To say we left Moora 'on a mission' to visit New Norcia would probably be a pun too far...but I'll leave you to deal with that, dear reader. We had made a 'prior' phone call to ensure that the town tour would be available on Easter Sunday. Indeed it was. New Norcia has to pay its way. And having indulged myself with that bit of language nonsense in this introduction, I promise....no more.
In thinking hard about how to best describe the history, location and purpose of this extraordinary place, the only truly monastic town in the country, I decided that I could do no better than the article presented in the Sydney Morning Herald on 8 February 2004, which I fully acknowledge as the source of the next several paragraphs. The photos are mine.
"In the vast
wheatbelt of Western Australia, which seems to cover just about all the fertile
land in the south western corner of the state, the towns are all disarmingly
similar. A bulk loading facility, a railway line, a pub, a farm machinery yard
and a few houses. It is therefore a delight to arrive in New Norcia and suddenly
be presented with a town which is so totally different as to be unique. Here is
a little bit of the Mediterranean in the Australian bush.
Part of the interest of New Norcia is the incongruity of the place. These styles of architecture, fresh from Spain and imported into Central and South America, don't belong in the bush and have no heritage in this area. They sit oddly amongst the gum trees and the dry grasses of the wheatlands.
Part of the interest of New Norcia is the incongruity of the place. These styles of architecture, fresh from Spain and imported into Central and South America, don't belong in the bush and have no heritage in this area. They sit oddly amongst the gum trees and the dry grasses of the wheatlands.
Located 132 km from Perth, New Norcia is a combination of a monastery, two
schools, a church, and a number of tourist attractions. It is, by any measure,
one of the architectural wonders of Western Australia.
The history of New Norcia is fascinating. In 1835 the government of Spain
dissolved all religious communities in the country. Among those who were exiled
were Dom Rosendo Salvado and Dom Joseph Serra who had been Benedictine monks in
Compostela. They both applied for foreign missions and were attached to the
newly appointed Bishop of Perth, Dr John Brady. In January 1846 Brady and 27
missionaries arrived in Fremantle.
In February of that same year Salvado and
Serra, accompanied by a French monk Dom Leander Fontaine, an English monk Dom
Denis Tootel and an Irish catechist set out towards a farmhouse which was
located 130 km north of Perth. Shortly after their arrival in the area they
established their mission to the local Aborigines beside a spring about 8 km
north of the present site of New Norcia.
The early settlement was fraught with disasters. The order ran out of money,
Dom Tootel returned to England, the Aborigines ransacked the settlement, life
was unbelievably hard, and there seemed to be very little success in converting
the local inhabitants to Christianity.
In 1847 the settlement was moved to the banks of the Moore River and named
New Norcia after Norcia, Italy, the birthplace of the order's founder, St
Benedict. Slowly relations between the missionaries and the local Aborigines
improved and the Aborigines set up camp in the area of the mission.
By 1848 the mission had more than 1000 acres of land and both sheep and
cattle were being grazed. A decade later the mission was separated from the
control of Perth. The mission grew in importance in the 1860s and 1870s as the
monks established a series of wells in the area and horses were bred and silk
produced. In 1867 it became an Abbey and the remarkable Dom Rosendo Salvado, who
by this time had learnt the language of the local Aborigines and was writing
important anthropological pieces about the language and culture of the
indigenous inhabitants, was appointed Abbot.
The great change in the mission (and this resulted in the mission as it
exists today) occurred around the turn of the century when Dom Rosendo Salvado
retired to be replaced by the energetic Dom Fulgentius Torres who, with a degree
in Science from the University of Barcelona, was responsible for much of the
design and supervision of the new buildings.
It was Torres who decided that a proper monastic enclosure was needed, that
St Gertrude's College should be built - it was completed in 1908, that St
Ildephonsus' College should be established - it was opened in 1913. Torres was
also instrumental in establishing the mission as a centre of ecclesiastical art
and culture in Western Australia. The library holds a great number of rare books
with one volume dating back to 1508.
