Exhibitions  

Exhibitions – whether temporary or permanent, small or large, object or text-based, static or multimedia, or a combination of the above – are a powerful way of engaging with the past and bringing a particular story to life. 

Way Back When specialises working with other creative and design experts in creating 2D and 3D displays using text, images, objects, multimedia and projection to provide a point of connection and engagement for audiences. See our gallery for more exhibition images.

St Columba’s College Heritage Discovery Centre
In 2022, St Columba’s College in Essendon – one of Melbourne’s oldest schools – celebrated its 125th anniversary. As part of the activities to mark this impressive milestone, Way Back When worked with the College to create a Heritage Discovery Centre named ‘The Heart of Columba’. The Centre showcases items from the school’s archives and provides an engaging space for members of the school community to learn more about the history of St Columba’s College, and the school’s many achievements in providing faith-centred education to young women in the northern suburbs of Melbourne for over a century.

Royal Children’s Hospital Historical Room & Gallery
Way Back When was pleased to help curate the new Historical Room at the Royal Children’s Hospital as part of the hospital’s 150th celebrations. The new RCH Historical Room & Gallery celebrates the hospital’s rich history and the many communities that make up the RCH. Displays include heritage textiles, photographs, objects and ephemera from the RCH Archives and Collections, which bring the hospital’s heritage alive for all to enjoy.

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Celebratory Installation
Way Back When worked with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) to celebrate its history and its incredible achievements in researching child health. The history of MCRI and some of its key research discoveries and global health impacts were explored via an installation installed in the foyer of the MCRI, in collaboration with designer Megan Atkins. The installation featured a thematic installation about three vaccines saving lives, including content aimed at engaging children, and profiles of key researchers and leaders at the MCRI over its history, as well as a permanent large-scale wall graphic presenting a timeline of the evolution of MCRI.

Emmy Monash Aged Care Presidents Lounge
Way Back When worked with Emmy Monash Aged Care to create a display for a permanent lounge space dedicated to the acknowledgement of its past presidents. The panels profile each of the past presidents of Emmy Monash, recognising and celebrating their contributions to the organisation, as well as tracing the major developments of each presidential era. The display in the lounge is permanent, and will be added to in future years.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade Exhibition
In September 2018, Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) celebrated two significant milestones: 35 years of women in operational service and 30 years of women firefighters. In recognition, Way Back When worked with the MFB to produce a touring exhibition featuring the stories and contributions of women in the MFB over its history. A series of short films were also produced in collaboration with Tiny Empire Collective. The exhibition was launched at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and is now travelling around Victoria. The exhibition and films are available online.

Writing the War: Melton WWI
Writing the War uses the stories of seven ordinary Australians to trace the experience of World War I through personal accounts. In 2015, as a curator at State Library Victoria, Lucy Bracey worked on this landmark exhibition, locating and interpreting letters, diaries and photographs. As well as being on display at SLV, over the past three years Writing the War has travelled to a dozen public libraries throughout Victoria. Each library displayed the exhibition alongside historic WWI material drawn from its own community.

Way Back When curated material gathered from private collections, historical societies and RSLs to add local content for the exhibition’s visit to the Melton district. Items on display include sheet music, postcards, photographs and badges. As well as these objects, a series of thematic panels explores the experience of war in the area. Writing the War was on display at CS Gallery in Caroline Springs from 18 April to 4 June 2018.

Bialik College 75th Anniversary Exhibition
Way Back When worked with staff at Bialik College to produce an exhibition to celebrate the school's 75th anniversary in June 2017. A Heritage Trail took visitors to various locations throughout the Auburn Road campus, for a thematic exploration of some of the key elements of the school's history. The project also involved the digitisation of some key items from the school's archival collection, the Laura Kipen Memorial Archive, and creation of an online archive via Victorian Collections, which is continuing to be developed.

The King David School History Project
The King David School was established after sections of Melbourne’s growing Jewish community recognised that there was a need for a Progressive Jewish day school to complement the existing Orthodox and Zionist Jewish day schools. In February 1978, the doors to The King David School opened and 45 eager students formed the inaugural year.  The aim of this project was to comprehensively capture the important history of the school and share it with the community through a panel exhibition which will be permanently displayed at the school.

Whitehorse City Council World War I Centenary Exhibition
Way Back When worked with Whitehorse City Council to develop material for its exhibition 'Australia Calls', examining the impact of World War I on the local community. The exhibition featured themed panels and audio documentaries created by Way Back When. It was held at the Box Hill Town Hall from 10 September to 14 October 2015. 

Bialik College 70th Anniversary Exhibition
2012 marked the 70th anniversary of the Bialik School in Drummond Street, Carlton. Then a kindergarten and Hebrew school, Bialik provided a style of Jewish education deeply rooted in Zionism, Hebrew and traditional Jewish culture. Named after the poet Chaim Nachman Bialik, the school was the vision of a dedicated group of founders who worked tirelessly to build this radical school to educate and serve the children in the thriving Jewish community based in and around Carlton in the 1930s and 1940s. The Bialik College story is one of foresight, dedication and community. Way Back When was commissioned to tell this story in a temporary exhibition that was on display at the school in June 2012. 

