78-743: New Norcia ( / ˈ n ɔː s i ə / ) 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
156-467: A Mediterranean climate on the south-west and southern coastal areas. As of 2021, the state has 2.91 million inhabitants—11 percent of the national total. Over 90 percent of the state's population live in the south-west corner and around 80 percent live in the state capital Perth , leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated. The Trans-Australian Railway and the Eyre Highway traverse
234-683: A capacity of 23,200 cubic metres per day (146,000 barrels per day) until its closure in 2021, producing most of the state's petrol and diesel. Kwinana also hosts alumina and nickel processing plants, port facilities for grain and other bulk exports, and support industries for mining and petroleum such as heavy and light engineering, and metal fabrication. Shipbuilding (e.g. Austal ) and associated support industries are found at nearby Henderson , just north of Kwinana. Significant secondary industries include cement and building product manufacturing, flour milling, food processing, animal feed production, automotive body building and printing. Western Australia has
312-527: A comparative advantage in resource extraction and processing. As a consequence: In 2019 Western Australia's overseas exports accounted for 46% of the nation's total. The state's major export commodities included iron-ore, petroleum, gold, alumina , nickel, wheat, copper, lithium, chemicals and mineral sands. Western Australia is the world's largest iron-ore producer (34% of the world's total), and extracts 66% (6.9% of world production) of Australia's 306 tonnes (9.8 million troy ounces) of gold in 2022. It
390-454: A further 1,196 species currently recognised but unpublished. They occur within 1,543 genera from 211 families ; there are also 1,276 naturalised alien or invasive plant species, more commonly known as weeds. In the southwest region are some of the largest numbers of plant species for its area in the world. Western Australia's ecoregions include the sandstone gorges of the Kimberley on
468-403: A lack of storage and refrigeration facilities favour live animals over imports of processed meat. About half of Australia's live cattle exports come from Western Australia. Resource sector growth in recent years has resulted in significant labour and skills shortages, leading to recent efforts by the state government to encourage interstate and overseas immigration. According to the 2006 census,
546-650: A number of colleges situated in the town associated with the monastery, situated on the west side of the current main road alignment which passes through the town. St Gertrude's College was completed in 1908. St Ildephonsus' College was opened in 1913. It operated until 1964 as St Ildephonsus' under the Marist Brothers order. From 1965 onwards, it was run by the Benedictines as St Benedict's College. In 1972, St Benedict's and St Gertrude's become co-educational, with student from both colleges sharing classes, and in 1974
624-741: A playful element of punning. Such names could be a cover for humble social origins. The title of the " Wilhelmus ", national anthem of the Netherlands , preserves a Latinised form of the name of William the Silent . In English, place names often appear in Latinised form. This is a result of many early text books mentioning the places being written in Latin. Because of this, the English language often uses Latinised forms of foreign place names instead of anglicised forms or
702-511: A result, the South West region of the state has a higher concentration of rare, threatened or endangered flora and fauna than many areas of Australia, making it one of the world's biodiversity "hot spots". Large areas of the state's wheatbelt region have problems with dryland salinity and the loss of fresh water. The southwest coastal area has a Mediterranean climate . It was originally heavily forested, including large stands of karri , one of
780-545: A scientific paper, General view of the botany of the vicinity of Swan River . It discusses the vegetation of the Swan River Colony . Europeans began to settle permanently in 1826 when Albany was claimed by Britain to forestall French claims to the western third of the continent. Perth was founded as the Swan River Colony in 1829 by British and Irish settlers, though the outpost languished. Its officials eventually requested convict labour to augment its population. By
858-623: A significant fishing industry. Products for local consumption and export include western rock lobsters , prawns, crabs, shark and tuna, as well as pearl fishing in the Kimberley region of the state. Processing is conducted along the west coast. Whaling was a key marine industry but ceased at Albany in 1978. Western Australia has the world's biggest plantations of both Indian sandalwood (northern WA) and Australian sandalwood (semi-arid regions), which are used to produce sandalwood oil and incense . The WA sandalwood industry provides about 40% of
