Churchill was formerly known as Hazelwood. It began life as a service centre for the Hazelwood Power Station and future replacement for Yallourn and Morwell townships as the State Electricity Commission of Victoria expanded its coal mining operations, with most of the early housing constructed by the Housing Commission of Victoria. The site was chosen for its pleasant location at the foot of the Strzelecki Ranges, overlooking Hazelwood pondage. It was relatively free from air pollution, is not above rich coalfields and is in close proximity to the larger towns and power stations in the Latrobe Valley. Construction of Churchill began in 1965. In that year the first two houses in Churchill were completed and occupied by the Arch and Ayers families who received morning paper deliveries from YinnarGeneral Store, and milk delivery from John Koedijk. Within a week five more families arrived and so the town began to grow street by street. The town was sufficiently advanced for the Post Office to open on 11 April 1966. The shopping centre in Churchill was officially opened on July 1967, the first two shops having opened 19 May 1967. In that year many new traders opened for business. All the shop keepers were offered a Housing Commission house in Churchill for their use. The ChurchillNewsagency opened in 1967 and was run by Ian and Winifred Jones, who had previously run the Yinnar General Store. A Tattersalls agency was established in 1975. The Churchill Newsagency business was later purchased in April 1978 by Jack and Olive Robson The town was planned with a well-defined commercial centre, expansive parklands, a mix of government and privately owned quarter-acre town blocks and light industrial estates spaced from residential areas by a belt of parkland. The transport system was to be a network of restricted-access highways and a ring road fully encircling the town. Population was anticipated to reach 6,000 by 1971, rising to around 40,000 by 2000. However, the discovery of offshore gas in Bass Strait resulted in the closure of the Lurgi gas plant to the town's north, and the SEC's development in the region slowed. This, combined with the slow development of services in the town and prohibitive residential sales conditions meant that the Churchill project would never be fully realised. Population peaked at a modest 5500 in the early 1990s before a small decline. Signs of renewed growth have appeared, with several new housing estates being released during the past decade. After closing in 2006 the Churchill hotel was remodelled, and reopened in January 2011. In 2009 Churchill suffered the devastation of the Black Saturday bushfires. Lit deliberately on Glendonald Rd, these fires burnt the surrounding hills of Churchill through to Yarram and killed eleven people.
Names
The area now known as Churchill was originally named Hazelwood, but was renamed after Sir Winston Churchill's death. The change of name has not been without its critics, and residents who pushed hard to restore the Hazelwood name were finally heard in 1989, when the town was asked to vote on whether the town would be renamed to Hazelwood or stay as Churchill. The name Churchill won by narrow vote. Some of the names in Churchill have a distinctly local flavour. Estates in the town were named after various early settlers. These include Silcock, Medew, McMillan, and Glendonald. Roads have also been named after people, flora, and Aboriginal names.
Population
In the 2016 Census, there were 4,568 people in Churchill. 75.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 3.2%. 83.1% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 39.6% and Catholic 18.3%.
Landmarks
;Churchill Cigar ;Binishell ;Mathison Park ;Lake Hyland
Education
Churchill has several education facilities. There are several primary schools within the town, as well as the Churchill and Precinct campuses of Kurnai College. ;Federation University Australia ;Gippsland Education Precinct ;Kurnai College - Churchill Campus ;Primary Schools
Sport
;Australian Rules Football Club ;Soccer Club ;Hockey Club ;Golf Club ;Pony Club ;Baseball Club ;Basketball Club Cricket Club Churchill Cricket Club play at the George Cain Oval and are massive sooks.
