Principals Message

History
In 1935, the Sisters of Mercy (Parramatta congregation) established Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) in a cottage at 6 Coast Avenue, Cronulla and by 1943 was providing secondary education for girls, since there were no Catholic all girls secondary schools between Hurstville and Wollongong.

In 1959, with the existing cottage now too small, the Sisters of Mercy purchased the current property bounded by Dominic Street and Dolans Road at Burraneer Bay from Mr Charles Duncan.

In 2016, an eco-friendly and energy efficient building, the Catherine McAuley Centre, was designed to put pedagogy and relationships front and centre of learning at OLMC allowing students to engage in diverse and collaborative learning experiences.

Charism
Catherine McAuley founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland in 1831. Adopting the title of Mercy for her institute, she recognised that this was God’s way of enabling her and the several women who had joined her, to continue their critical work among the poorest people of Dublin.

Catherine began her work in providing education for the young women in Dublin, a vision that led to the establishment of schools and hospitals in many countries of the world, including Australia, before the end of the 19th Century.

At Burraneer, we are part of the Mercy heritage stretching back to those days in Dublin. We are enriched by the Mercy values of Excellence, Hospitality, Justice, Stewardship, Service, Compassion and Dignity and continue to be guided by the legacy of the Mercy Sisters.