In 1908, Reverend Mother Mary Gonzaga Barry ibvm was responsible for the establishment of a fledgling school for girls on Carabella Street in Kirribilli – and Loreto Kirribilli was born.

Kirribilli is so named for the First Nations word, ‘kiarabilli’ , meaning ‘good fishing spot.

’ You will notice around the hem of the skirt an early colonial watercolour of Eora women fishing from their bark ‘nowie’ canoes, a common sight on Sydney Harbour at the time. The inscription acknowledges the local Cammeraygal clan of the Eora nation.

Rising up behind this harbour scene is the Wandana painting, created by Loreto Kirribilli students, which pays homage to our elders past and present, and symbolises the spirituality which flows outwards from the heart of the school community.

In the centre of the back of the skirt is the copper-domed lantern tower of Loreto Kirribilli Chapel. Completed in 1930, for many years our Chapel was the highest point on the Kirribilli peninsula, and was helpful to sailors as a landmark. The stained-glass image of Mary our Mother is from the Chapel. 

On the left and right panels of the skirt are the two female figureheads of our school, Mary Ward and Mary Gonzaga Barry. Mary Ward is surrounded by the purple foliage of the distinctive jacaranda trees that adorn our campus and surrounding neighbourhood in Spring. Below her is a recent aerial photograph of the Loreto Kirribilli campus, showing its glorious location on the shores of Sydney Harbour.

Mother Gonzaga Barry was a prolific letter writer, and here she pauses, pen in hand, a thoughtful expression on her face as she advises her girls to “Strive ever to widen and deepen your hearts and minds. ”

Beneath Mother Gonzaga’s photo, the name ‘Loreto Convent’ , which is stamped on the school gates, is a reminder of earliest days of Loreto Kirribilli, when the Loreto nuns, who had been searching for years for a suitable site for their school, finally found a permanent home in the gracious rooms and charming grounds of Elamang.

There are red and white roses scattered across the skirt: the red is the Mary Gonzaga Barry Rose, created in 2000 to mark the 125th anniversary of Loreto education in Australia. The white is the Mary Ward Rose, cultivated to coincide with 2024 Federation.

The series of circles around the top of the skirt are a selection of images of the life of the school, chosen by the students, depicting events from May Day, to Music Festival, to graduation celebrations.

Seen as a whole, the skirt tells a layered story of our school, its history, and the wonderful legacy of Mother Gonzaga Barry.