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#1732852150107936-483: Is 1,862 km (1,157 mi). There are 20,781 km (12,913 mi) of coastline, including 7,892 km (4,904 mi) of island coastline. The total land area occupied by the state is 2.5 million km (970 thousand sq mi). The bulk of Western Australia consists of the extremely old Yilgarn craton and Pilbara craton which merged with the Deccan Plateau of India, Madagascar and
1014-447: Is a major world producer of bauxite, which is processed into alumina at four refineries providing 11% of total world production. Until 2020 diamonds were extracted from the world's largest diamond mine in the far north Kimberley region. Coal mined at Collie is the main fuel for baseload electricity generation in the state's south-west. Agricultural production in WA is a major contributor to
1092-461: Is attributed by historians as an important factor driving the state's population and economic growth. Following a campaign led by Forrest, electors of the colony of Western Australia voted in favour of federation with the five other Australian colonies, resulting in Western Australia officially becoming a state on 1 January 1901. Western Australia is bounded to the east by longitude 129°E,
1170-567: Is currently tilted 10 degrees away from the South Pole towards Western Australia, allowing for aurora australis displays as far north as Geraldton . Western Australia is home to around 630 species of birds (depending on the taxonomy used). Of these around 15 are endemic to the state. The best areas for birds are the southwestern corner of the state and the area around Broome and the Kimberley. The Flora of Western Australia comprises 10,162 published native vascular plant species, along with
1248-685: Is in the Museum & Art Gallery. The Benedictine monks continue to occupy the monastery and are involved with most of the enterprises in the town. The last Spanish monk of New Norcia, Dom Paulino, died on 18 January 2010, aged 99. He had worked in the monastery bakery, as a shoemaker, and "in retirement" in reviving the production of olive oil.. New Norcia is respected in Australian culinary circles for its quality bakery (built in 1886) offering bread, nutcake and biscotti . Also maintaining olive oil production and locally made wines, port and ale can be purchased at
1326-472: Is located in the oratory chapel. This organ was built in 1983 by Bellsham Pipe Organs. The New Norcia Station , a ground station for the European Space Agency , is located 8 km (5.0 mi) south of the town. Notable people associated with the town include filmmaker Warwick Thornton , who attended Salvado College. Notes References Western Australia Western Australia (WA)
1404-497: Is now known as Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island . For the rest of the 17th century, other Dutch and British navigators encountered the coast of what Abel Tasman named New Holland in 1644, usually unintentionally as demonstrated by the many shipwrecks along the coast of ships that deviated from the Brouwer Route (because of poor navigation and storms). By the late 18th century, British and French sailors had begun to explore
1482-400: Is the northern tropical regions. The Kimberley has an extremely hot monsoonal climate with average annual rainfall ranging from 500 to 1,500 millimetres (20–60 in), but there is a very long almost rainless season from April to November. Eighty-five percent of the state's runoff occurs in the Kimberley, but because it occurs in violent floods and because of the insurmountable poverty of
1560-476: Is the practice of rendering a non - Latin name in a modern Latin style. It is commonly found with historical proper names , including personal names and toponyms , and in the standard binomial nomenclature of the life sciences. It goes further than romanisation , which is the transliteration of a word to the Latin alphabet from another script (e.g. Cyrillic ). For authors writing in Latin, this change allows
1638-600: Is the westernmost state of Australia . It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia’s largest state, with a land area of 2,527,013 square kilometres (975,685 sq mi), and is also the second-largest subdivision of any country on Earth, surpassed only by
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#17328521501071716-624: The Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920s, which encouraged farmers to settle the southwest—increased awareness of Australia's western third as a destination for colonists. Led by immigrants from the British Isles, Western Australia's population developed at a faster rate during the twentieth century than it had previously. After World War II , both the eastern states and Western Australia received large numbers of Italians , Croatians and Macedonians . Despite this, Britain has contributed
1794-572: The Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons of Southern Africa, in the Archean Eon to form Ur , one of the oldest supercontinents on Earth (3 – 3.2 billion years ago). In May 2017, evidence of the earliest known life on land may have been found in 3.48-billion-year-old geyserite and other related mineral deposits (often found around hot springs and geysers ) uncovered in the Pilbara craton. Because
