Sporting at Loreto

Physical exercise, including games, sports and dancing, was considered an important aspect of a girl’s well-rounded education.

Physical activities in early Loreto schools included calisthenics, croquet, tennis, cycling and horse riding, dancing, archery, hockey and basketball. The “Paddock” (now the school oval) was a designated recreational ground, with only an Infirmary built on the site during the 1880s.

Loreto students were some of the earliest players of women’s basketball (now called netball), after it was introduced to Australia in the 1890s.

Swedish Drill was a form of women’s gymnastics that was popular in the late 19th century. It emphasised precise movements designed to promote balance and physical health.

Tennis was a popular sport at Loreto Abbey, and was played at least as early as the 1880s. In the 1920s two more tennis courts were built on the ‘Paddock’.

“The practical outcome of these varied physical exercises and sports is found to be exceptionally good health, buoyant spirits, and that zest for mental work which comes only when mens san is in corpore sano [a healthy mind in a healthy body].”  (Prospectus 1901).