Morawa - Places to See

Church of the Holy Cross and the Old Presbytery
The plans for the church were completed in 1932. At the time Monsignor John Hawes', who had spent years living with the disapproval of the previous Bishop of Geraldton, Dr Richard Ryan, was dramatically back in favour. The new Bishop, an ex?plumber James Patrick O'Collins, upon meeting Hawes had declared: 'So you're the architect. Well with your architecture and my plumbing we'll put churches all over the diocese.'

Morowa is a much simpler rural church than that at nearby Mullewa. It is still designed along Spanish Mission lines but it lacks a lot of the ornamentation which makes Mullewa so unusual. Built out of local stone and red Cordoba tiles it is an attempt to deal with the harsh summers of the area. The louvred shutters and heavy walls are designed to protect worshippers from the worst of the summer heat.

More interesting than the church itself is The Old Presbytery a one room lodge with just enough room for a bed, table and chair which Hawes used when visiting the town. There was no resident priest at the time. Local folklore suggests that it is the smallest presbytery in the world.

Koolanooka Hills Mine Site
Approximately 20 km east of Morowa (on the Morowa East Road) is the Koolanooka Hills Mine Site. This iron ore mine was worked between 1966-74 by the Western Mining Corporation. Its main claim to fame is that the first shipment of iron ore from Australia to Japan was ore from Koolanooka.

Morawa Museum
The town's museum is located in Prater Street. Established in 1973 it is a typical wheatbelt museum in which the visitor can seen farm and domestic implements dating back to the turn of the century as well as interesting displays of old clothing and memorabilia.

In springtime the area around Morowa, like so much of the Central West, is ablaze with wildflowers.