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WANDO VALE SCHOOL (FORMER)

Other Name WANDO VALE STATE SCHOOL Location 628 CASTERTON-EDENHOPE ROAD, WANDO VALE, GLENELG SHIRE Level Recommended for Heritage Overlay

[1/1] 52884 Wando Vale school

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The former Wando Vale State School located on the Casterton-Edenhope Road in the centre of the township of Wando Vale consists of the remains of the Wando Vale School. The surviving fabric includes the original 1906 timber school building and a perimeter planting of Eucalyptus cladocalyx (sugar gums). The construction of the school was triggered by the surge in population in the district following the subdivision for Closer Settlement in 1900 of one of the area's great pastoral estates, Wando Vale. The Wando Vale Estate was Victoria's first, and perhaps most successful Closer Settlement scheme. The school house is a one roomed timber school building, with large 15 pane windows typical of its era in form and style. The school is in very good condition and retains an excellent degree of integrity. The perimeter planting is typical of the period and although it has been coppiced numerous times, remains in good condition.

How is it significant?
The former Wando Vale School is of historical, social and architectural significance to the Glenelg Shire.

Why is it significant?
The former Wando Vale School is historically significant as a surviving example of a rural school and its original perimeter planting, both dating from the turn of the century, and substantially intact. The school complex provides a tangible link to the Closer Settlement era, a particular phase in the long history of the pastoral industry in the area. The land on which the school sits has its origin in one of the earliest squatting runs, with the arrival of William Robertson, pioneer and botanist of the Casterton district. The subsequent subdivision of the land at various times culminated in the creation of small landholdings and a formally laid out township with a Hall and School reserve. The land was acquired by successful applicants from across Victoria. The school is a physical expression of the population boom which resulted from Closer Settlement, and which created social and economic prosperity hitherto and subsequently unknown in the area.

The school has social significance as an expression of the collective aspirations and dedication of the closer settler families, typified by the work of the voluntary committee and their pressure on local politicians.

The school complex has architectural significance as a surviving example of a typical rural school facility dating from the turn of the century. The complex retains a high degree of integrity in its exterior fabric, style and materials.