New Norcia - WA

New Norcia is a town in Western Australia, 132 km north of Perth, along the Great Northern Highway. It is situated next to the banks of the Moore River, in the Shire of Victoria Plains.On 1 March 1846, a Benedictine mission to the local aborigines was started about 8 km to the north, led by the two Spanish Benedictines, Rosendo Salvado and Joseph Serra. 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.New Norcia is the only monastic town in Australia. A ground station for the European Space Agency is located 8 km south of the town.New Norcia is Western Australia's only monastic town where Spanish Monks originally arrived in 1846 establishing their mission to the local Aborigines. It's rather Mediterranean style of buildings seem somewhat out of place there among the Australian bush but somehow there is a sense of peace and solitude which is rather alluring.