Kyneton was a prosperous town in the 1880’s. It had become important in the 1850’s because of its close proximity to the gold fields. The demand for food resulting from the rushes prompted a large expansion of agriculture and Kyneton became the chief agricultural town in the state. Stone flour mills, still standing, bear witness to its importance as a wheat-growing centre.

In the 1880’s it was said that Kyneton had the highest population of Catholics outside the metropolitan area. In 1881, 8 years before the Sisters came, there were 25 Catholic schools within the parish with 1335 children on the rolls. No other area in the diocese could make such a claim. However, educationally the schools weren’t good. They were poorly staffed and struggled financially. The Sisters of Mercy were asked to come because they would “lift teaching standards and curtail expenses”. And so the Sisters arrived. The story of their arrival and the days that followed are preserved for us in the Annals of the Sisters of Mercy.

Their first residence, at the corner of Wedge and Yaldwin Streets, was once the “Robert Burns Hotel”. The Sisters opened the Secondary School on 29 July 1889 with 24 pupils; in August the Boarding School was opened.

In 1906, the new building in High Street was begun and school commenced in February 1907 in the building known today as Sacred Heart College. The Convent Wing was added during 1908 and the large Chapel in 1926.

Over the years, many minor alterations were made to modernise the facilities and provide accommodation for both boarders and day pupils as the needs of the students changed. But it is in the last 30 years that the most rapid changes have taken place as enrolments increased and the Boarding School was phased out after 83 years.