1872-513: The Nullarbor Plain in the state's south-east, providing the principal connection between Western Australia and the population centres in the eastern states . Western Australia's Indigenous peoples have been present for tens of thousands of years. Dutch explorers visited Western Australia from the 17th century, with Dirk Hartog 's 1616 expedition the first Europeans to make landfall. The British claimed Western Australia in 1827 and established
1950-632: The Sakha Republic in eastern Russia, and formerly Northwest Territories in Canada, before the creation of Nunavut. It is also the largest proper subnational entity, being a state rather than a territory or an autonomous region. Western Australia has a diverse range of climates, including tropical conditions in the Kimberley , deserts in the interior (including the Great Sandy Desert , Little Sandy Desert , Gibson Desert , and Great Victoria Desert ) and
2028-437: The Swan River Colony with Perth as its capital in 1829. The Western Australian gold rushes of the late 19th century resulted in a significant population influx. The colony was granted responsible government in 1890, the last of the Australian colonies to become self-governing, and federated with the other colonies in 1901. Western Australia's mining sector is a key driver of the state economy . The late 20th century saw
2106-550: The Wheatbelt and temperate southern coastal regions, pastoralism in marginal grassland areas, forestry in the south-west and fishing (including pearling and, historically, whaling ). Western Australia has a geological history dating back to 4.4 billion years ago when Hadean zircons were formed. The earliest direct known life on land, known as stromatolites , started to be created by microbes at around 3.48 billion years ago. The first human inhabitants of Australia arrived from
2184-484: The tallest trees in the world. This agricultural region is one of the nine most bio-diverse terrestrial habitats, with a higher proportion of endemic species than most other equivalent regions. Thanks to the offshore Leeuwin Current , the area is one of the top six regions for marine biodiversity and contains the most southerly coral reefs in the world. Average annual rainfall varies from 300 millimetres (12 in) at
2262-556: The 1890s around Kalgoorlie . In 1887, a new constitution was drafted, providing for the right of self-governance of European Australians, and in 1890, the act granting self-government to the colony was passed by the British Parliament . John Forrest became the first Premier of Western Australia . In 1896, after discoveries of gold at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie , the Western Australian Parliament authorised
2340-400: The 1960s and 1970s. Brother Dominic "Goofy" Benedict allegedly took indecent photographs of boys and measured one student's penis with a tape measure. Bishop Max Davis , who was acquitted by a jury, said Brother Dom would hit boys or push them up against brick walls. The town of New Norcia has buildings in a Spanish style of architecture, along with some other historical sites. Among these are
2418-480: The 1960s, 29 per cent of the clergy at New Norcia had allegedly molested or abused children at some point during their career. There were 65 claims of abuse made about New Norcia, of which 26 were about a single perpetrator. The Catholic Church paid victims $ 869,000 in compensation. In 2016, a trial in the District Court of Western Australia was told about perverted behaviour by monks at St Benedict's College during
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2496-433: The 2016 census, 75.2% of inhabitants spoke only English at home, with the next most common languages being Mandarin (1.9%), Italian (1.2%), Vietnamese (0.8%), Cantonese (0.8%) and Tagalog (0.6%). According to the 2021 census, Christianity is the major religious affiliation in WA, followed by 41.1% of its population. In 1971, Christianity was followed by 85.5% of the population and it has been declining since, while
2574-821: The Devil and Me , Alf Taylor (1945–2023) recounts the horrific verbal and physical abuse meted out to Aboriginal boys living in the mission by the brothers and nuns during the 1950s and 1960s. The book was short-listed for the 2022 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards , Indigenous Writers' Prize. St Joseph's Native School and Orphanage was founded in 1861 by the monks. Benedictine Missionary Sisters sent from Spain took over in 1904 and ran it until its closure in 1974. Aboriginal girls and young women lived and attended school there, sometimes sent by their families, and sometimes placed there as government policy if they were children of single mothers. The school and orphanage were rebuilt in 1909. There were stories of physical and emotional abuse of
