Shire of Victoria Plains

The Shire of Victoria Plains, located approximately 160 kilometers north of Perth, encompasses 2,569 square kilometers in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region. Its administrative center is the town of Calingiri. The shire includes several towns, such as Bolgart, Mogumber, Yerecoin, and New Norcia—the only operating monastic town in Australia, founded by Spanish Benedictine monks in 1847. The region's economy is primarily based on cereal growing and sheep farming, with its rolling wheatfields and hilly southern terrain. The shire is also home to the European Space Agency's deep space ground station, chosen for its ideal weather and telecommunications infrastructure.