Part of the appeal of New Norcia is that it is, in many ways, a living
museum. It has remained fundamentally unchanged for most of this century.
When Sir Hal Colebatch wrote about the settlement in his book A Story of a
Hundred Years: Western Australia 1829-1929 his description, although now over
sixty years old, is as pertinent as something written yesterday.'In the Victoria Plains, eighty-two miles from Perth, in a smiling valley, is
hidden away a bit of old Spain. Removed from railway communication it preserves
a monastic quiet and seclusion.
Approached by road, it bursts suddenly upon the view of the astonished traveller.
For hours he has passed through bushlands and farm country,
with small ultra-modern townships at irregular intervals, and then without warning, from the top of a slight incline, is unfolded to him a vision that seems almost unreal. The quaint beauty of its setting, the old world model of its architecture, the number, the size, the real magnificence of some of its buildings, excite wonder and admiration. Nowhere else in Australia is there a place like New Norcia, and he who is fortunate enough to spend even a few hours within its hospitable walls will find interest quickened to the liveliest appreciation.' "
I would love to say I could have done better than the words of Sir Hal, but it would be false vanity. New Norcia does indeed 'burst' into view and we were indeed 'astonished'. Not only astonished, but somewhat nonplussed initially.
For some strange reason, due in part to the publicity stuff I had read, I had visions of a green and leafy oasis in the bush with closely clustered buildings between which Benedictine monks would be constantly roaming in an environment and atmosphere of inescapable serenity.
The reality of New Norcia was quite different....a reality which left me quite stunned by some of the architecture, utterly impressed by the tenacity, sense of purpose, skills and vigour of the town's founders but underwhelmed by the dry and dusty setting and the fact that the current population of monks numbers but nine. I have since spoken with friends who visited during the late winter. They reported that all was green between the buildings and the town did resemble the postcard pictures. Damn the drought!
So what did we find? As has been mentioned previously, this town really does leap into view.
It sits astride, and is split in two by, the Great Northern Highway, along which traffic of all sorts is a constant, and, given the destination of this road, much of this is heavy. As you can see here a large road train is about to transit past the Education Centre building.
As our most admirable guide for the day pointed out, the noise is an irritation, but the vibration is much more than that...it is beginning to have a detrimental effect on the town buildings. The monks have offered land to the Government for a by-pass, but to date Barnett and his lot are remaining intransigent in relation to stumping up with the necessary cash to complete the works.
Before we began our tour we did take a look at the town service station which sits at the southern end of the township, behind which is the small, local caravan park. Having done so, we were particularly glad we took the advice of Lyn and Steve Elephtheriou who had spent the night here and strongly advocated another locale. Moora was streets ahead and a mere 50 kms away.
We then left the cruiser in the shade
and made our way to the Tourist Shop and Museum.
Here we found a map of the layout of New Norcia, which I have included as an extra-large photo
in the hope that you will be able to read the names of the various buildings and get some idea of their general disposition throughout the town.
As I said earlier, New Norcia is certainly run as a business. Of this we were left in no doubt as we entered the museum building through the tourist shop. Here the wares of the town are on full display.
Wine racks line the entrance doorway
whilst room itself is crammed with all sorts of tempting goodies including the famous mission bread (unfortunately the style we would have bought had sold out)
jams and preserves
and souvenirs of all types including
glasses, pottery and various religious icons and prints.
We decided that our contribution to the continuing welfare of the mission would come in the form of the tour fee, money we later decided had been very well spent.
Before the tour started we had time to look through several levels of the museum in which we found an extraordinary collection of art works, both historical and religious, together with a plethora of historical items associated with the establishment of the mission. Flash photography was banned in most of these areas and sadly my pictorial efforts without that assistance have failed.
On the dot of eleven, our tour guide Gary appeared at the shop doorway, checked that we were all wearing the stick on badge which proclaimed us as paying tour guests, and we were off. And I have to say, Gary was not one to allow hangers-on. At a couple of points attempts were made by ring-ins to take advantage of Gary's commentary.....he sent them on their way in short order on both occasions. Well done, Gary!