2652-563: The Mission. The New Norcia Mission was scheduled under the Industrial Schools Act 1874 , meaning that the abbot had "complete control" over the children living there. Both schools closed in 1974. St Mary's Mission, also known as St Mary's College, was founded in 1848 as a boarding school for Aboriginal boys. Some boys, including wards of state in the 1960s, were place there by the state government. In his 2021 autobiographical book God,
2730-657: The National Estate and classified by the National Trust of Australia WA: There are two pipe organs located within the abbey buildings. In the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity is a large German organ, built in 1922 by Albert Möser of Munich , with 34 speaking stops. The organ was designed in consultation with the abbey organist, Dom Stephen Moreno. The second pipe organ, of 11 speaking stops and much more modern in style,
2808-629: The New Norcia Hotel functioned as a pub . It closed in January 2020. In early 2021, Andrew Forrest 's company, Tattarang , via its subsidiary Harvest Road, acquired the land that the government had sold to the monks in 1949, with over A$ 17 million changing hands for it this time. The new owners said that they were planning to meet with the traditional owners of the land, the Yued people, and discuss opportunities for training and employment. There has been
2886-572: The Western Australian coast. The Baudin expedition of 1800–03 included the coast of Western Australia and resulted in the Freycinet Map of 1811 , the first published map featuring the full outline of Australia. The name New Holland remained in popular and semi-official use until at least the mid-1850s; that is, it was in use for about 206 years in comparison to the name Australia which to date has been in use for about 195 years. The origins of
2964-628: The birthplace of St Benedict , home to the Monastery of Saint Benedict . Unlike the Italian town, which is pronounced [ˈnɔrtʃa] , NOR-cha , New Norcia is pronounced / ˈ n ɔː s i ə / Nor-sia . A significant diversion of the Great Northern Highway completed in 2017, known as the New Norcia Bypass, diverted heavy traffic away from the buildings and town. The abbey
3042-763: The coast around the Margaret River wine-growing area. Going east along the Southern Ocean coast is the Goldfields-Esperance region, including the Esperance mallee and the Coolgardie woodlands inland around town of Coolgardie . Deserts occupy the interior, including the Great Sandy-Tanami desert , Gibson Desert , Great Victoria Desert , and Nullarbor Plain . In 1831 Scottish botanist Robert Brown produced
3120-659: The coast of Western Australia. On 7 March 1831 it was transferred to the control of the Swan River Colony, and named Albany in 1832. In 1829 the Swan River Colony was established on the Swan River by Captain James Stirling . By 1832, the British settler population of the colony had reached around 1,500, and the official name of the colony was changed to Western Australia on 6 February that year. The two separate townsites of
3198-718: The coastal plains, in some cases forming a sharp escarpment (as with the Darling Range/ Darling Scarp near Perth). The extreme age of the landscape has meant that the soils are remarkably infertile and frequently laterised . Even soils derived from granitic bedrock contain an order of magnitude less available phosphorus and only half as much nitrogen as soils in comparable climates in other continents. Soils derived from extensive sandplains or ironstone are even less fertile, nearly devoid of soluble phosphate and deficient in zinc , copper, molybdenum and sometimes potassium and calcium . The infertility of most of
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3276-425: The colony developed slowly into the port city of Fremantle and the state's capital, Perth . York was the first inland settlement in Western Australia, situated 97 kilometres (60 mi) east of Perth and settled on 16 September 1831. York was the staging point for early explorers who discovered the rich gold reserves of Kalgoorlie. Population growth was very slow until significant discoveries of gold were made in
3354-509: The community or from special outlets. Much of the New Norcia farm has been sold off to pay the costs of damages resulting from the sexual abuse of children who were residents in the boarding colleges by the Benedictine monks. The New Norcia Museum and Art Gallery is located in the converted buildings of St Joseph's Native School. Beside displaying many Christian relics and historical paintings,
3432-432: The development of the state's significant iron ore mining industry – the world's largest – as well as primarily offshore petroleum and natural gas resources . Gold mining retains a significant presence and many other mineral commodities are mined, with Perth being a major centre for associated services. Outside of mining, primary industry is the other significant contributor to the state's economy, including agriculture in
