About

First walked by Bunurong/Boonwurrung Aboriginal people thousands of years before European arrival, Churchill Island (known in language as Moonar’mia) is located just off Phillip Island when first crossing the connection bridge at San Remo in the Bass Coast region of Victoria. Managed by Phillip Island Nature Parks the reserve covers 50.7 hectares and has an important place in the early European settlement in Victoria where the first European garden was established in 1801, complete with a crop of wheat and corn. Today, there are restored historic buildings from the 1860s and 1870s representing a traditional homestead along with a heritage garden set within established grounds and ancient Moonah trees.

The homestead and its adjoining cottages have been lovingly fitted with an extensive collection of furniture, decorative arts and domestic objects from the late 1800s on loan from the National Trust of Victoria. This collection helps tell the story of life on the land in a homestead largely used as a summer retreat by wealthy owners from the Amess family. Each of the sixteen rooms houses antiquities from a bygone era and is interpreted by volunteers dressed in period-costume on occasion.

Also as a historic working farm, visitors can experience ‘hands on’ farming demonstrations with sheep shearing, cow milking and working dog displays run every day except Christmas day - all included in the entry fee. Carriage rides operate during school holidays and special events, weather permitting. The working farm features historic agricultural machinery, implements and tools as well as farm engines and dairy equipment.

Arrival on the island is along a meandering roadway featuring the surrounding extensive wetlands of Western Port Bay, that leads visitors to an Information Centre and a licensed café with stunning views of the Marine National Park. The Island, its waters and the extensive tidal mudflats surrounding Churchill Island are listed under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. Two island walking tracks offer magnificent views and provide excellent bird viewing opportunities (Cape Barren Geese, Royal Spoonbills, Pied Oyster Catchers, Ibis, Seagulls, Herons and Pelicans). At certain points along the way visitors catch glimpses of Tortoise Head and French Island as the boardwalk circumnavigates the island.

Uniquely the entire island is listed with Heritage Victoria and the historic buildings are classified by the National Trust. Churchill Island is easily accessible by an all-vehicle bridge from Phillip Island.

Our collection

Churchill Island Heritage Collection (1978)

The collection of cultural objects, items and built-heritage form the basis for the historic tale of Churchill Island where in 1801, during a survey of Western Port Bay, Lieutenant James Grant came ashore and built a rudimentary cottage. His team went about clearing land and planting wheat and corn crops as well as fruit trees and vegetables, which formed the first known European garden in Victoria and was created using seeds provided by John Churchill.

The homestead that remains today, includes a 16-room house built by Samuel Amess who was a mayor of Melbourne and owner of the island in approximately 1872, along with original cottages and associated outbuildings constructed by John Rogers in the early 1860s. The collection has a modest archival resource of documents, maps, charts and drawings along with a series of photographs and film that represent different owners and different historic periods in the development of Churchill Island. These were - John and Sarah Rogers: 1854 to 1860 then 1866 to 1872; Pickersgill family: 1860 to 1866; Amess family: 1872 to 1929; Gerald Buckley: 1929 to 1935; Dr Harry Jenkins: 1936 to 1963; Margaret Campbell: 1963 to 1973; Alex Classou: 1973-1976; Public ownership: 1976 to the present.

Phillip Island Nature Parks employs an experienced Museum Curator to manage the collection, the museum spaces, the archive and the database. The curator has the support of a volunteer Archivist for the ongoing management of the documents and photographic records, as well as numerous skilled volunteers who at times provide guided interpretation of the museum spaces and the heritage gardens.

Themes: Shaping cultural and creative life