There is a moment on a good town walk when the streets begin to change. The buildings remain where they were. The paths still lead in familiar directions. Yet every tree, memorial and open space starts to carry a story. You slow down. You look more closely. A name carved into a wall becomes a family. A pair of old pine trees becomes a schoolyard. The town opens around you, one quiet discovery at a time.

The Churchill Guided Historical Walk follows a gentle 1.8-kilometre loop through the centre of town. Led by volunteers from the Churchill and District Community Association, the walk moves through 19 commentary points. Each stop reveals another part of Churchill’s identity.

The experience begins in the civic heart of the town, where community buildings, memorials and public spaces sit within easy walking distance. A guide’s voice brings the surroundings into focus. Places you may have passed without a second thought suddenly become part of a much larger story.

A granite service memorial with two sculpted military helmets, wreaths and red rose bushes.
The Churchill Service Memorial is one of the walk’s 19 commentary points. Photograph: Damian Andrews.

Churchill was created during a remarkable period of regional growth. Expanding electricity generation brought employment, families and fresh energy into the Latrobe Valley. New streets were planned near the Strzelecki foothills, with open views across the surrounding landscape. The name Churchill arrived in 1965, giving the emerging community an identity that would soon become entirely its own.

As the walk continues, the story reaches further back.

Near Eel Hole Creek, two surviving pine trees mark the site of an earlier school. Eel Hole Creek State School opened in 1900, serving children from the surrounding farming district. Standing near those trees, it becomes easy to imagine the sound of voices across the grounds and the daily rhythm of families living on the land.

That connection between landscape and learning continues throughout Churchill. Education became part of the town’s character, carrying knowledge from the early rural school into a community shaped by opportunity, curiosity and the future.

The commemorative wall brings the story even closer. Its inscribed bricks recognise Churchill’s first families and the farming families whose land became part of the new town. You find names rather than distant dates. History becomes personal. Each brick represents someone who lived here, raised children, joined local groups and helped create the community around them.

Then the Cigar comes into view.

Unveiled in 1967 as a symbol for the planned town, it quickly gained the nickname that has stayed with it ever since. Distinctive and unmistakable, it carries the confidence and individuality of Churchill itself.

Churchill’s tall town symbol illuminated green against the night sky above the town centre.
Churchill’s town symbol, widely known as the Cigar, remains an unmistakable local landmark. Photograph: Damian Andrews.

Walking through Churchill creates space to slow down, listen and notice. The route is gentle, the stories are rich, and the landscape feels close at every step. By the time you return to where you began, the town no longer feels like a collection of streets.

It feels like a story you have walked through.

The Walk

Points of Interest

  1. INSIDE CAFE & PIZZA HQ
  2. SHOPPING CENTRES
  3. CHURCHILL PUBLIC HALL
  4. CHURCHILL SERVICE MEMORIAL
  5. CHURCHILL HUB
  6. CHURCHILL MURAL
  7. DARREN McLEAN MEMORIAL
  8. GIPPSLAND ENTERPRISE CENTRE & FORESTRY
  9. LATROBE LEISURE CENTRE - CHURCHILL
  10. O'HALLORAN & NORTHWAY - EEL HOLE CREEK
  11. CHURCHILL EXCHANGE
  12. LATROBE COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICE
  13. NEW SUBDIVISION
  14. CHURCHILL HOTEL
  15. JOHN FLYNN MEMORIAL
  16. EEL HOLE CREEK STATE SCHOOL
  17. CHURCHILL COMMEMORATIVE WALL
  18. CHURCHILL TOWN SYMBOL
  19. OUTSIDE CAFE & PIZZA HQ

Sources