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The Reading Room (2pm in the Library for a start @ 2.30pm – 4pm)

This volunteer run reading and discussion group meets monthly. It is anticipated that members will read the selected book prior to attendance.
If you would like to be a part of this group (free to BMI members) please complete the Expression of Interest. We welcome your feedback through this form as we progress this great new initiative. 
 
There will be no December meeting.
 
Expression of Interest to participate >

For more information go to

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Past the Shallows | Favel Parrett

NOVEMBER SESSION

Past the Shallows | Favel Parrett

Brothers Joe, Harry and Miles live with their father, an abalone fisherman, on the south-east coast of Tasmania. Everyday their dad battles the unpredictable ocean to make a living. He is a hard man, a bitter drinker who harbours a devastating secret that is destroying him. 

Unlike Joe, Harry and Miles are too young to leave home and so are forced to live under the dark cloud of their father’s mood, trying to stay as invisible as possible whenever he is home. Harry, the youngest, is the most vulnerable and it seems he bears the brunt of his father’s anger…

This event is a BMI Community Art Project – Ballarat’s Oldest Cultural Institution

Rosemary’s Book of the Week | 6 May 2024

Daddy’s Girl Josephine Cox. When heartbroken Sarah Quinn is left to care for her father and siblings after her mother dies, it’s hard to watch their loving dad, Fred, drift into drink and despair. With money tight, Sarah is determined to keep the family together. But they receive a shock when Fred Quinn announces he is to marry Mavis Swindel, the landlady of a boarding house on the edge of the moors. Mavis seems to offer the answer to the family’s

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Introducing Malcolm Roberts | Board Member, Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute

Introducing Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute Board Member, Malcolm Roberts. Malcolm Roberts is Ballarat born and educated. He has had a varied business career in hospitality, corporate management and senior management where he was responsible for delivering high levels of customer service.  Malcolm has a firm commitment and passion for the Ballarat community and the region, supporting local small businesses and understands their impact on the economy of our great city.  Malcolm sits on the Ballarat Arts Foundation and is a proud Alfredton

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Garry Disher at the BMI

We had a packed house in the Humffray Room for Garry Disher on Sunday. Garry proved a witty and articulate interviewee, and had the audience of over 80 rapt with tales of his literary career (being nominated for the Booker Prize); amusing anecdotes about readers who worry that the author “condones” the awful things his characters do; and an interesting discussion on the reappraisal of Crime Fiction, and how as a genre, it allows us to delve in to the

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Rosemary’s Book of the Week | 29 April 2024

What Happened to Nina? Dervla McTiernan. Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home. What happened to Nina? Nobody knows. Simon’s explanation about what happened in their last hours together doesn’t add up. Nina’s parents push the police for answers, and Simon’s parents rush to protect him. They hire expensive lawyers and a PR firm that quickly ramps up a

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Dervla McTiernan at the BMI | The Wheeler Centre | Ballarat Libraries

What a joy it was to have Dervla McTiernan welcomed by a packed house in the Minerva Space last night.  Thank you to Lauren, The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas, Julie Stevens and her team at Ballarat Libraries Lexie Jeuniewic, Collins Booksellers Ballarat on Lydiard, Geradine Christou & Marilyn Furness and her amazing team of volunteers as well as our Librarian, Rosemary McInerney and the BMI support staff. Most of all the enchantment that is Dervla McTiernan. I encourage

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BMI Fundraiser

Featuring:
The Hideaways,
The Harmonies &
Surf Shadows. 

2 course dinner & lots
of dancing