From the museum and shop we were taken across the Great Northern Highway to an open area of land which used to be the site of the many mission houses which formed part of the town years ago. These have now all been demolished as the focus of the mission changed.
Here the New Norcia abbey church came into view across the open space,
as did the monastery building which sits across the small roadway south of the church.
This was to be our next port of call, but before we did that, Gary regaled us with an incredible yarn relating to the early development of the mission (note the road train thundering along the Great Northern Highway in the background!)
'The Miracle of the Bushfire' is an extraordinary tale by any standard. In December 1847, a huge grass fire swept towards the newly established mission, driven by the prevailing south-westerly wind. The frantic efforts of the monks and some local aborigines to beat out the flames were unsuccessful. It appeared that the mission buildings and surrounding crops were doomed.
In a last desperate act, the monks took their treasured painting of Our Lady of Good Counsel from the church alter and stood it against wheat stalks in the path of the oncoming inferno. As they knelt and prayed for salvation from the flames, the wind reversed direction and blew the fire back on itself. The mission was saved.
It was later discovered that the fire had been deliberately lit by Moonangka, a disaffected local. When the mission founder, Rosendo Salvado, heard of this he sought Moonangka out and forgave him for this act of arson. From that point on Moonangka became, and remained, a loyal friend of the monks and their cause. Local aboriginal folk who had witnessed these events were in awe of what they had seen, allegedly uttering the words, "This white lady knows so much....we cannot do things like that". It did occur to the cynic in me that this event would have given a real impetus to the conversion rate!
The monastery building, here seen looking south past the wall of the church, is now off limits to visitors. This has not always been the case. Apparently some idiots in the past intruded most rudely on the private living areas of the monks to whom this is home. In the worst case, one was caught 'souvenering' personal articles. I can understand the embargo.
We were most welcome to take photos through the front gate of the inner courtyard
and the dormitory wings of the building. What a charming oasis of tranquillity this is.
And it was here that we caught the one and only glimpse of one of the nine inhabitants of the monastery as he stopped to chat to a mission worker en route to the church for morning prayers.
Because the church was occupied, we were only able to look at the outside of the building at this point in the tour (we did return later), but that in itself was interesting. The building has been completed in three stages. This original portion looks, at first hand,
identical to the second stage addition. But a closer inspection reveals that the columns and window surrounds in stage two are merely painted on the walls (a cost saving measure) as opposed to those in stage one which stand out in relief. This is what one pays a tour guide for! Oh, and as for stage three...too obvious to bother with a photo...it is red brick and was tacked on the end of the building to house the new organ.
After a quick look at the old flour mill
we did an about turn and made our way back through the portals of the New Norcia Education Centre (the red building)
where we traversed the central courtyard and admired the colourful murals on display before we came across a real surprise.
It was here we discovered that the European Space Agency has sited one of the world's largest deep space telescopes about eight kilometres south of New Norcia. The facility is remotely operated from Germany and is contributing much to the advancement of our knowledge of the universe. Unfortunately, the interactive display room with its explanatory video was kaput on the day of our visit.
From a venture relating to the future to one of the past. In 1913, Abbott Torres invited the Marist Brothers to establish a college for boys at New Norcia. They did so, and despite the problems of distance, transport, lack of electricity and other logistical difficulties, between then and the departure of the Brothers for a Perth venue in 1964, over 3,500 young men received their education here at New Norcia.
The magnificent St Idephonsus College building provided the venue for this seat of learning. This is one of the really grand buildings of New Norcia.
A central feature of both this, and its sister college, Saint Gertrude's (for girls) is the chapel.
The balcony provided me with an excellent vantage point from which to
The vaulted ceiling of the chapel is also remarkable in that the architect realised that normal plaster would not be the most durable material from which to fashion it.
He chose instead to use the much lighter and more hardy pressed tin tiles. The result speaks for itself.
