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Bay View House.
"I would not ask for more happiness in this world than to see Papa, Ma and all my dear brothers and sisters happy and comfortable." —Mary MacKillop, 1864
Mary MacKillop moved to Portland in April 1862 to work as a governess. In October 1863, she successfully applied for her first formal teaching position at Portland's Catholic Denominational School. The financial independence allowed her to reunite her scattered family, and she rented Bay View House from Portland pioneer Stephen Henty. In order to supplement her income, Mary established the Bay View House Seminary for Young Ladies, offering board and instruction in a range of subjects, with her sisters Maggie and Lexie acting as supervisors. Mary MacKillop remained in Portland until 1866, when she moved to Penola to help Father Julian Tenison Woods establish a school based on 'purely Catholic principles'. In 1884, the Loreto Sisters established their convent and school at Bay View House, purchasing the property outright in 1894. In 1977, Loreto Convent became an ecumenical, co-educational school.