Churchill was formerly known as Hazelwood, Victoria and began as a service centre for the Hazelwood Power Station and future replacement for Yallourn and Morwell townships.
Born in the Yallourn Hospital in Gippsland, Victoria, he lived his first five years in Moe after which his family moved to Vermont in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, where he attended Vermont Primary and Secondary Schools.
After further incumbencies in Yallourn and Parramatta he was the Head Master at Ballarat Church of England Grammar School for Boys until his appointment as Dean.
Operated by the Victorian Railways and successors, the line served the State Electricity Commission of Victoria operated Yallourn Power Station, open cut mine, and briquette factory complex; as well as the adjacent company town of Yallourn.