St Idephonsus is a square building which rises three storeys above a central courtyard.
The second level houses dormitory style accommodation. The upper storey is currently being refurbished with a view that this will provide additional sleeping space for visiting groups in the future and from what we saw there is much still to be done.
Girls' education was not forgotten at New Norcia, but, consistent with the social and other mores of the time, co-education was not considered acceptable. The result....another fine New Norcia building, St Gertrude's College for girls.
En route towards our next architectural treat, I scooted away from the group to take a quick shot of the fittingly impressive memorial to New Norcia's founder (which is sited on a direct line between the monastery gates and the New Norcia cemetery)
before rejoining our flock and entering St Gerts through its colourful stained glass doorway.
Another chapel awaited us where again the alter was a work of art in itself, not to mention the decoration of the ceiling and walls.
As with St Ildephonsus College, the upper floors of St Gertrudes are given over to dormitory style accommodation, and whilst the curtains of each sleeping bay do offer a degree of visual privacy, I would have to venture that the noises of the night could be interesting when the house was full!
By now the monks had completed their devotions. The Abbey Church was again open for inspection.
Again, the interior walls of the church are works of art, but of a very different kind.
These images have been created by coating the walls with several differently coloured layers of plaster and then carving out the details of each picture to a depth which provides the required colour. Even with the limitation of only three, white, red and blue, the results are striking.
It was clear to me from a roster of devotions I spotted on the church notice board that this hallowed hall is well used. For example, the Monday to Saturday routine includes Vigils 5.51 am, Lauds 6.45 am, Midday prayers 12 noon, Afternoon prayers 2.30 pm, Vespers 6.30 pm and finally, Compline at 8.15 pm. Oh, and Mass at 7.30 am.
On occasions, visitors are invited to 'sit in' on the prayer sessions, but for some reason this privilege did not fall our way on the day of our tour.
When we booked the tour we were given vouchers for a 10% discount on food bought at the New Norcia Hotel, an offer we did not take up mainly because we had decided our visit would be far better remembered when later quaffing on one of the stubbies of a six pack of Abbey Ale or savouring the delights from a bottle of New Norcia's liqueur muscat. The treasurer drew a line in the sand...apart from which we were a touch drained after an intense four hours and quite ready to flop about in the van for a while.
But we couldn't leave without seeing what we were missing. Like all the large buildings of New Norcia, where land and space were plentiful,
the hotel stands in grand isolation at the end of an approach road and car park. Originally built as a hostel in 1927, this last of the large New Norcia buildings was converted to a hotel in 1955 and put to a far more financially productive use.
On the day of our visit a travelling troubadour was strutting his very good stuff in the al fresco dining area (seen here at the end of the tiled front verandah area) to the obvious pleasure of those dining there. It did occur to us that the limitations of the local caravan park behind the service station might be worth suffering for the benefit of a long afternoon in the pub
with nothing but a stagger home across the car park to negotiate at its conclusion.
But for today our visit was limited to a wander and an ogle, and I have to say this is indeed and impressive watering hole. Past the main entrance we found a charming, old fashioned lounge, complete with a piano and fireplace
and an equally inviting small dining room (which was unoccupied...we suspect is reserved for evening use)
before we tackled the main staircase. This, like all other aspects of the New Norcia hotel (it can hardly be called a pub), is on a grand scale.
Beyond the first ascent this magnificent stair case bifurcates and takes one to the upper level.
Here the hotel guest rooms all open onto the wide balcony from which New Norcia can be seen spread out below.
So now all that remained was to check out the business end of this establishment where the general ambiance of this fine place was maintained despite the need for the practical equipment necessary for an efficient 'dispensary'. We had been told if we bought food here to ensure that we were credited with our 10% discount. "All the bar staff are back-packers", was the explanation. We need no convincing....the lass behind the bar had an accent thick enough to spread on toast.
By now we were mentally and physically done. It was time to meander the 50 kms back to Moora, take in a spot of lunch and sit back and contemplate all we had seen and learnt. It was a lot. New Norcia should be a 'must' on the itinerary of all who visit Western Australia.
Another 'rest day' in Moora and we would be off to Geraldton for the Anzac Day weekend, where, apart from the weather, we had a fine time.
Approached by road, it bursts suddenly upon the view of the astonished traveller.
For hours he has passed through bushlands and farm country,
with small ultra-modern townships at irregular intervals, and then without warning, from the top of a slight incline, is unfolded to him a vision that seems almost unreal. The quaint beauty of its setting, the old world model of its architecture, the number, the size, the real magnificence of some of its buildings, excite wonder and admiration. Nowhere else in Australia is there a place like New Norcia, and he who is fortunate enough to spend even a few hours within its hospitable walls will find interest quickened to the liveliest appreciation.' "
I would love to say I could have done better than the words of Sir Hal, but it would be false vanity. New Norcia does indeed 'burst' into view and we were indeed 'astonished'. Not only astonished, but somewhat nonplussed initially.
For some strange reason, due in part to the publicity stuff I had read, I had visions of a green and leafy oasis in the bush with closely clustered buildings between which Benedictine monks would be constantly roaming in an environment and atmosphere of inescapable serenity.
The reality of New Norcia was quite different....a reality which left me quite stunned by some of the architecture, utterly impressed by the tenacity, sense of purpose, skills and vigour of the town's founders but underwhelmed by the dry and dusty setting and the fact that the current population of monks numbers but nine. I have since spoken with friends who visited during the late winter. They reported that all was green between the buildings and the town did resemble the postcard pictures. Damn the drought!
So what did we find? As has been mentioned previously, this town really does leap into view.
It sits astride, and is split in two by, the Great Northern Highway, along which traffic of all sorts is a constant, and, given the destination of this road, much of this is heavy. As you can see here a large road train is about to transit past the Education Centre building.
As our most admirable guide for the day pointed out, the noise is an irritation, but the vibration is much more than that...it is beginning to have a detrimental effect on the town buildings. The monks have offered land to the Government for a by-pass, but to date Barnett and his lot are remaining intransigent in relation to stumping up with the necessary cash to complete the works.
Before we began our tour we did take a look at the town service station which sits at the southern end of the township, behind which is the small, local caravan park. Having done so, we were particularly glad we took the advice of Lyn and Steve Elephtheriou who had spent the night here and strongly advocated another locale. Moora was streets ahead and a mere 50 kms away.
We then left the cruiser in the shade
and made our way to the Tourist Shop and Museum.
Here we found a map of the layout of New Norcia, which I have included as an extra-large photo
As I said earlier, New Norcia is certainly run as a business. Of this we were left in no doubt as we entered the museum building through the tourist shop. Here the wares of the town are on full display.
Wine racks line the entrance doorway
whilst room itself is crammed with all sorts of tempting goodies including the famous mission bread (unfortunately the style we would have bought had sold out)
jams and preserves
and souvenirs of all types including
glasses, pottery and various religious icons and prints.
We decided that our contribution to the continuing welfare of the mission would come in the form of the tour fee, money we later decided had been very well spent.
Before the tour started we had time to look through several levels of the museum in which we found an extraordinary collection of art works, both historical and religious, together with a plethora of historical items associated with the establishment of the mission. Flash photography was banned in most of these areas and sadly my pictorial efforts without that assistance have failed.
On the dot of eleven, our tour guide Gary appeared at the shop doorway, checked that we were all wearing the stick on badge which proclaimed us as paying tour guests, and we were off. And I have to say, Gary was not one to allow hangers-on. At a couple of points attempts were made by ring-ins to take advantage of Gary's commentary.....he sent them on their way in short order on both occasions. Well done, Gary!
From the museum and shop we were taken across the Great Northern Highway to an open area of land which used to be the site of the many mission houses which formed part of the town years ago. These have now all been demolished as the focus of the mission changed.