3510-569: The edge of the Wheatbelt region to 1,400 millimetres (55 in) in the wettest areas near Northcliffe , but from November to March, evaporation exceeds rainfall, and it is generally very dry. Plants are adapted to this as well as the extreme poverty of all soils. The central two-thirds of the state is arid and sparsely inhabited. The only significant economic activity is mining. Annual rainfall averages less than 300 millimetres (8–10 in), most of which occurs in sporadic torrential falls related to cyclone events in summer. An exception to this
3588-674: The gallery hosts an exhibition of finalists for the Mandorla Art Award , the only Australian award solely for Christian religious artworks based on Bible scripture themes. In 1985 the first winner of the prize was Theo Koning with Re-creation based on the theme Creation from the Book of Revelation 15:3. In 1986, 26 paintings were stolen. Several weeks later, all but one of the stolen paintings were returned. They were badly damaged, but were eventually repaired. Marc Fennell 's 2023 three-part documentary The Mission for SBS Television revisited
3666-599: The generally shallow soils, the only development has taken place along the Ord River . Snow is rare in the state and typically occurs only in the Stirling Range near Albany , as it is the only mountain range far enough south and sufficiently elevated. More rarely, snow can fall on the nearby Porongurup Range . Snow outside these areas is a major event; it usually occurs in hilly areas of southwestern Australia. The most widespread low-level snow occurred on 26 June 1956 when snow
3744-419: The girls at St Joseph's. The monks Latinised the children's Aboriginal names, making it hard to trace who they were later. From the time of Abbot Fulgentius Torres onwards, the focus changed and tensions arose in how the "orphanages" were being run. Adults were prevented from visiting their children, and in 1907 an incident occurred in which 32 Aboriginal fathers were arrested by police when they tried to storm
3822-462: The greatest number of immigrants to this day. Western Australia—particularly Perth—has the highest proportion of British-born of any state: 10.3% in 2011, compared to a national average of 5.1%. This group is heavily concentrated in certain parts, where they account for a quarter of the population. Perth's metropolitan area (including Mandurah ) had an estimated population of 2,043,138 in June 2017 (79% of
3900-569: The international sandalwood oil market. In recent years, tourism has grown in importance, with significant numbers of visitors to the state coming from the UK and Ireland (28%), other European countries (14%) Singapore (16%), Japan (10%) and Malaysia (8%). Revenue from tourism is a strong economic driver in many of the smaller population centres outside of Perth, especially in coastal locations. Latinisation of names Latinisation (or Latinization ) of names , also known as onomastic Latinisation ,
3978-455: The investigation into the theft, and spoke to former students at the schools. With decreasing numbers of active colleges, and changes in the organisation of the town, some buildings and sites have been restored and incorporated into a heritage trail within the town. The following buildings are among the heritage buildings situated on the site of the monastery, which is registered on the Register of
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#17328521501074056-645: The land, which the government eventually permitted, despite other competing interests, in order to honour the 1886 agreement with the monks. However, the agreement did not include any ongoing obligation on the part of the Benedictines to ensure that Aboriginal people could use and benefit from the land. Abbots at the monastery include: There were also two institutions for Aboriginal children: St Mary's (for boys) and St Joseph's (for girls), collectively known as New Norcia Mission. The children were taught mainly practical skills, and after leaving school they often worked at
4134-431: The median individual income was A$ 500 per week in Western Australia (compared to A$ 466 in Australia as a whole). The median family income was A$ 1246 per week (compared to A$ 1171 for Australia). Recent growth has also contributed to significant rises in average property values in 2006, although values plateaued in 2007. Located south of Perth, the heavy industrial area of Kwinana had the nation's largest oil refinery with
4212-426: The meridian 129 degrees east of Greenwich, which defines the border with South Australia and the Northern Territory , and bounded by the Indian Ocean to the west and north. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) designates the body of water south of the continent as part of the Indian Ocean; in Australia it is officially gazetted as the Southern Ocean . The total length of the state's eastern border
