Abbot's road

A revered Spanish monk has left a fascinating insight into an early non-English Australian settlement

Aboriginal glossaries and music scores are among the historical treasures being unearthed from the diaries of one of Australia’s early settlers, Bishop Rosendo Salvado.

The Spanish Benedictine monk co-founded the Western Australian monastic town, New Norcia, in 1846 and was its Abbot until 1900.

The Benedictine Community of New Norcia has commissioned UQ Spanish scholar, Dr Roberto Esposto, to spend the next three years transcribing and translating Bishop Salvado’s diaries.

Dr Esposto said the 11 diaries, written from 1844 to the Bishop’s death in 1900, were immensely significant to Australia’s history.

“Bishop Salvado’s diaries will be a valuable addition to Western Australia’s history and in a wider context, form a foundational document of non-English settlement in Australia,” he said.  “They offer us an opportunity to rescue a Spanish memory lost to Australian history.”

In addition to the Bishop’s transcription of Aboriginal music, his diaries contain intimate details of his life, including numerous fundraising trips to Europe, as well as New Norcia’s accounts, agricultural and business pursuits.

Salvado’s original vision had been to create a Christian, largely self-sufficient village based on agriculture, among the Indigenous peoples of the Victoria Plains.  But after the local populations were decimated by introduced diseases in the 1860s, he concentrated on providing a practical education to Indigenous children brought to New Norcia from all over the State.

Dr Esposto said he had developed a strong admiration for the Bishop.  “Bishop Salvado was a cultured man who spoke five European languages fluently, as well as local Aboriginal languages; he was also a musician, naturopath, merchant and businessman,” he said.

“New Norcia became a haven for Aboriginies as he fought for their very right to exist and even their inclusion in the Australian Constitution.  “Salvado was also extremely courageous. He established New Norcia in the middle of the bush through sheer strength of will and devised ways for his monks to survive a hand-to-mouth existence.

“At the same time, Salvado successfully garnered support from Western Australian politicians and Protestant leaders, and travelled back and forth to lobby Catholic leaders in Europe.”

Dr Esposto said he hoped the diaries would eventually be published in English and Spanish but said the decision rested with the monks of New Norcia. The translation should be completed in 2009.

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