, motto_translation = Praise the Lord , established = , founders =

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

, type =

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

single-sex

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...

, denomination =

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, gender =

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

, affiliation =

Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (abbreviated as AGSA) is a non-profit organisation that promotes the education of girls in single-sex girls' schools, and promotes the image of, and support the development of, girls' schools in Australa ...

, slogan = , principal = Kerrie Fraser , location =

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Perth , pushpin_image = , pushpin_mapsize = 250 , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = Location in ,

, pushpin_label = , pushpin_label_position = right , enrolment = ~1,000 , enrolment_as_of = , grades = 7- 12 , grades_label = Years , staff = 138 , colours = Green, red, white , homepage = , sister_school =

Trinity College, Perth , motto_translation = In The Name of the Lord , established = , type = Independent primary and secondary day school , gender = Boys , denomination = Congregation of Chr ...

Mercedes College is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

single-sex

for girls, located in the

Perth central business district Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is p ...

. The school was founded in 1846 by the

, thus making it the oldest independent Catholic girls' school in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the oldest existing secondary school in Perth. There are currently 800 students from

Year 7 Year 7 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the seventh full year (or eighth in Australia) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 in the United ...

Year 12 Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-compulsory educa ...

and the college's brother school is

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. The current principal is Kerrie Fraser. The name ''Mercedes'' comes from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

word for

mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

History

The school has its beginnings in the landing at the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

of Irish Sisters of Mercy. Led by Sister

Ursula Frayne Ursula Frayne (5 October 1816 – 9 June 1885), born Clara Frayne, was an Irish nun who became a Mother Superior of the Sisters of Mercy and spent her life in missionary work, initially in Canada but largely in Australia developing schools and aca ...

, they founded the first Catholic school in the colony on 2 February 1846 beginning their teaching with just one pupil. 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. 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". 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. 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. 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.

Gallery

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

Notable former students

* Lisa Baker (born 1958) – politician * Gracie Gilbert (born 1992) – actress * Liza Harvey (born 1966) – politician *

Frances O'Connor Frances Ann O'Connor (born 12 June 1967) is a British–born Australian actress and director. She is known for her roles in the films ''Mansfield Park'' (1999), '' Bedazzled'' (2000), ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (2001), ''The Importance of ...

(born 1967) – actress *

Michelle Roberts Michelle Hopkins Roberts (née Thomas; born 29 February 1960) is an Australian politician currently serving as Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. She has been a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly since 1994. S ...

(born 1960) – politician *

Indiana Massara Indiana Marie Ella Massara (born 23 August 2002), sometimes shortened to just Indiana, is an Australian singer, actress, model, and Internet personality. Massara has been named one of Kiss FM's youngest New Next Up Artists. Early life and educ ...

(born 2002) – actress

References

Bibliography

External links