(The Habits Of New Norcia)

Content: The stories in The Habits of New Norcia are told by former Western Australian Aboriginal child 'inmates' of the New Norcia Benedictine Mission who were separated from their families in the 1940s, 50s and 60s and confined in this "orphanage without orphans". In recent decades the New Norcia Monastery has been packaged as one of the State's leading cultural tourist attractions. "A unique blend of Spanish architecture, European art treasures and pioneer history," "Monks, Music & Mystery," "New Norcia, Australia's only monastic town," the brochures announce. Aboriginal testimony in the film challenges this revised and sanitised history. The documentary provides damming evidence of the continuing violence of the Mission against its victims by deliberate omission of their experience in the New Norcia museum, guided tours, art gallery and promotions — an omission that represents a cruel and wounding cover-up.

Countries:

Australia

Genres:

Documentary

Runtime:

53 minutes

Year:

2000

Directors:

Frank Rijavec

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Production companies:

CM Film Productions,

Australian Film Finance Corporation,

SBS Independent,

Seaflower Holdings Pty. Ltd.

Actors:

Narrator

(voice)

(voice)

(voice)

(voice)

Crews:

Director

Researcher

Researcher

Producer

Commissioning Editor