4290-462: The mission to see their children. In 2001 there was a reunion of former residents of New Norcia Mission. A post office was opened as Victoria Plains in April 1857. A telegraph line was erected through to Victoria Plains in 1873 and the position of postmistress was created. Mary Ellen Cuper was appointed to that position in January 1874. The post and telegraph offices were combined on 4 March 1874, on
4368-501: The name to function grammatically in a sentence through declension . In a scientific context, the main purpose of Latinisation may be to produce a name which is internationally consistent. Latinisation may be carried out by: Humanist names, assumed by Renaissance humanists , were largely Latinised names, though in some cases (e.g. Melanchthon ) they invoked Ancient Greek . Latinisation in humanist names may consist of translation from vernacular European languages, sometimes involving
4446-505: The north "over 50,000 years ago and possibly as much as 70,000 years ago". Over thousands of years they eventually spread across the whole landmass. These Indigenous Australians were long established throughout Western Australia by the time European explorers began to arrive in the early 17th century. The first Europeans to visit Western Australia were those of the Dutch Dirk Hartog expedition, who on 25 October 1616 landed at what
4524-521: The northern coast, and below that the drier Victoria Plains tropical savanna inland, and the semi-desert Pilbara shrublands , Carnarvon xeric shrublands , and Western Australian mulga shrublands to the southwest. Southwards along the coast are the Southwest Australia savanna and the Swan Coastal Plain around Perth, with the jarrah-karri forest and shrublands on the southwest corner of
4602-570: The only mountain-building since then has been of the Stirling Range with the rifting from Antarctica , the land is extremely eroded and ancient, with no part of the state above 1,249 metres (4,098 ft) AHD (at Mount Meharry in the Hamersley Range of the Pilbara region). Most of the state is a low plateau with an average elevation of about 400 metres (1,200 ft), very low relief, and no surface runoff . This descends relatively sharply to
4680-677: The original names. Examples of Latinised names for countries or regions are: Latinisation is a common practice for scientific names . For example, Livistona , the name of a genus of palm trees, is a Latinisation of Livingstone . During the age of the Roman Empire , translation of names into Latin (in the West) or Greek (in the East) was common. Additionally, Latinised versions of Greek substantives , particularly proper nouns , could easily be declined by Latin speakers with minimal modification of
4758-627: The original word. During the medieval period , after the Empire collapsed in Western Europe , the main bastion of scholarship was the Roman Catholic Church , for which Latin was the primary written language. In the early medieval period, most European scholars were priests and most educated people spoke Latin, and as a result, Latin became firmly established as the scholarly language for the West. By
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#17328521501074836-443: The percentage of people who identified as having no religious affiliation has increased from 8.7% in 1971 to 42.9% in 2021. A small minority of the population are Muslims (2.5%), Buddhists (2.2%) and Hindus (2.0%). Western Australia's economy is largely driven by extraction and processing of a diverse range of mineral and petroleum commodities. The structure of the economy is closely linked to these natural resources, providing
4914-468: The present state began with the establishment by Lockyer of a convict-supported settlement from New South Wales at King George III Sound . The settlement was formally annexed on 21 January 1827 by Lockyer when he commanded the Union Jack be raised and a feu de joie fired by the troops. The settlement was founded in response to British concerns about the possibility of a French colony being established on
4992-538: The raising of a loan to construct a pipeline to transport 23 megalitres (5 million imperial gallons) of water per day to the burgeoning population on the goldfields. The pipeline, known as the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme , was completed in 1903. C. Y. O'Connor , Western Australia's first engineer-in-chief, designed and oversaw the construction of the pipeline. It carries water 530 km (330 mi) from Perth to Kalgoorlie , and
5070-476: The required skills. Ninak took increasing responsibility for the duties, and by 1876 was acting in charge of the office. Cuper died in January 1877. Originally known as the New Norcia Hostel, showcasing neo-classical architecture , the multifaceted New Norcia Hotel was opened in 1927 and was used for the parents of boarders at the town's colleges. It later opened to the public, and by the late 20th century,
5148-458: The same day that the name of the offices was changed to New Norcia. Cuper was appointed as the first post and telegraph mistress of New Norcia – thus becoming the first Aboriginal person to be appointed to such a position in any of the Australian colonies . Her health started to deteriorate in the last part of 1875 due to tuberculosis so she trained Sarah Ninak – another Aboriginal woman - in all of