Brunswick Revisited: Projections from the Past
This exhibition explores Brunswick's early history using an impressive collection of glass slides and negatives collated in 1939. The exhibition looks at aspects of the history of Brunswick including industrial development, governance, sport and recreation as well as the growth and development of the city. Brunswick Revisited uses a combination of projection, light boxes and photographic displays to showcase this beautiful collection. In addition, there is a modern Brunswick photographic projection and soundscape which aims to address some of the gaps in the collection's history as well as inspiring audiences to consider what aspects of Brunswick they might want to preserve for future generations. Commissioned by Moreland City Council, the exhibition was on display during January and February 2012 at the Counihan Gallery in Brunswick. 

Old Rialto Building Interpretive Installation
The original Rialto building and its immediate neighbour, the Winfield building (originally the Wool Exchange), have been majestic features of the Collins Street landscape since they were constructed in the 1890s. Each of these heritage listed buildings has had a long and colourful history, mostly as commercial office spaces until they were joined together and transformed into a hotel in the 1980s.

This permanent installation located in one of the foyer areas in what is now the five star hotel, InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto, looks at the history of these two buildings and their journey from commercial hub to luxury hotel. A combination of six text panels, two illustrative window decals and two multimedia projections communicate the history of these two Melbourne landmarks. The exhibition is open to the public at 495 Collins Street (enter from the courtyard between the hotel and Rialto Towers).

Robert Blackwood Hall
The Robert Blackwood Hall is a well known feature of Monash University's Clayton campus. Many of us have seen concerts or perhaps graduated there. Some of us have even, in days further distant than we like to admit, performed in school concerts or speech nights at the iconic Monash hall. In 2011 Way Back When was approached by the management of Robert Blackwood Hall to research, write and produce a large permanent banner to celebrate 40 years of the Robert Blackwood Hall (RBH). While we had few words in which to tell the colourful story of the RBH, using a combination of narrative text and a visual timeline, the panel communicates how the RBH came to be, its architectural significance, its importance to the community and some of the events and performances that have been held there over the years. The banner is now on permanent display in the Robert Blackwood Hall.

Nationality Stateless, Destination Australia: JDC and the Australian Survivor Community
The story of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the role it played during the post-World War Two years in bringing Holocaust survivors from the displaced persons camps of Europe to a new future in Australia was told in this temporary exhibition, on display at the Jewish Museum of Australia in August 2008. This pivotal chapter in Australian Jewish history was explored through the stories of those whose lives were shaped by the tireless work of the JDC.

 A Digital Evolution: the Monash Museum of Computing History
Displaying almost 50 years of Australian computing history, the expanded and relocated Monash Museum of Computing History was opened by Museum Victoria chief executive officer Dr Patrick Greene in May 2005. The museum highlights the impact that computer technology has had on everyday life and how our use of it has changed. Monash's first computer, the 43-year-old Ferranti Sirius, forms the centrepiece of the museum. Also featured is a mini computer PDP9, the same model used at the Parkes Observatory during the moon landing in 1969. A chronology of computer usage, backed by a photographic timeline of current events and popular culture, explores how technology has developed from the 1950s. The museum is located on level two, B block, Monash University Caulfield campus and is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

80 MV: 80 Years of Maccabi Victoria
Maccabi Victoria is an important beacon of community, friendship and the competitive spirit. Over the past 80 years Maccabi has touched the lives of many and has strengthened the bonds of the Jewish community in Melbourne. To celebrate its 80 years of existence and contribution to community life, Maccabi Victoria sponsored an exhibition to tell its story. 80 MV is a decade-by-decade view of Maccabi Victoria that celebrates the development and rich history of organised Jewish sport in Victoria. The exhibition was on display at the Jewish Museum of Australia during March 2006 and then travelled around schools in the Melbourne area.

From Blacksmiths to Bachelors: a History of the Caulfield Campus
This project was commissioned by Monash University as part of the Back to Caulfield reunion in November 2005. The exhibition comprises eight panels that explore the history of the Caulfield site, from its origins as a technical school for boys in the 1920s, to its position today as a campus of Monash University. It is a journey from the blacksmith, carpentry and wheelwright courses of the small trade school, to the diplomas and degrees of an international university.

Using a combination of text, images and 3D objects, the exhibition brings to life aspects of the campus experience at different points in its history. Themes include the growth of the campus and its buildings, the student experience, and the development of the institution and pioneering disciplines. The exhibition is on permanent display on level two, B block, Monash University Caulfield campus. 

A Celebration of Life: a Tribute Exhibition
Often considered the greatest and most influential thinker in computer science in Australia, Professor Chris Wallace led a distinguished academic career and made an enormous contribution to research and scholarship in his field. This exhibition, commissioned by the Faculty of Information Technology and the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Monash University, honours the life and work of Professor Wallace, who passed away in 2004.

Featuring a selection of photographs, interactive components, and objects from his distinguished career, the exhibition also displayed a range of PhD theses supervised by Professor Wallace and personal items such as his own PhD thesis and a selection of published research papers. The exhibition was held at the CEMA Gallery in the Science, Technology, Research and Innovation Precinct (STRIP) at Monash University’s Clayton campus, during October and November 2004.