later founded a mission and schools for Aboriginal children. A series of Catholic colleges were created, with the school that became St Benedict's College in 1965 later gaining notoriety for being the site of sexual abuse that took place in the late 1960s and 1970s.
The town has many heritage sites and places of interest. A ground station for the European Space Agency is located 8 km south of the town. Since a road bypass was complete in 2017, heavy traffic bypasses the town.
On 1 March 1846, a Benedictine mission to the local Yued Aboriginal people was started about 8 km to the north, led by the Spanish Benedictine monks Giuseppe Serra and Rosendo Salvado. Within a year the mission was moved to where the town is today and on 1 March 1847 the foundation stone of the monastery was laid.
The place was named New Norcia after Norcia in Italy, the birthplace of St Benedict. Unlike the Italian town, which is pronounced "nor-cha", New Norcia is pronounced "new nor-sia".
A significant diversion of the Great Northern Highway completed in 2017, known as the New Norcia Bypass, diverted heavy traffic away from the buildings and town.
The town has many heritage sites and places of interest. A ground station for the European Space Agency is located 8 km south of the town. Since a road bypass was complete in 2017, heavy traffic bypasses the town.
On 1 March 1846, a Benedictine mission to the local Yued Aboriginal people was started about 8 km to the north, led by the Spanish Benedictine monks Giuseppe Serra and Rosendo Salvado. Within a year the mission was moved to where the town is today and on 1 March 1847 the foundation stone of the monastery was laid.
The place was named New Norcia after Norcia in Italy, the birthplace of St Benedict. Unlike the Italian town, which is pronounced "nor-cha", New Norcia is pronounced "new nor-sia".
A significant diversion of the Great Northern Highway completed in 2017, known as the New Norcia Bypass, diverted heavy traffic away from the buildings and town.
Map - New Norcia (New Norcia)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |