New Norcia, Western Australia

New Norcia
New Norcia Benedictine monastery
New Norcia
Interactive map of New Norcia
Coordinates: 30°57′10.8″S 116°11′27.6″E / 30.953000°S 116.191000°E / -30.953000; 116.191000
CountryAustralia
StateWestern Australia
LGA
Location
  • 132 km (82 mi) N of Perth
  • 56 km (35 mi) SE of Moora
Established1847
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Area
 • Total
146.6 km2 (56.6 sq mi)
Population
 • Total57 (SAL 2021)
Postcode
6509

New Norcia (/ˈnɔːrsiə/ NOR-see-ə) is a town in Western Australia, 132 kilometres (82 mi) 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. New Norcia Station, a ground station for the European Space Agency is located 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the town. Since a road bypass was complete in 2017, heavy traffic bypasses the town.