It's known locally as the Big Cigar, but locals in the Victorian town of Churchill are taking action to ensure their town monument no longer appears on lists of Australia's big things.
The 32-metre-tall spire in Churchill, south-east of Melbourne, has carried the unofficial name for decades and there are varying stories surrounding its origin.
According to local urban legend, the monument was built as a tribute to the town's namesake, World War II British prime minister Winston Churchill, because he loved cigars.
But Churchill and District Community Association president Margaret Guthrie said that was "actually incorrect".
The spire was commissioned in 1967 by Victoria's Housing Commission when it was planned the town would house 40,000 residences to service an expected 20 or more power stations to be built in the Latrobe Valley.
The association successfully applied to Latrobe City Council to register the name "Churchill Town Symbol" on the Victorian Register of Geographic Names, in a bid to recognise the artistic value and origin of the monument.
What's in a name?
Ms Guthrie said she hoped more awareness of the monument would lift its profile and the association hoped the spire's lights would also be restored.
In modern times, cigars and cigarettes are not objects paid tribute to.
Across the mountain ranges, the Big Cigarette, formerly a chimney in a tobacco plant, was removed in Myrtleford.
Quit Victoria director Dr Sarah White welcomed the community push and said making sure people knew Churchill's town symbol was called just that – and not the Big Cigar – was important.
"I think it is a good move, we wouldn't honour asbestos in any way or tolerate anything that could be seen to be in adoration of asbestos and cigarettes have killed more people," Dr White said.
