Mercedes College, Perth

Mercedes College is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex secondary day school for girls, located in the Perth central business district, Western Australia.

"Our Lady's College" redirects here. For the school in Hong Kong, see Our Lady's College, Hong Kong.

Mercedes College
Mercedes College, viewed from Victoria Square
Location
Perth, Western Australia

Australia
Coordinates31°57′22″S 115°51′59″E
Information
TypeIndependent single-sex secondary day school
MottoLatin: Laudate Dominum
(Praise the Lord)
DenominationRoman Catholicism
Established1846 (1846)
FoundersSisters of Mercy
Sister schoolTrinity College, Perth
PrincipalKerrie Fraser[1]
Staff138
Years7-12
GenderGirls
Enrolment~1,000
Colour(s)Green, red, white    
AffiliationAlliance of Girls' Schools Australasia
Websitewww.mercedes.wa.edu.au

The school was founded in 1846 by the Sisters of Mercy, thus making it the oldest independent Catholic girls' school in Australia, and the oldest existing secondary school in Perth.[2] There are currently 800 students from Year 7 to Year 12 and the college's brother school is Trinity College. The current principal is Kerrie Fraser.[1]

The name Mercedes comes from the Spanish word for mercy.

History

The school has its beginnings in the landing at the Swan River Colony of Irish Sisters of Mercy.[2] Led by Sister Ursula Frayne, they founded the first Catholic school in the colony on 2 February 1846[3] beginning their teaching with just one pupil.[2] Classes were conducted in a rented St Georges Terrace cottage, near Victoria Avenue. By the end of the first day's teaching, the numbers had swelled to six students. Enrolment grew to 100 by the end of 1846, by which time the school had moved to permanent accommodation at Victoria Square.[3]

The first Mercy Convent in Australia was constructed in 1847 on the Victoria Square site, and remains in use today, known as "Holy Cross Convent".[3]

Two separate schools were run from the Victoria Square site. The original was known as St Joseph's School, and was a free, co-educational school.[4] The other school run from the site was Ladies' College, opened in 1896, which did charge for tuition. It was later renamed Our Lady's College. The two schools amalgamated in 1967 to form Mercedes College.[2] The last of the school's boarding students left in 1981.

Over the years, the number of Sisters of Mercy at the site has dwindled, with the last Mercy Sister Principal of Mercedes, Sister Assisium Wright, retiring in 1996.[5]

  • St Joseph's Primary School, circa 1895
    St Joseph's Primary School, circa 1895
  • The opening of the Ladies' College in 1896
    The opening of the Ladies' College in 1896

Notable former students

See also

References
  1. "Welcome from the Principal". Mercedes College. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  2. Wilson-Clark, Charlie (6 July 2001). "Oldest School Shows Mercy". The West Australian. p. 13.
  3. "Our Heritage". Mercedes College. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
  4. "Our Lady's College class of 1956 celebrates 60th reunion". Catholic Archdiocese of Perth. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. McGuiness-Howard, Colleen (1997). "Retirement of Mercedes' principal sees the end of Mercy Sisters' era". Perth, Western Australia: The Record. p. 9.

Bibliography
  • Cream, Sister Maureen (1999). Out of These Stones: The Mercedes Story: 'The School at the Square', 1846-1996. Perth: Mercedes College. OCLC 222556709.
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