The Williamstown Town Hall ballroom will open to the public for a single day this Sunday, 26 July, and it will fill with the sound of a live orchestra. The 99-year-old hall, rarely accessible outside of council functions and private bookings, will host free guided and self-guided tours alongside performances by the Inner West Symphony Orchestra as part of Open House Melbourne.
The opening arrives exactly one year before the ballroom marks its centenary in 2027. Built between 1926 and 1927, the grand ballroom has anchored Williamstown’s civic and cultural life for almost a century. The adjoining municipal offices and council chambers are even older, dating to 1919, when the suburb was already a busy port town shaped by the Gold Rush era.
“The Williamstown Town Hall is one of our most historic and important buildings,” Hobsons Bay Mayor Diana Grima said. “Music has always been an important part of the history of the ballroom.” The symphony performances on Sunday will be held inside the hall, giving visitors a chance to hear the space as it sounded when the ballroom first opened, before cinema, amplification, and decades of use changed the way the room is experienced.
The Town Hall is the centrepiece of a wider Hobsons Bay heritage program running across the Open House weekend. Guided walking tours of Williamstown’s historic public houses will run on 24 and 26 July, led by heritage consultants Michelle Bashta and Caitlin Mitropoulos of Extent Heritage. Those tours take in pubs that have stood since the 19th century, when the suburb was a working harbour town. The Substation in Newport, the Altona Treatment Plant, and Monomeith (the former Williamstown Grammar School) will also open on overlapping days.
If you want to see the ballroom before the centenary crowds arrive next year, Sunday is your only chance. The one-day format means spaces on guided tours are limited, and peak hours will fill quickly. Drop-in self-guided entry is available, but anyone set on a structured tour should arrive early or confirm details through hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/openhouse.
The Williamstown Town Hall sits a short walk from Williamstown railway station on the Werribee line. Multiple bus routes service the Ferguson Street area, and the Hobsons Bay Visitor Information Centre is nearby. Parking close to the hall is scarce, so public transport is the better option. While you are in the area, the historic pubs featured in the walking tours offer food and a cold beer, and the other Open House venues give you a practical way to turn a single visit into a full Sunday itinerary.
The ballroom turns 100 in 2027, but for one afternoon this July, it will feel like a preview of everything the council intends to celebrate. No formal speeches, no black-tie dinner. Just a 99-year-old floor, a live orchestra, and the doors open wide.
Quick Facts
Hobsons Bay City Council
Local government authority responsible for the City of Hobsons Bay in Melbourne’s western suburbs, including Williamstown. It manages community services, planning, heritage preservation, and events such as Open House participation.