New Norcia

New Norcia was founded in 1847 by Spanish Benedictine monks as a mission, and it remains the only monastic town in Australia, owned and operated by the monastery community that still lives there. The buildings are startling in the wheatbelt: Spanish-influenced colleges of St Ildephonsus and St Gertrude with towers and arcades, an abbey church, a hotel built in 1927 for visiting parents, and a museum and art gallery holding a collection of Spanish religious paintings and manuscripts brought out in the nineteenth century. The monastery bakery sells bread and nutcake made in a wood-fired oven. Its history as a mission that took Aboriginal children is addressed in the museum and remains contested.

What you actually see

• The Spanish-style colleges - St Ildephonsus and St Gertrude with their towers.
• The abbey church - the working monastery church at the town's centre.
• The museum and art gallery - Spanish religious paintings and manuscripts.
• The bakery - wood-fired bread and nutcake sold from the monastery.

When to go

April to October for comfortable weather; summer in the wheatbelt is very hot. Guided town tours run daily at set times. The monastery observes its own routine and some buildings are closed during services.

Honest expectations

Most buildings can only be seen on a paid guided tour, and interiors are otherwise closed. The mission history involving Aboriginal children is difficult and the presentation of it has been criticised. Accommodation is limited to the hotel and monastery guesthouse.

Nearby

Moora lies north; Perth is an hour and a half south.