History of The Academy of Mary Immaculate, Fitzroy
The Academy of Mary Immaculate (AMI), formerly Our Immaculate Lady of Mercy School, was founded in Fitzroy in 1857 by the Sisters of Mercy and is Victoria’s oldest Catholic girls’ secondary school. Bishop Goold invited Mother Ursula Frayne and the Sisters of Mercy to come to Melbourne from Perth to provide education and welfare for the growing population.
AMI opened on 20 April 1857 in Bishop Goold’s Nicholson Street cottage with six students initially enrolled. By the end of the year, enrolment had increased to 43. AMI’s early curriculum included English, Needlework, French, Italian, Music, Drawing and Religious Instruction. Boarding began in 1859, and during the nineteenth century the site expanded significantly to include additional schools for poorer students and a “House of Mercy”. From 1874, students entered University Matriculation Examinations, and by the 1890s the Academy was also preparing students for University and Public Service Examinations. Following Mother Ursula Frayne’s death in 1885, the Ursula Frayne Memorial Chapel opened in her honour in 1889.
During the twentieth century, AMI continued to expand its curriculum and facilities. It developed a strong music tradition and established an orchestra in 1908. By the 1930s, the orchestra had grown to 40 members and performed regularly at major Catholic events. Commercial subjects were introduced in the early 20th century, with a separate Commercial course operating from 1930-1971. Biology and Chemistry were added for senior students in the 1940s, reflecting the continuing development of the Academic curriculum.
Postwar enrolments increased significantly, with more than 1000 students enrolled between 1961 and 1967. New buildings were added to support this growth, including the Walsh Building in the 1950s, further science facilities in the 1960s, and what is now the McKenna Building in the 1970s. By 1968, lay teachers outnumbered religious staff. Boarding and commercial classes ended in 1971, and from 1975 the Academy operated as a Years 7–12 school.
The heritage significance of the Nicholson Street site was formally recognized in 1979-80, following the 1979 South Fitzroy Conservation Study. Further developments during the 1990s included the addition of the Performing Arts Complex and Gymnasium, now the Dillon Centre. In 1999, former AMI student Susan Danckert became Academy’s first lay principal, and in 2014, the McAllen Science Centre opened.
The Sisters of Mercy left the Fitzroy convent in 2020 and formally transferred it to Academy’s care in April 2021. AMI continues to operate on its original Nicholson Street site, maintaining its strong Mercy tradition and its long history of educating young women in inner-city Melbourne.