5226-405: 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
5304-401: The soils has required heavy application by farmers of fertilisers. These have resulted in damage to invertebrate and bacterial populations. The grazing and use of hoofed mammals and, later, heavy machinery through the years have resulted in compaction of soils and great damage to the fragile soils. Large-scale land clearing for agriculture has damaged habitats for native flora and fauna. As
5382-555: The state and national economy. In the period 2010–2019 wheat production in WA has averaged nearly 10 million tonnes (22 billion pounds), valued at $ 2.816 billion in 2019, accounting for half the nation's total and providing $ 2–3 billion in export income. Other significant farm output includes wool, beef, lamb, barley, canola, lupins, oats and pulses. There is a high level of overseas demand for live animals from WA, driven mainly by southeast Asia's feedlots and Middle Eastern countries, where Islamic dietary laws and
5460-451: The state). Other significant population centres include Bunbury (73,989), Geraldton (37,961), Kalgoorlie-Boulder (30,420), Albany (33,998), Karratha (16,446), Broome (14,501) and Port Hedland (14,285). At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 3.1% of the population, or 75,978 people, identified as Indigenous Australians ( Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders ) in 2016. At
5538-537: The time transportation ceased in 1868, convicts outnumbered free settlers 9,700 to 7,300. In the 1890s, interstate immigration, resulting from a mining boom in the Goldfields region , resulted in a sharp population increase. Western Australia did not receive significant flows of immigrants from Britain, Ireland or elsewhere in the British Empire until the early 20th century. At that time, its local projects—such as
5616-518: The town. On 1 March 1846, a Benedictine mission to the local Yued Aboriginal people was started about 8 km (5 mi) to the north, led by the Spanish Benedictine monks Giuseppe Serra and Rosendo Salvado . Within a year the mission was moved to where the town is today and on 1 March 1847 the foundation stone of the monastery was laid. The place was named New Norcia after Norcia in Italy,
5694-458: The two became known jointly as Salvado College. Each building was still referred to individually as St Benedict's and St Gertrude's. In 1986 Salvado College became New Norcia Catholic College, which closed at the end of 1991. The colleges were among those investigated by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse for historical accusations. The colleges were among
5772-434: The two old boarding schools , St Ildephonsus' and St Gertrude's (both now used for accommodation and various social functions), the abbey church (containing the tomb of Rosendo Salvado), an old mill, a wine press, and the monastery itself. The town has attracted interest and tourist visits for most of its existence and as a consequence a number of guide books and histories have been produced. The visitor and information centre
5850-480: The worst for historical accusations of child sexual abuse of any Catholic institution in Australia. Of the 53 priests who were at New Norcia between 1950 and 2010, the proportion accused of sexually abusing children was 21.5 per cent. That compares with 7 per cent nationally. The figures were contained in a report released by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in February 2017. During
5928-430: Was founded by two Spanish Benedictine monks, Giuseppe Serra and Rosendo Salvado on 1 March 1847. After two years spent among the local Aboriginal people , Serra and Salvado came to the conclusion that they could be more easily converted by establishing a mission rather than following them on their journeys. Salvado was appointed the first abbot of New Norcia on 12 March 1867. In 1886, 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) of land
6006-419: Was leased to Salvado, in order to fulfil his aim of encouraging local Aboriginal people to settle there, become farmers, and eventually own the land. However, after Salvado's death, the new abbot, Fulgentius Torres, turned the focus of the mission away from Aboriginal children, and was more concerned with the education of children of Catholic settlers. In 1949, the Benedictines applied to the government to purchase
6084-636: Was reported in the Perth Hills , as far north as Wongan Hills and as far east as Salmon Gums . However, even in the Stirling Range, snowfalls rarely exceed 5 cm (2 in) and rarely settle for more than one day. The highest observed temperature of 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) was recorded in Onslow on 13 January 2022. The lowest temperature recorded was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) at Eyre Bird Observatory on 17 August 2008. The south geomagnetic pole
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