The intriguing history from 1889 covers many stories of kindergarten, primary, secondary and tertiary education for young women and men. It is a testament to all of the Loreto Sisters and the many others who had the courage and fidelity to pave the way for the founding of Loreto Toorak.
The contribution of the Loreto Sisters to the education of women in Melbourne is an inspirational story. An institution as old as one hundred and twenty-five years deserves to have its history recorded, partly because there is much to tell us about innovative approaches to the education of girls and partly because it illuminates and uncovers a special social history of Melbourne. Numerous stories and anecdotes bring this history alive. The Loreto Sisters were highly educated, valiant women of strength and gentleness who encouraged their pupils to reach out, take their place in society and develop a passion to empower others. They opened a world of literature, art and culture and provided a quality of education for girls from any strata of society. As the Loreto Sisters’ environment was largely free from models of male leadership, they provided valuable opportunities for all kinds of women to flourish.
The Melbourne foundations were the initiatives of an extraordinary Irish woman, Mother Gonzaga Barry. She wrote ‘Win the heart of a little child and you can mould the character of a woman whose influence will extend and still be ennobling the world when we have long been dead and forgotten’. From her first school in Ballarat, with remarkable foresight Mother Gonzaga established six affiliated educational facilities in the inner city of Melbourne. These included Our Lady of the Angels, Albert Park; Saints Peter and Paul’s, South Melbourne; the Central Catholic Teachers’ Training College; Albert Park, the Loreto Free Kindergarten, South Melbourne; St Mary’s College, at the University of Melbourne and Loreto Mandeville Hall Toorak.
Each foundation challenged the norm, offering primary and secondary education for girls from impoverished families, kindergarten experiences for children whose fathers were out of work or away at war, free health and dental care with the provision of hot lunches. Furthermore the Loreto Sisters strongly promoted tertiary education for women. Along the way these Loreto Sisters maintained a deep fellowship with their past pupils, many of whom formed volunteer groups to assist in their works. The Loreto Sisters and their supporters saw themselves as one family, who could encourage the students to occupy their time and talents both inside and outside of the classroom and reach for the stars.