Sunday sessions at Churchill Island

Enjoy this secret island off Phillip Island for a musical afternoon!

This summer Phillip Island is bringing back a local favourite, the Sunday Sessions at Churchill Island! A perfect way to spend the afternoon in the sun and lush greenery of this privately owned island.

About Churchill Island

This small island lies just off the coast of Phillip Island and holds a significance for Victoria’s European history. It was one of the very first sites in the state that Europeans settlement attempted agriculture in the 1850s. It is now one of the last heritage farms left, still operating as a traditional working farm. Visitors are welcome to Churchill, with the island becoming a tourist attraction in the 1990s, where visitors get the chance to wander the farm, seeing the animals, milk the cows, and shear the sheep. While here, guests can learn about the island’s as well as the region’s historical past.

Activities at Churchill Island

  • Sheep Shearing

    If you have ever worn a woollen clothing item, you’ll be conscious of how warm and soft wool is. The farm offers you to see the very beginnings of these outfits, with this traditional process in which a shearer will shave off the entire wool of the sheep. Domesticate sheep have been shorn since the dawn of civilization, and without it, would be weighed down by the wool overload. You can even join in on the shearing if you are lucky, getting a chance to remove a tuff or two while the professionals do the rest!

  • Whip Cracking

    Feel powerful as you learn how to make a deafening snap sound through the use of a whip. This is a traditional method to herd livestock and ride horses, slowly becoming an art form over the years, in various Germanic peoples of Bavaria, Alpine areas, Austria, and Hungary.

  • Animal Nursery Tour

    Enjoy a walk and talk about each of the farm’s animals! Feeding, petting and snapping photos of these cute creatures while you learn a bit more about each’s animal’s purpose and daily life.

Sunday Sessions

Churchill Island presents a range of local music amidst the lush greenery of the farm. The waters of Western Port bay, as well as the brilliant grassland, provides a spectacular backdrop to the music, with guests able to wander around the island while still listening to the live melody. There are six sessions, with the first beginning the first weekend of January. The line-up includes Maddy May, Nic Huigs, Dave Prideaux, Bern Carroll, Peter and Nicky Baird, Jorgia Holmes, Dan Lunn and Imogen Price. The event begins at 1 pm and runs until the sun starts to set around 8 pm.

Although entry is free, why not enjoy the rest of the island’s offerings? Joining in on the farm activities, exploring the picturesque gardens, and learning about the region at the National Trust heritage buildings. The Churchill Island Café even offers tapas crafted from Gippsland produce that is complemented perfectly with the local beers and wines of Victoria. So, you can enjoy a delicious dinner during the musical event!

Related article: How to Spend a Weekend at Phillip Island?