Description

In its original conception, the Latrobe Valley city of Churchill was conceived as a joint project between the Housing Commission of Victoria (HCV) and the State Electricity Commission. Originally known as Hazelwood, it was the biggest new town project in Australia in the mid-1960s and aspired to cater to a population of 40,000.

The preliminary design for the new town was produced in the offices of famed modernist architect Best Overend. The sale of the land for the town was contentious and a foretaste of the corrupt land deals that led to the ultimate demise of the HCV two decades later.  

The town came under the aegis of the HCV's Chief Architect Grahame Shaw, who sought to apply best-practice planning to what became known as Churchill—a contentious new name given in honour of the British Prime Minister who died in early 1965.  

What's On

Join us for a two-hour tour of Churchill, visiting key points in Overend's and Shaw's plans for the town, as well as iconic aspects in its 62-year history.

This tour will cover key elements of the original plan, as well as the vision embraced by Shaw and the HCV prior to the restraints placed on the development when the SEC switched focus from coal to natural gas.

In Collaboration With:

• 

  David Nichols, Professor of Urban Planning, University of Melbourne

  Professor David Nichols is an internationally recognised expert on 20th century planning and built environment history. He has published on Churchill history and is the lead editor of the forthcoming book New Cities for Australia.