Here the New Norcia abbey church came into view across the open space,
as did the monastery building which sits across the small roadway south of the church.
This was to be our next port of call, but before we did that, Gary regaled us with an incredible yarn relating to the early development of the mission (note the road train thundering along the Great Northern Highway in the background!)
'The Miracle of the Bushfire' is an extraordinary tale by any standard. In December 1847, a huge grass fire swept towards the newly established mission, driven by the prevailing south-westerly wind. The frantic efforts of the monks and some local aborigines to beat out the flames were unsuccessful. It appeared that the mission buildings and surrounding crops were doomed.
In a last desperate act, the monks took their treasured painting of Our Lady of Good Counsel from the church alter and stood it against wheat stalks in the path of the oncoming inferno. As they knelt and prayed for salvation from the flames, the wind reversed direction and blew the fire back on itself. The mission was saved.
It was later discovered that the fire had been deliberately lit by Moonangka, a disaffected local. When the mission founder, Rosendo Salvado, heard of this he sought Moonangka out and forgave him for this act of arson. From that point on Moonangka became, and remained, a loyal friend of the monks and their cause. Local aboriginal folk who had witnessed these events were in awe of what they had seen, allegedly uttering the words, "This white lady knows so much....we cannot do things like that". It did occur to the cynic in me that this event would have given a real impetus to the conversion rate!
The monastery building, here seen looking south past the wall of the church, is now off limits to visitors. This has not always been the case. Apparently some idiots in the past intruded most rudely on the private living areas of the monks to whom this is home. In the worst case, one was caught 'souvenering' personal articles. I can understand the embargo.
We were most welcome to take photos through the front gate of the inner courtyard
and the dormitory wings of the building. What a charming oasis of tranquillity this is.
And it was here that we caught the one and only glimpse of one of the nine inhabitants of the monastery as he stopped to chat to a mission worker en route to the church for morning prayers.
Because the church was occupied, we were only able to look at the outside of the building at this point in the tour (we did return later), but that in itself was interesting. The building has been completed in three stages. This original portion looks, at first hand,
identical to the second stage addition. But a closer inspection reveals that the columns and window surrounds in stage two are merely painted on the walls (a cost saving measure) as opposed to those in stage one which stand out in relief. This is what one pays a tour guide for! Oh, and as for stage three...too obvious to bother with a photo...it is red brick and was tacked on the end of the building to house the new organ.
After a quick look at the old flour mill
we did an about turn and made our way back through the portals of the New Norcia Education Centre (the red building)
where we traversed the central courtyard and admired the colourful murals on display before we came across a real surprise.
It was here we discovered that the European Space Agency has sited one of the world's largest deep space telescopes about eight kilometres south of New Norcia. The facility is remotely operated from Germany and is contributing much to the advancement of our knowledge of the universe. Unfortunately, the interactive display room with its explanatory video was kaput on the day of our visit.
From a venture relating to the future to one of the past. In 1913, Abbott Torres invited the Marist Brothers to establish a college for boys at New Norcia. They did so, and despite the problems of distance, transport, lack of electricity and other logistical difficulties, between then and the departure of the Brothers for a Perth venue in 1964, over 3,500 young men received their education here at New Norcia.
The magnificent St Idephonsus College building provided the venue for this seat of learning. This is one of the really grand buildings of New Norcia.
A central feature of both this, and its sister college, Saint Gertrude's (for girls) is the chapel.
The balcony provided me with an excellent vantage point from which to
photograph the beauty of the woodwork of the alter and the wall paintings surrounding it.
The vaulted ceiling of the chapel is also remarkable in that the architect realised that normal plaster would not be the most durable material from which to fashion it.
He chose instead to use the much lighter and more hardy pressed tin tiles. The result speaks for itself.
St Idephonsus is a square building which rises three storeys above a central courtyard.
The second level houses dormitory style accommodation. The upper storey is currently being refurbished with a view that this will provide additional sleeping space for visiting groups in the future and from what we saw there is much still to be done.
