Loreto College, Ballarat is an independent Roman Catholic secondary day school for girls, located in central Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
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History
Loreto College Ballarat was the first Loreto school in Australia, established by Mother Gonzaga Barry and her community of religious sisters in 1875 following an invitation from the Bishop of Ballarat to establish a school for girls. This boarding school was known as Loreto Abbey Mary's Mount and was soon followed by a day school, also in Ballarat, known as Loreto Convent Dawson Street.
Mother Gonzaga had come to Australia from Ireland and established local primary schools as well as Loreto schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
From its founding in 1875 until 1973, boys were admitted from kindergarten until grades two or three; since 1973, the school has admitted girls only.
In 1978, Dawson Street Day School and Mary's Mount were formally amalgamated to form Loreto College Ballarat, with Years 7–8 at Dawson Street and Years 9–12 at Sturt Street – Mary's Mount. In 2007, Loreto's junior and senior campuses were combined on the one campus at Sturt Street following the construction of the Mary Ward Centre for Years 7–8. The Dawson Street site closed in 2006, and was used by Ballarat High School for a short time before being bought by the Quest Apartments group. In 2015, the college opened The Mary's Mount Centre. This performing arts centre houses a 500-seat theatre along with music and dance studios, classrooms and multimedia labs.
Sport
Loreto is a member of the Ballarat Associated Schools (BAS).
BAS premierships
Loreto has won the following BAS premierships. Combined premierships were won with St Patrick's College.
Girls:
Athletics (20) – 1978, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018
Badminton – 2016
Basketball (18) – 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2006, 2007, 2008
Cricket (22) – 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Cross Country (20) – 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2012, 2018
Football (2) – 2001, 2008
Hockey (4) – 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015
Lap of the Lake (24) – 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2019
Netball (8) – 1977, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2018
Road Relay (7) – 1997, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014
Soccer (8) – 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2017, 2018
Softball (12) – 1964, 1967, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2011
Volleyball (3) – 1982, 1987, 2013
Notable alumnae
Georgia Amoore, professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics, (2025-)
Mary Delahunty, Victorian Labor Minister for Arts and Women's Affairs and a former ABC journalist
Dame Doris Fitton (1897–1985), actress and theatrical producer
Lesbia Harford (1891–1927), poet, novelist, political activist
Michelle Payne, first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup (won in 2015)
Emma Ryan-Weber, astronomer
Kate Torney, CEO State Library of Victoria, previously: director of ABC News
Sophie Van De Heuvel, Australian rules footballer with the Geelong Football Club
June Wright (1919–2012), author of six murder mysteries
Juliana Addison, State Labor Member for Wendouree (2018–)
Talia Martin, youngest female winner of the Stawell Gift (2016)
Related schools
There are six other Loreto related schools in Australia. These include:
John XXIII College (Perth)
Loreto Nedlands (Perth)
Loreto Coorparoo (Brisbane)
Loreto Kirribilli (Sydney)
Loreto Mandeville Hall (Melbourne)
Loreto Marryatville (Adelaide)
Loreto Normanhurst (Sydney)
There are also many other Loreto schools worldwide including Ireland and India.