Amen To A Fine Drop
Sun Herald
Sunday June 29, 2003
A warm welcome awaits weary travellers in Australia's only monastic town, says Caroline Gladstone.
IN the 6th century the Italian monk St Benedict wrote a set of laws that are still followed by the Benedictine order today.
One of those rules was to offer hospitality to the weary traveller.
At New Norcia , Australia's only monastic town 132 kilometres north of Perth I found that hospitality at the monastery guesthouse.
The simple, comfortable accommodation also came with three meals a day and as we sat down for dinner, I was surprised to find a bottle of wine on the table.
St Benedict also decreed monks could take a measure of wine a day.
We just don't know how much a measure is exactly, said Dom Christopher Power , the procurator of the Benedictine community.
So we think that four glasses a day is about right.
Dom Christopher (Dom is short for Dominus or master) is one of 19 monks who live at the monastery, following the traditions of their Spanish forebears who established New Norcia as a mission in 1846 .
The monks, led by Abbot Placid Spearritt , devote their lives to prayer and work, such as farming sheep and growing wheat, canola, lupin , barley and olives.
In keeping with medieval monastic tradition they make olive oil, bake bread and produce wine.
Today a chenin blanc , a shiraz and a muscat bearing the New Norcia Abbey label is sold in the gift shop, as are wood-fired nut cake and Pan Chocolatti, which are also exported and found on the shelves of Harrods.
The monks are an eclectic group of men. The three oldest aged 94, 92 and 85 are Spanish, with the oldest having been there for 77 years.
Dom Paulino , 92, is an expert at making olive oil and uses a labour-intensive method that involves filtering through cotton wool.
Dom Chris, who runs the business side of New Norcia, has been at the monastery for 21 years. The newest monk, Dom Steve, used to be a company chief executive, while another is a former truck driver.
The Abbott, Father Placid, was born in Bundaberg, raised an Anglican but converted to Catholicism while studying in England.
A stay at New Norcia not only offers the layperson an insight into monastic life, it also offers the opportunity to explore a beautiful, Spanish-style town and discover the wealth of art treasures in its museum.
Established as an Aboriginal mission by Spanish monk Rosendo Salvado , New Norcia grew to a robust community of 80 monks and 200 Aborigines by the late 19th century.
Following Salvado's death in 1900 and the arrival of his successor, Fulgentius Torres , the monastic town took on a new role of educating the sons and daughters of the local rural community.
Torres built two beautiful schools St Gertrude's (for girls) and St Ildephonsus's (for boys) between 1908 and 1913. Today these Gothic revival and Byzantine style buildings complete with chapels, dormitories and libraries are among 27 Heritage-listed buildings at New Norcia.
Visitors can take a look behind these glorious facades on daily tours that also visit the Abbey Church and the 1880s flour mill. The monastery itself is off-limits, but the tour takes you into the chapel, where the monks pray seven times a day.
During my stay we joined the monks for evening prayers, known as compline , an experience that took on an even more spiritual tone when a blackout hit and the church was lit by candles and hurricane lamps.
New Norcia guests are free to join in the daily monastic routine, or use the guesthouse as a hotel and explore the town and surrounding countryside during the day.
Originally designed for men, the guesthouse was opened up to women and families in the 1980s and last year hosted about 6000 people.
I was reminded of my youth hostel days as I tidied the kitchen after breakfast. One of the guests, a handsome young man, beat me to the sink and washed up my plates.
My female friend and I were just a little disappointed when he told us he was taking his vows for the priesthood the following week.
IF YOU GO
New Norcia is 132 kilometres north of Perth. Take the Great Northern Highway . Westrail Bus and Greyhound/Pioneer have services to the town.
Monastery Guesthouse is $50pp a day with three meals. Phone (08) 9654 8002 ; email: guesthouse.nn@bigpond.com .
New Norcia Hotel : $66 a night (single room); $75 (double room) with shared facilities; $90 a night with ensuite. Meals $9 to $15 for breakfast; $7.50 to $17 for lunch and dinner. Phone (08) 9654 8034 ; email: hotel.nn@bigpond.com.
IF YOU GO
AN interesting day trip from New Norcia will bring you up close to some weird and wonderful natural phenomena .
About 100 kilometres north-west of the monastic town is Nambung National Park , home to the Pinnacles Desert.
It is an amazing experience driving through the park surrounded by thousands of limestone pillars, some as high as five metres. It's hard to believe that this science-fiction landscape remained relatively unknown until the 1960s, despite some of the major landforms appearing on Dutch maps from the 17th century.
From a viewing platform there's a wonderful panorama of this stone jungle rising from the bright yellow desert with the brilliant white sand dunes and the coast in the distance.
After posing next to a few pillars, it's worth visiting nearby Lake Thetis to see the stromatolites . While these circular formations just breaking the lake's surface look like rocks, they are actually living fossils and among the oldest living organisms on the planet.
© 2003 Sun Herald
