| New Norcia Western Australia | |
|---|---|
 New Norcia Benedictine monastery | |
  New Norcia | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 30°57′10.8″S 116°11′27.6″E / 30.953000°S 116.191000°E |
| Population | 57 (SAL 2021)[1] |
| Established | 1847 |
| Postcode(s) | 6509 |
| Area | 146.6 km2 (56.6 sq mi) |
| Location | |
| LGA(s) | Shire of Victoria Plains |
| State electorate(s) | Moore |
| Federal division(s) | Durack |
New Norcia (/ˈnɔːsiə/) is a town in Western Australia, 132 km (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 km (5.0 mi) south of the town. Since a road bypass was complete in 2017, heavy traffic bypasses the town.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "New Norcia (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
