MARDAN STATE SCHOOL NO.2156 (FORMER)

The former Mardan State School No.2945, designed by J.B. Cohen of the Public Works Department and constructed in 1909, at 10 Trease's Lane, Mardan is significant. It is a weatherboard gable roof single school room with an offset projecting gable porch to the north. It has a bank of multi-pane double hung windows to the south and a smaller bank to the north. The porch is set to one side with its outer roof plane contiguous with the main gable. The recessed entry is approached by timber steps. The gable ends are stepped out from the wall supported on scrolled brackets below the bottom rail. Their infill is of vertical battened roughcast and a tall louvred vent is located at the centre. The porch gable is treated similarly. The wide exposed eaves protect a two multi-pane highlight windows in the side wall. The chimney has a rendered cap and later Health Department vents are located along the ridge. The mature trees within the grounds contribute to the significance of the place. 
Non-original alterations and additions and other buildings on the site are not significant.

The former Mardan State School No. 2945 is of local historic, representative and aesthetic significance to the South Gippsland Shire.

Historically, it is associated with the development of the Mardan district in the early twentieth century when the community had grown to the extent that a permanent school was justified. For over 80 years it played an important role in community development and remained the heart of the Mardan district until its closure. It is now one of the oldest surviving school buildings in South Gippsland Shire and one of the oldest buildings in the Mardan district. The mature trees demonstrate the tradition of Arbor Day and improvements made to the school grounds by school children and the local community. (Criterion A) 
It is of architectural significance as a representative example of a one-room school constructed prior to 1910, which was individually designed by district architect, J.B. Cohen, and is the finest example in the Gippsland region. It is notable for the distinctive jettied and half-timbered treatment of the gable ends, which shows the influence of the Queen Anne style. The distinctive design and prominent location on an elevated site make it a local landmark and the aesthetic qualities are enhanced by the mature trees within the grounds. (Criteria D and E)