Heritage Rooms and Exhibitions

Williamstown Library is the home base for Hobsons Bay Libraries Heritage Collection. The library’s Heritage Room houses special collections and microform readers and features a regularly changing array of local history exhibitions.

A team of specialist staff is on hand to assist with your research on family and local history. You can submit a research enquiry online or email heritage@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au to make an appointment with a member of our experienced heritage team.

If you are interested in having an exhibition in our heritage room, please email heritage@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au.

Exhibitions

Current Exhibitions

Visit our Heritage Room and upstairs Gallery at Williamstown Library to view any of our current local history exhibitions, listed below. If you are interested in having an exhibition, please email heritage@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au.

Back From the Dead: a history of resuscitation and defibrillation

Exhibition runs until Tuesday 25 July.

When breathing and heartbeat stop, we are officially dead.  Yet with modern treatment, breathing and heartbeat can sometimes be restored – bringing the patient back from the dead! This informative exhibition shows the history of resuscitation and defibrillation (using electrical currents to restore normal heart rhythm), with a display some of equipment used in the past.

Items on display include Anne, a resuscitation mannequin, a demand resuscitator, training defibrillator and a timeline of the history or resuscitation and CPR.

Come along to find out how Australia has achieved world's best survival rate after resuscitation treatment! 

Williamstown Library

During opening hours

Back from the Dead is curated by St John Ambulance Historical Society.