The Chimes

Rosemarie (Rose) Taylor first came to New Norcia in 1978 when she got a job as a housemaid at the Hotel. Later she became a cook and in 1980 she moved over to the St Ildephonsus' kitchen to work as a kitchenhand. A year later, one of the chefs left and Rose started cooking for the boarding school residents: 130 boys and 70 girls, three meals a day.

Around this time, Rose met her "soul mate", Tom (Tucker) Taylor. They married and had two kids, Greg in 1983 and Lisa in 1988. While the kids were small, Rose cooked for a shearing contractor who had sheds from Badgingarra to Quindanning. Tucker was the wool presser. The family lived in New Norcia, Calingiri, Yerecoin, Mogumber and Gillingarra. "We made a lot of lifetime friends", Rose says fondly of these years.

In 2004, Rose and Tucker moved to Port Hedland, where Rose cooked at the hospital for seven years, which also included a nursing home of 79 residents. In 2010, the couple bought a caravan and travelled across Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia. Returning to the area in 2012, the couple settled down in Calingiri. After Tucker's passing in 2018, Rose has continued to live in the home they purchased there.

Rose returned to work at New Norcia in 2015 to cook for the school camps that were using the colleges for retreats after the boarding schools were shut down. "I felt like I'd come home", Rose recalls. "I really enjoyed the schools; they were great fun". Sadly, the Covid era put an end to school camps and now she and head chef Marlon cook primarily for the monks and monastery guests, as well as tours and groups.

In her off-time, Rose likes looking after her extensive collection of plants and meeting up with friends and family. When she retires she hopes to rekindle her fondness for travel and buy a Winnebago that she and her lifelong friend Heather might take around Australia. "We live in a beautiful country and I can't wait to see it all", she muses.