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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

single-sex secondary

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

for girls, located in the

Perth central business district Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The school was founded in 1846 by the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

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

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, 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 and England) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 ...

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

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 Dr Lucie McCrory. 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

word for

mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

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, an ...

of Irish Sisters of Mercy. Led by Sister Ursula Frayne, 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 St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial thoroughfare through the central business district. Its ...

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

Notable former students

* Lisa Baker (born 1958) – politician *

Wendy Fatin Wendy Frances Fatin (; born 10 April 1941) is a retired Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was the first woman from Western Australia elected to the House of Representatives, representing the divisio ...

(born 1941) – politician *

Gracie Gilbert Gracie Gilbert is an Australian former actress, best known for her role as Tammy Lane in the Fox8 teen drama series ''SLiDE'', as Vicki in '' Lockie Leonard'', as gangster Squizzy Taylor's mistress Ida Pender in '' Underbelly: Squizzy'', and ...

(born 1992) – actress *

Liza Harvey Liza Mary Harvey (née Browne; born 25 October 1966) is an Australian politician who was the Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2008 to 2021, representing the seat of Scarborough. She was a minister in t ...

(born 1966) – politician *

Frances O'Connor Frances Ann O'Connor (born 12 June 1967) is a British-Australian actress and director. She appears in roles in the films '' Mansfield Park'', '' Bedazzled'', '' A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', '' The Importance of Being Earnest'', and ''Timelin ...

(born 1967) – actress *

Michelle Roberts Michelle Hopkins Roberts (née Thomas; born 29 February 1960) is an Australian politician who served as Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2021 to 2025. She was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly from 19 ...

(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 edu ...

(born 2002) – actress

References

Bibliography

External links