Goya Dmytryshchak
King William’s Town, the original capital of Victoria today known as Williamstown, will be on show as part of the National Trust’s Australian Heritage Festival from April 18 to May 2.
A Heritage Hobsons Bay program has been released, celebrating the municipality’s rich history with talks, tours, exhibitions, open days and events.
On May 17, 1919, thousands gathered outside Williamstown Town Hall to witness a historic moment when Williamstown was declared a city by the State Governor, Sir Arthur Stanley.
More than a century later, the Little Projector Company will host the Williamstown Centenary Projector Tour on April 24 and 25, visiting surrounding streets.
During the evening walks, historic images will be projected onto buildings to give a sense of how the area felt in the past.
Williamstown artist Daryl Fox will give people a glimpse of the past as seen through the eyes of fictitious boy, Little Willy, in an exhibition at Seaworks.
‘A haunting journey through time’ features historically-accurate paintings of Williamstown scenes and runs from April 18 to May 2.
The 157-year history of Williamstown Football Club will be revealed at the club’s Seaview Event Centre.
There will be a display of memorabilia and photos, with guided tours of the clubrooms revealing historic records and murals, from April 18 to 22.
Criminal barrister and author Benjamin Lindner will present a forensic history of how Waltzing Matilda became Australia’s accidental anthem.
The song that started as an accidental collaboration in outback Queensland in 1895 caused the death of a seven-year relationship and went on to inspire a nation during World War 2.
The event is on May 18 at Altona Library.
Williamstown Town Hall will play host to The Sounds of Silent, a five-piece live band that recreates the movie-going experience of the silent movie era when many bands performed in theatres to accompany films.
The band will play to Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman, which was added to the National Film Registry, on April 22.
Hobsons Bay’s more recent history will be celebrated with tours aboard the Sea Shepherd Australia’s retired flagship vessel, the Steve Irwin.
After some deliberation about Sea Shepherd’s “controversial” anti-whaling tactics, the ship berthed at Williamstown since 2012 was last year granted heritage listing on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels.
‘The Steve’, which has been repurposed by not-for-profit Ship4Good, will host tours and movies from April 18 to May 2.
Hobsons Bay mayor Jonathon Marsden said the Heritage Hobsons Bay program encouraged local creatives, producers, volunteers and historians to activate the city and showcase the area’s rich history.
“Hobsons Bay has such a fascinating and unique history, with colonial townships layered upon the sites of ancient First Nations settlements,” he said.
“The Heritage Hobsons Bay program is brilliant and I hope it will inspire everyone’s curiosity to discover the courage, industry, perseverance and innovation of previous generations.
“Heritage Hobsons Bay not only encourages people to understand our shared history but does it through interesting and engaging events, which will inspire visitors to explore, and people to find out more.”
For the full program and ticketing details, visit www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/heritagehobsonsbay