Girls' education was not forgotten at New Norcia, but, consistent with the social and other mores of the time, co-education was not considered acceptable. The result....another fine New Norcia building, St Gertrude's College for girls.
En route towards our next architectural treat, I scooted away from the group to take a quick shot of the fittingly impressive memorial to New Norcia's founder (which is sited on a direct line between the monastery gates and the New Norcia cemetery)
before rejoining our flock and entering St Gerts through its colourful stained glass doorway.
Another chapel awaited us where again the alter was a work of art in itself, not to mention the decoration of the ceiling and walls.
As with St Ildephonsus College, the upper floors of St Gertrudes are given over to dormitory style accommodation, and whilst the curtains of each sleeping bay do offer a degree of visual privacy, I would have to venture that the noises of the night could be interesting when the house was full!
By now the monks had completed their devotions. The Abbey Church was again open for inspection.
Again, the interior walls of the church are works of art, but of a very different kind.
These images have been created by coating the walls with several differently coloured layers of plaster and then carving out the details of each picture to a depth which provides the required colour. Even with the limitation of only three, white, red and blue, the results are striking.
It was clear to me from a roster of devotions I spotted on the church notice board that this hallowed hall is well used. For example, the Monday to Saturday routine includes Vigils 5.51 am, Lauds 6.45 am, Midday prayers 12 noon, Afternoon prayers 2.30 pm, Vespers 6.30 pm and finally, Compline at 8.15 pm. Oh, and Mass at 7.30 am.
On occasions, visitors are invited to 'sit in' on the prayer sessions, but for some reason this privilege did not fall our way on the day of our tour.
When we booked the tour we were given vouchers for a 10% discount on food bought at the New Norcia Hotel, an offer we did not take up mainly because we had decided our visit would be far better remembered when later quaffing on one of the stubbies of a six pack of Abbey Ale or savouring the delights from a bottle of New Norcia's liqueur muscat. The treasurer drew a line in the sand...apart from which we were a touch drained after an intense four hours and quite ready to flop about in the van for a while.
But we couldn't leave without seeing what we were missing. Like all the large buildings of New Norcia, where land and space were plentiful,
the hotel stands in grand isolation at the end of an approach road and car park. Originally built as a hostel in 1927, this last of the large New Norcia buildings was converted to a hotel in 1955 and put to a far more financially productive use.
On the day of our visit a travelling troubadour was strutting his very good stuff in the al fresco dining area (seen here at the end of the tiled front verandah area) to the obvious pleasure of those dining there. It did occur to us that the limitations of the local caravan park behind the service station might be worth suffering for the benefit of a long afternoon in the pub
with nothing but a stagger home across the car park to negotiate at its conclusion.
But for today our visit was limited to a wander and an ogle, and I have to say this is indeed and impressive watering hole. Past the main entrance we found a charming, old fashioned lounge, complete with a piano and fireplace
and an equally inviting small dining room (which was unoccupied...we suspect is reserved for evening use)
before we tackled the main staircase. This, like all other aspects of the New Norcia hotel (it can hardly be called a pub), is on a grand scale.
Beyond the first ascent this magnificent stair case bifurcates and takes one to the upper level.
Here the hotel guest rooms all open onto the wide balcony from which New Norcia can be seen spread out below.
So now all that remained was to check out the business end of this establishment where the general ambiance of this fine place was maintained despite the need for the practical equipment necessary for an efficient 'dispensary'. We had been told if we bought food here to ensure that we were credited with our 10% discount. "All the bar staff are back-packers", was the explanation. We need no convincing....the lass behind the bar had an accent thick enough to spread on toast.
By now we were mentally and physically done. It was time to meander the 50 kms back to Moora, take in a spot of lunch and sit back and contemplate all we had seen and learnt. It was a lot. New Norcia should be a 'must' on the itinerary of all who visit Western Australia.
Another 'rest day' in Moora and we would be off to Geraldton for the Anzac Day weekend, where, apart from the weather, we had a fine time.
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