St Mary's College is a medium-sized

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co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

residential college A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship wi ...

affiliated with the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

.University of Melbourne: St Mary's College
/ref>Loreto South East Asia and Australia: Our Schools and Colleges
Founded in 1918, St Mary's was the first Roman Catholic residential college for women at an Australian university. From its humble origins of just ten students, the college is today home to approximately 160 undergraduate and several postgraduate students during the university year.

Location

The college is located on the corner of Tin Alley and

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertical ...

in Parkville, a suburb of Melbourne.

History

St Mary's College was originally established as St Mary's Hall in 1918, catering to women primarily from the country, and directly affiliated with the nearby male-only Newman College.St Mary's College: History
/ref> Formerly housed in a stately home on the Avenue in Parkville known as 'Barbiston', the college moved to its present location in 1966. It was in that year, following the approval of Archbishop Daniel Mannix, that it became independent - a college in its own right - under the inspired leadership of Mother Francis Frewin. A renowned educationalist with a great love of English and French literature, Mother Frewin was a noted art expert and established the college's excellent fine art collection, as well its comprehensive academic library, before her retirement in 1969. In 1977, St Mary's became co-educational, seeing its first male president of the student body elected in 1980. In 1993, the college celebrated its 75th anniversary with a weekend of celebrations, including a ball in the Great Hall of the Victorian Arts Centre and a garden party in the presence of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Dr David Pennington AC. For 96 years, from its foundation until 2013, the college was administered by the

Sisters of Loreto The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The cong ...

, whose spiritual charism and educational philosophy remains a guiding force in the college's mission today. Today, the leadership and governance of the college is the responsibility of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Catholic Bishops of the Country dioceses of Victoria in cooperation with the College Council, who appoint a Principal. The incumbent Principal is Dr Darcy McCormack. In 2004, the Allan & Maria Myers Academic Centre, a joint facility shared between St Mary’s and Newman College, was opened. It was designed by Maggie Edmond and Peter Corrigan to reflect the overall academic vision of both colleges to merge and enhance the educational facilities and opportunities available to the students of the University's Roman Catholic colleges. The centre contains a library, tutorial rooms, music practice rooms, student lounges and information technology facilities. It also houses the college's art collection which was for many years curated and managed by the internationally renowned art historian, and College alumna, Sr Margaret Manion AO.

Student body

It is home to approximately 160 students, the majority of whom are undergraduate students attending the University of Melbourne, although a very small percentage also attend either the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamatio ...

, Monash University, Parkville campus, or

RMIT University RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scien ...

. The St Mary's College Student Club (to which all members of the student body belong) is a self-governing incorporated organisation which runs day-to-day social, cultural and academic events during term time in the college. The majority of students at St Mary's are from rural and regional Victoria, others from Melbourne, and some are interstate or international students. The college has a very strong sporting tradition, particularly in the disciplines of

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

and netball. Its official colours are navy blue and red. In 2016 the St Mary's Women's Rowing VIII rowed their way to a drought-breaking victory in the second division, the first win since 1962. This victory was repeated in 2017.

References

External links

St Mary's College website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marys College (University of Melbourne) Educational institutions established in 1918 Residential colleges of the University of Melbourne 1918 establishments in Australia