The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School traces its origin to the first Victorian State Secondary School - the Melbourne Continuation School - which opened in Spring Street in 1905.

The Melbourne Continuation School allowed young people to continue their education beyond Year 8. It was originally a  co-education school until a new school for the male students was opened at Forrest Hill in 1927. This was the beginning of Melbourne High School. The girls remained in the original Spring Street building, which was renamed as Melbourne Girls' High School. When this building was condemned in 1930, the students were moved to Government House at Ripponlea, until they moved again, in 1933, to State School No.1689 in King Street.

In 1934, Sir MacPherson Robertson, a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and inventor of the Freddo Frog and Cherry Ripe, made a gift of £100,000 pounds in honour of Victoria’s centenary, £40,000 pounds of which was to be spent providing a new girls' high school. The present building, designed by architect Norman Seabrook, was officially opened as The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School on November 7th, 1934. 

More recent funding in the 1980s enabled Mac.Rob to expand, adding two further buildings which accommodate the Learning Resource Centre; dedicated Music, Visual Arts and Theatre learning areas; Information Technology and a well equipped Gymnasium.

In 1987, the school’s striking main building was deemed worthy of conserving and protecting for future generations, and given a National Trust Classification.

In 2022, a renovation of the Lakeside Building was undertaken to provide the school’s 1150 students with a state-of-the-art Learning Resource Centre, dynamic new classroom spaces, and integrated outdoor performance and recreation areas. This renovation is due to open in readiness for the 2023 school year.

Acknowledgement of Country

Mac.Rob acknowledges, respects and expresses our gratitude to the Bunurong people, the Traditional Custodians on whose ancestral lands our school was founded.

We acknowledge the deep relationship of First Nations peoples to Country and their continued care of the lands, waterways and skies.

We commit to building a community through better relationships and greater understanding with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and by actively working towards reconciliation to make a better future for us all.

We pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging.

We acknowledge that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' sovereignty was never ceded and the land on which we gather today always was and always will be Aboriginal land.