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Published: December 2nd 2009
Day 215 - Cervantes to Dwellingup via New Norcia
What a funny thing to be propelling us out of bed so early this morning, the prospect of being able to reach New Norcia in time for the 10.30am “Meet a monk” session! We’re hooked up and ready to go by the time others start surfacing! The Elliotts and the Reeves are coming to New Norcia a bit later in the morning but we say goodbye to Mirella, Mauritzio, Naika and Dylan for the next week or so. They are staying in Cervantes for a few more nights before hitting Perth which for them signifies the end of their year away as it’s where they are currently living. There are tentative plans for everyone to get together before we and the Reeves leave the area for good so fingers crossed we’ll make that happen and see them again before we hit the road for home!
New Norcia is the only monastic town in Australia and as such it has become a big attraction for the travelling fraternity to visit. Very few people miss a visit here and those who do make the detour to come are generally very pleased they
did.
We arrive at 10.39am, darn, just too late for the “meet a monk” session where you can ask them questions. Darn, we had lots of questions lined up too as neither of us know anything about being a Benedictine monk! Not to worry, we signed up for the town tour at 11am and didn’t have long to wait before our guide for the next two hours, Jayd, came to meet us. We were shown around the different sites within the town, the Mirian Shrine, the guest house and both the new and old chapels. The new chapel is where the monks come to pray six times a day. A bell is rung within the monastery as a sign that it’s time for prayers and the monks must leave whatever it is that they are doing to make their way to the chapel.
Our tour guide is only on her second tour but she’s doing a good job and keeping us informed about each area of the town she takes us to and we get some interesting views of the beautiful buildings along the way. As we stand at the gates to the monastery, one of the Benedictine
monks saunters by giving out a cheery smile and wave! With the exception of prayers or unless spoken to, the life of a monk is one of solitude and silence for the most part of the day but it’s nice to see they’re able to communicate in other ways!
The inner beauty of New Norcia is hidden behind locked doors unless you take the town tour, St Gertrudes, St Ildephonous and within the Abbey Church is just stunning. The artwork on the walls, ceilings and the grandeur of the organs are awesome.
New Norcia has a mixed history, like many places within Australia, and although stood for a life of peace it has also been tainted with the brush of a stolen generation. Children were educated in the colleges of St. Gertrudes and St Ildphonous but while for the most part parents brought their children to study here there were also children brought here by the government but as the attendance numbers dwindled over the years the decision was made to close the colleges. The community here is still actively involved with child education as the colleges are used for residential purposes and children visit from all over
the country and sometimes even from overseas.
As we finish our tour we can see the Elliotts and the Reeves pulling up in the car park, beautiful timing and it meant we could all have a spot of lunch together before they headed off for their tour.
We wandered through the museum and art gallery here which is actually pretty good, a fairly large compliment coming from two people that don’t really do museums or galleries unless they’re free … which this isn’t! The artwork is stunning and the story that many of the paintings were stolen in a real daylight robbery a few years ago is quite astounding. Luckily the thieves didn’t cover their tracks very well and all but one of the paintings have been recovered and are again on display.
The time is fast approaching two thirty and that’s the next time the monks will be called to prayer. We’re curious more than anything, about the religion, about the lifestyle and the seemingly rigid yet easygoing lifestyle that these people have chosen for themselves. From an outsider looking in it doesn’t appear to be a stressful career by any means although that is admittedly
a very ignorant view in terms of knowledge. There are 7 monks within the monastery plus 2 novices and their daily routine is set around the Benedictine rule book. That was something we would have been really interested to get a look at but so far New Norcia isn’t giving up it’s most intimate details although we do learn that the monks motto is PAX which stands for Peace, very fitting indeed.
We’ve been told that the monks openly encourage visitors to join them for prayers but that they ask you to arrive in plenty of time and to remain for the full fifteen minutes rather than leaving before the end. Myself, Darryl, Bel, Simone, Lachie (7), Beth (6), Zoe (11) and Kenny (9) all take a seat in the chapel and quietly wait for the monks to arrive. The novice monks enter the chapel first, they haven’t yet been ordained so are in ‘normal’ clothes. A few other visitors file in then we hear the tinkle of a bell signalling to the monks that it’s time for prayer. We are joined by four robed gentleman who take their seats either side of the chapel. There is no discussion
between them but the prayers start shortly after their arrival in a seemingly predetermined order. We have plenty of questions for the monks now, perhaps we should stay overnight to be ready for question time in the morning! At the moment our questions would be: How are the prayers selected and by whom? How much of an active role do the monks play within the community? Who is the longest serving Benedictine Monk? What are the first steps to becoming a Benedictine Monk? What is the most fulfilling part of being a Benedictine Monk? What is the most difficult rule to adhere to?
We can only guess what answers we would have been given.
It is interesting watching and being a part of the monks prayer time, the kids are fantastically well behaved for the duration. When the monks stand the congregation stands and where appropriate we join them in prayer. .
It’s not quite the joyful experience we were all expecting, it’s really very low key which when we think about it makes it more of a real life experience versus something that could so easily have been construed as rehearsed or showy.
That topped
off our day in New Norcia and once the others had finished their tour we hit the road, minus four. The Elliotts are continuing into Perth from here to stay with Amber, Ross and Lucy (Bel’s sister and her family). It’s actually Lucy’s dedication on Sunday which we have been invited to attend but although we thoroughly appreciate the sentiment we’ve decided to head on south for a short while and then return to Perth in a week before finally making the break away from the group. With hugs all round and promises to meet up again when we return to Perth we all set off. We’ve made a great connection with this family, we will miss them terribly when we finally do go our separate ways.
It’s not long before we reach the more densely populated areas on the outskirts of Perth, it’s Friday, it’s 4.30pm and we’re in the midst of our first rush hour in quite a while! We’re using Tom Tom to make our way across the various highways but the Reeves are on the maps and somehow we manage to lose them so we pull over for a while until we group back together.
Somehow I’ve gained ‘control’ with regards to where we will lay our weary heads tonight so we’re heading for the Baden Powell campground within Lane Pool Reserve near Dwellingup. We’re racing the sun as it’s fading fast and the rule ‘No driving past dusk’ still stands, none of us knows if we will make it! As we drive into the reserve the headlights are on and we’ve been overtaken by darkness but we quickly manage to find a spot that will fit both of us and set up for the night. It’s so busy here, it must be a really popular place for the weekend.
Dinner is already prepared, left over curry from last night! It easily goes round the five of us and in no time at all we’ve got full tummies and we’re ready for a good nights sleep.
Mark’s on an AFD - Alcohol Free Day - so the rest of us follow suit and snuggle up in the warmth of the doona. It’s cold at night now, the days are still hot but the night time temperatures have dropped dramatically since we’ve headed south.
Night everyone - lots of love
Dar
and Sar
x x x
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Tony
non-member comment
Confession Time Mr Howells
In the picture "Waiting for Prayers" Mr Howells looks like a very naughty boy who is waiting for confession !! It could be a long wait matey Unfortunately "Shag" you are well past forgiveness but if you do manage to get a "confession" don't forget to mention the pool incident in Ireland !!!