Churchill, Australia, Australia
Year 1965 latitude: -37° 58' longitude: 145° 16' Period Initiator(s) Planning organization Housing Commission in the Parish of Hazelwood Nationality initiator(s) Designer(s) / Architect(s) Design organization Inhabitants 5,600 (1991) Target population 40,000 Town website Town related links Literature - None type of New Town: > scale of autonomy New-Town-in-Town Satellite New Town Company Town > client Private Corporation Public Corporation > policy Capital Decentralization Industrialization Resettlement Economic
Construction on Churchill, Victoria, began late 1964. The town is situated 158 km southeast from Melbourne at the foot of Strzelecki Ranges, overlooking the artificial Hazelwood pondage. Established by the Housing Commission in the Parish of Hazelwood, the town was to provide accommodation for worker families involved in the construction and maintenance of the Hazelwood Power Station. Still a plan the town was called Hazelwood, but before the first houses were finished, the government changed the name to Churchill in honour of the then just departed wartime leader Winston Churchill. The locals protested strongly, and the discussion even reappeared in 1987, but the name Churchill was kept. Churchill was envisaged to reach a population of 40,000 by the year 2000. The hierarchical plan included a centre with shopping mall, large department store, market, theatre, civic centre, cultural centre, hotels, and offices. The residential areas with houses all of brick and varied designs, were to be grouped around the centre so that people could walk through parks and under the main roads to the centre. Although Churchill today holds many facilities, among them a university, its potential was never unfold. The closure of a lingerie manufacturer employing 250 people and the privatisation of the power industry contributed to a negative development. The population peaked in the early 90s with 5,6000; now it is under 5000. There is a high unemployment level for people aged 15-24 (31, 8 %). However the university staff and students contribute to economic and social welfare. Churchill functions as a suburb, where people go to the larger nearby towns for shopping and entertainment. source: Marie Bruun Yde
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