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New Norcia Benedictine Community New Norcia Road New Norcia WA 6509
People visit New Norcia for many reasons; for spiritual retreat, to join a tour and see inside the magnificent buildings or sometimes just to walk around the town and enjoy the peace and beautiful scenery.
In this section you will find all the information you need for your visit to New Norcia. Details of places to eat and places to stay, details of the town tours and information about some of our favourite things to do in Australia’s only monastic town.
We recommend your first port of call is the Museum & Art Gallery to speak to one of the staff about the attractions and experiences New Norcia has to offer. The Museum & Art Gallery is also a Visitor Information Centre and is the point from which town tours leave.
Stay at New Norcia
There are so many different options for accommodation at New Norcia.
The Guesthouse is perfect for a quiet, retreat like experience - a world away from the rigours of modern life. You can join a Benedictine retreat here or be housed in the Hermitage for a silent retreat. Groups can be accommodated in the Old Convent or the historic boarding school colleges. Smaller groups are also able to book the Hostel, with its comfortable rooms, neo-classical architecture, scenic deck and heritage veranda, as well as St Ildephonsus' Cottage.
Please click on the areas on the right for more information.
Eat & Drink
Hospitality is a tenet of the Rule of St Benedict, the Rule by which the monks of New Norcia live, so wherever you choose to eat in town, our aim is for you to experience warm monastic hospitality.
Education & Research
From the earliest days of its foundation New Norcia has been focussed on education. The first Abbot, of New Norcia (Rosendo Salvado) established the Aboriginal girls and boys schools and the second Abbot of New Norcia, Fulgentius Torres built and opened the European girls and boys schools, which closed in 1991.
Since the closing of the schools, New Norcia's school buildings and grounds have been utilised by groups undertaking education programmes.
However, New Norcia also has a tradition of research and academia, with its impressive archival records and library collection, and scholars and researchers alike have delighted over the years in the information available in the town's records.
This section also provides information on the archives and library and provides link to forms which will give you access to the records of New Norcia.
Protecting a Unique Heritage
New Norcia is Australia’s only monastic town and has a unique heritage. Founded in 1847 by Spanish Benedictine Monks, the town has had many purposes; a mission, a monastery, a provider of education and now as a place of spiritual retreat.
Delve into the town's unique history, discover the ongoing and completed work necessary for the upkeep and restoration of this special part of Australia.
But it is not only the majestic buildings set amongst the Australian bush that sets New Norcia apart; its history is also encapsulated in the archival records of New Norcia and in the library and museum collections.
In this section we also have information about how you can donate to New Norcia to help the Community restore and maintain this treasure.
What's Happening at New Norcia
We hold a diverse array of events throughout the year at New Norcia.
Each year we host a full programme of events including a spiritual retreat programme presented by the Institute for Benedictine Studies, dinners at the New Norcia Hostel and a few other surprises!
Watch this space for all the updated information about "What's on at New Norcia".
On Saturday 18th April, beneath the vaulted arches of St Ildephonsus’ Chapel, Darcie and Lester exchanged their vows with Abbot John presiding. The liturgy was accompanied by a live harpist — music that seemed entirely at home in the chapel’s cool, still interior.
Afterwards, guests gathered on the adjacent lawn, where Eddie and his team had prepared drinks and canapés served by Carmel, Leonardo and Andrea. It was one of those warm autumn afternoons that New Norcia does particularly well — open sky, long light, and that quality of stillness that this place always seems to carry.
Weddings at New Norcia tend to be unhurried. There is something about the setting — the monastery, the architecture, the centuries of prayer embedded in the stone — that invites people to be fully present.
A new chapter at Glendalough: welcoming Father David
Father David moved into the Little Sisters of the Poor at Glendalough on Thursday, 23rd April, and he's settled in beautifully.
There's a real sense of peace in his arrival; David feels deeply that this was the perfect time for him to make the move, and he has stepped into this new chapter with total confidence.
The Sisters, staff, and residents have given him such a warm welcome - it's clear they are truly happy to have him there. He's already found a comfortable rhythm, staying active with his daily walks and receiving wonderful, attentive care from everyone around him.
It's been a joy for him to reconnect with old friends and start making new ones. A real highlight has been reuniting with Abbot Bernard; they're now neighbours with rooms close by, which has been a great source of happiness for them both. David is keeping up with his daily prayers and the Divine Office, and he's already a regular at the 4:30 pm rosary and concelebrates at daily Mass. It's lovely to see him so well-supported and so clearly at home in such a kind, caring community.
Benedictine Union AGM
New Norcia was pleased to offer hospitality to members of the Australian and New Zealand Benedictine Union for their Annual General Meeting on Friday 22nd May.
