Established 1859
BALLAARAT
MECHANICS'
INSTITUTE
As we celebrate our Birthday
We must admire the effort and work of those before us, who have striven to ensure that we are in a position to meet the responsibilities of caretakers for this remarkable facility.
But we need your help.
Our Challenge
Like many organisations the BMI faces
significant increases in costs and competition for funding. With your help to underpin these unavoidable outlays we can continue to enhance our programming and our offering
to the wider community.
We thank you for your support.
Ballarat’s Independent Home of Arts, Culture, and Literature
Latest Events
As Ballarat’s independent home of Arts and Culture we host a wide range of events throughout the year! – Make sure you check out the BMI events calendar to see what we have coming up.
Latest news
Read up on the latest happenings at the BMI. From Library news and exhibitions to the latest word from board and staff.

Rosemary’s Book of the Week Kind of Sort of Maybe…but probably not by Imbi Neeme A charming, nostalgic, quirky, uplifting novel of people young and old finding their tribe, gaining courage to be themselves and perhaps falling in love, too. Librarian Phoebe Cotton lives with misophonia. The sound of other people crunching an apple, slurping their tea

As the summer of cricket is in full swing, we are featuring a photograph of the English cricket team outside of the iconic Craigs Royal Hotel in 1929. The English cricket team had travelled to Australia to play the Ashes series in 1928, ultimately retaining the honour across tests played in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane. In

We had a blast at the inaugural BMI Golf Day last December! Congrats to the day’s wonderful sponsors and winners @haymespaint We’d like to thank all the fabulous local business who sponsored a hole today and brought their A game, including @jelliscraigballarat, @rjbatteries, Clifford Bricks & Transport, @colliersballarat, @nevettslawyers, Butler, MOR Accountants, and Snake Vallery Golf

In this issue: Rosemary’s Library New Releases and Recommendations | Message from the Chair | BMI Fundraiser | Author Talks | Ballarat Heritage Festival | From the curator | Twilight Talks | 165 Birthday Annual Appeal | Vegas 70
Venue Hire
The BMI has a number of beautiful spaces that are available for hire. With reasonable ‘pay-for-what-you-need’ pricing, stunning heritage architecture, and modern facilities, it is the perfect place for your next event.
Membership
Invest in the Ballarat community by becoming a BMI member. Membership to the organisation allows you to borrow books from the lending library, as well as discounts to BMI events and other perks.
Our History
John B. Humffray arrived in Melbourne on the 19th of September 1853 on the Star of the East and had found himself in Ballaarat by 1854.
Because of the conditions he had seen on the goldfields he formed the Reform League to advocate for better conditions and treatment of the diggers by Government Officials. He was elected unopposed as an M.L.C. in 1855 and was elected as an M.L.A. in 1856 for North Grant.
Humffray was elected as President of the Committee of Management of the Mechanics Institute in May of 1859 when the reading room was established at the Ballarat Fire Brigade in Barkly Street. His term of office was interrupted by his Parliamentary duties so was succeeded by Andrew Anderson in 1860.





