[1] In 1875, the first Loreto Sisters, led by Gonzaga Barry travelled from Ireland to Australia and at the request of Michael O'Connor, the Bishop of Ballarat, agreed to establish Catholic schools for girls.

Despite her initial issues, such as her age and mild deafness, these Loreto Sisters established a school in Ballarat shortly after arriving in Australia which was run by Mother Gonzaga and the I.B.V.M.

[4] The basis for Mother Gonzaga Barry's works and establishments came from her belief that women had much to learn rather than relying on "the theories of education ... which we owe largely to men."

She invited Barbara Bell, a Cambridge graduate, to come to Ballarat to instruct the Loreto sisters in new methods of teaching in the newly-established college of teacher education.

[5][6] Barry also had a profound impact on her students urging them to make their own mark in the world, by not settling for the stereotypes of women.