Representatives attended from Tarrawarra Abbey (Victoria), Arcadia Monastery and Jamberoo Abbey (New South Wales), Tanby Monastery (Queensland), and the Good Samaritans, whose ministry extends across Australia. It was a good and welcome gathering.
Confirmation at Pentecost
On the Solemnity of Pentecost, Sunday 24th May, the Holy Trinity Parish of New Norcia rejoiced as three young people received the Sacrament of Confirmation — a joyful way of bringing the Easter season to its close.
Charlize, Lara and Jack Botha-Kelly had been preparing carefully for their big day, working through the confirmation course at home with their parents, and supported throughout by their parish priest and the broader parish community.
Fr Robert prepared the liturgy with his customary care. Tracy Sievewright presented the candidates to the assembly, and their grandfather Jim Kelly served as their sponsor.
At the end of Mass, Sr Hilda presented each of the newly confirmed with their confirmation certificates and a gift from their fellow parishioners. A festive morning tea followed in the monastery parlour, complete with a very generous cake, enjoyed by all.
Confirmation is the sacrament through which the Holy Spirit is given more fully to those who have already been baptised, strengthening them for the Christian life ahead. For Charlize, Lara and Jack, Pentecost — the feast that celebrates the coming of the Spirit upon the Apostles — could not have been a more fitting occasion.
The harvest begins: New Norcia’s olives are in
Dimitri is a happy man. And when New Norcia’s olive harvest gets underway, that tends to be contagious.
Dimitri, who works in our Grounds and Maintenance team, is a Greek national with a deep and abiding love of all things olive. As reported in a previous edition of The Chimes, he spent considerable time last year pruning many of New Norcia’s 700 olive trees in preparation for exactly this moment.
The 2026 harvest is now underway, with six refugees from various parts of the globe — engaged through Mercy Care — forming the backbone of the picking team. They are joined by Chris, New Norcia’s gardener, and by Dimitri himself as supervisor. The wider Grounds and Maintenance team — Nick, Shady and Olexandr — are also involved as their other duties allow.
Dimitri estimates that around 80 per cent of the groves are bearing fruit this season — a particularly promising year, and one he has been quietly looking forward to for some time.
Bienvenue! New faces in the New Norcia family
New Norcia’s international contingent continues to grow with four French backpackers now well settled into life at the monastery — bringing energy, good humour and an impressive work ethic to the community.
Yoann and Lola are two French backpackers who have been with us for about six weeks now. They are so settled in their different roles these days that it is impossible to get a photo of them together. They have been in Australia for quite a while, first Brisbane and then Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road working in hospitality.
At New Norcia Lola is doing excellent work keeping our buildings clean for visitors and Yoann is working in Groups and in the Roadhouse. Today Lola is out in the olive grove assisting with the harvest and Yoann is in the Roadhouse. They have settled in really well and we are very happy to have them with us.
Welcome to Matthieu and Tess, our two newest French backpackers. Tess has been in Australia for seven months and Matthieu for six months. Matthieu will be working with the Grounds and Maintenance crew, and Tess will be working primarily with Groups looking after accommodation venues as a part of that team. It will be a welcome change for Tess whose "baptism of fire" to Australia was as a bar worker in the Halls Creek Hotel. Welcome to the New Norcia family!
May has been a richly creative month for New Norcia’s engagement with the visual arts — the opening of the 23rd Mandorla Art Award in Perth, an artist in residence at work, and the Old Trading Post gallery welcoming more visitors than ever before.
23rd Mandorla Art Award
On the evening of Friday 8th May, Abbot John, Carmel Murray, Victoria Fam and Jim attended the opening of the 23rd Mandorla Art Award at the Holmes à Court Gallery 10 in Perth. Forty-one finalist artworks were on display, and guests had an hour to explore the works before the official opening and prize-giving.
The 2026 award went to Glenn Loughrey from Victoria, for a powerful work addressing Aboriginal incarceration and deaths in custody since the Royal Commission — a deeply considered and affecting piece that drew considerable attention on the night.
The exhibition is open to the public until Friday 29th May, when New Norcia will return to the gallery to present the People’s Choice Award. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Friday 11.00am–5.00pm, Saturday 12.00–4.00pm.
Artist in residence: Victoria Fam
Among those at the opening was Victoria Fam, a Singaporean artist currently completing a two-week residency at New Norcia — the first of two planned visits this year.
Victoria has been a regular visitor to New Norcia over several years, drawn by the peace and prayerfulness she finds here. In her working life she is a palliative care social worker, and it is her faith, she says, that keeps her grounded amid the suffering she witnesses daily. Drawing and painting are how she prays — expressions of her conversations with God — and the residency has given her uninterrupted time to do that work.
