[3] The building was formally opened on Armistice Day 1923 by Jewish-Australian civil engineer and Australian Army commander General Sir John Monash.

After World War II Maccabean Hall was employed for various uses, including migrants' English lessons, weddings, rallies, and commemorative events for Anzac soldiers and Holocaust victims.

[5][6][7] The museum library was originally created from the collection of books donated by the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors.

[8] The Resource Centre and Library comprises over 6,000 volumes, journals, and tapes, including over 2,500 personal testimonies of Holocaust survivors in Australia.

The collection provides materials for exhibitions and covers themes such as antisemitism, war crimes, the Holocaust in art and literature, and Australian Jewish history.