he Benedictine Community of New Norcia was established in 1846
and in the years since has played a significant role in various aspects of Western Australian life. The purpose of a Benedictine monastery is to develop and maintain a community of prayer – liturgical prayer
celebrated in common - nourished by personal study and piety and balanced by some kind of work which serves partly as recreation and partly to make to make the community self-supporting.
In pursuit of these goals monasteries through the ages have run farms, schools, hospitals and libraries, or have become centers of scholarship and home bases from which a network of parishes or
missionary stations have been established and staffed by clergy. While Benedictine monks are active in such work in New Norcia and beyond, important facets of our lives also take place in seclusion
behind the walls of the monastery.
The monastery established its Museum and Art Gallery as a means of
preserving and sharing its heritage with the broader community. The museum provides a gateway to the community and reveals glimpses of the lives of monks who have committed themselves to monastic life
and to the work of our order in the wider community. It contains one of the finest collections of movable cultural heritage in Australia.
The collection reflects aspects of life shared with many other areas of rural Australia coupled with those unique to Australia's only Monastic town. The collection includes paintings by Spanish and Italian masters,
and gifts from the Queen of Spain, as well as a fascinating array of more humble artefacts. Together, they tell the story of New Norcia's time as an Aboriginal mission, as a centre of the monks' extensive
farming activities and as a place of education and culture.
This exhibition takes the visitor behind the gates of the monastery to a world of living history with links to people, places and events in
locations as far afield as the Kimberley and Spain.
The Benedictine Community of New Norcia was established in 1846
and in the years since has played a significant role in various aspects of Western Australian life. The purpose of a Benedictine monastery is to develop and maintain a community of prayer – liturgical prayer
celebrated in common - nourished by personal study and piety and balanced by some kind of work which serves partly as recreation and partly to make to make the community self-supporting.