Her family, who have long been intrigued by her frequent visits to New Norcia, are travelling from Singapore to see this place for themselves. We pray her residency is fruitful and blessed. She will return in October to complete the second part of her stay.
The Old Trading Post gallery: now open longer
The Mandorla Gallery in the Old Trading Post — at the southern end of the Museum and Art Gallery building, officially opened in October last year — is now open for longer each day, giving visitors more time to engage with the work on display.
The extension has been made possible by the efforts of IT manager Michael Lee and Grounds and Maintenance workers Shady and Olexandr, who have created an office on the northern end of the front verandah and connected the building to the monastery’s computer network. A volunteer is now working from the gallery most mornings, keeping it open and welcoming to passing visitors.
Look out for the sign on the road.
La Table de l’Abbé: an evening of service & celebration
Peter Smith 1912-1949 French café c.1936 oil on canvas
On Saturday 16th May, the Autumn Abbot’s Table brought together guests for an evening that was, quite deliberately, as much about how a meal is shared as what is on the plate.
The theme drew from St Benedict’s sixth-century Rule — specifically its chapters on the joys and discipline of shared meals in community. While the entrée, cheese and dessert courses were served in the usual fashion, the main course — a Poule au Pot, slow-cooked in cast iron — arrived at each table in the pot, to be served by an appointed diner. The remaining guests were invited to pass the side dishes and wine to one another: a gentle, practical enactment of the Benedictine principle of mutual service.
The menu, crafted in Fr Robert’s characteristically elegant French style, moved from a warm autumn tarte through to a layered gâteau of roasted nut meringue and chocolate marquise, each course accompanied by a well-chosen wine. An Abbatial dispensation regarding the prescribed heminam of wine was noted in the menu — and gratefully received.
The evening was graced by a musical interlude between courses: Allegra Giagu performed with Fr Robert, adding a further layer of beauty to a very fine occasion.
The Parables of Rumi - a special presentation
New Norcia’s Fr. Robert Nixon, together with other musicians and singers who are involved in music at New Norcia, will be presenting a special recital in St. Joseph’s Church, Subiaco, on Friday, July 31.
The performances will be musical reflections on the mystical tales and poetry of Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, reflecting ancient wisdom and inspiring insights into God, eternity and the human soul. The music will draw upon many diverse traditions, and feature a range on instruments, including piano, voice, and string and wind instruments from the West and the East, drawing listeners into a deep experience of meditation. Donations will be gratefully accepted upon departure.
Father Robert Nixon Soirées 2026
Fr Robert Nixon's popular musical soirée series continues in 2026, with two wonderful evenings still to come.
On 3rd October, Fr Robert turns his attention to the The Baroque period (about 1600-1750) and on 5th December he closes the year with an evening of French Impressionist music — both held in New Norcia's historic hostel, accompanied by fine food and cocktails.
Tickets are available now and we encourage you to book early, as these evenings are always in high demand.
Click below to book or please visit the New Norcia online giftshop to to secure your place: New Norcia Shop
We are delighted to share that the Winter and Spring Abbot's Table are now fully booked.
If you would like to check in with us in case of cancellations/ availabilty please email museum@newnorcia.com.au
New Norcia Retreat and Study Programme for 2026
New Norcia's retreat and study programme for 2026 is well underway, with a rich selection of events still to come.
On offer is a series of varied events focusing on Benedictine spirituality, meditation, and the cultivation of inner peace and freedom. As well as our customary weekend retreats, a number of one-day options are also available.
Our weekend and one-day retreats are an opportunity to step back from the usual concerns of life into a setting of tranquillity and reflection, and to absorb the ancient wisdom of our monastic tradition. Participants are encouraged to book well in advance, as events are often fully booked.
Please visit the New Norcia online giftshop to book any retreats or study programmes: New Norcia Shop
Weekend Retreat: June 12-14, 2026
Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Life (Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB)
The principles of monastic life include focus, perseverance, patience, and self-discipline. These are values which run counter to our mainstream culture, where self-indulgence, distraction, and rush are very much the norm. Yet these lead to a dissipation of strength and energy, and ultimately a loss of happiness, independence and freedom. This weekend retreat will explore how the principles of monastic living can be applied to everyday life, to harness your inner strength, and achieve resilience, success and contentment.
St Hildegard of Bingen - Mystic, Visionary, & Healer (Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB and Sr Hilda Scott, OSB)
The life of Hildegard of Bingen speaks powerfully to the imagination. This Benedictine nun from the Middle Ages led an extraordinary and extremely fruitful life. In this one-day retreat, we will dive into her biography, and connect to her amazing books of vision. This multidimensional woman, theologian and Doctor of the Church has much to offer for those who want gain a deeper insight into God, world, humanity and themselves.
