
Newsletter – April 2026
Rosemary’s New Releases and Recommendations | Author Talks – Live Music – Film – LIve Theatre – Twilight Talks
When local Clunes resident Leslie Scott discovers two brumbies living on the rugged Mount Beckworth, she almost can’t believe it. Brumbies don’t live in Central Victoria, and the terrain is not suited to them, so how did they get there?
The horses are scared and unused to people, but the mountain is not a safe place for horses. With summer heat on its way, the waterholes are drying up and food is getting scarce – and local rumour has it that logging is soon to begin. Looking into the eyes of the young colt she names Milo, Leslie knows it’s up to her to gain their trust and get them down to safety.
‘Every day for months Leslie makes the hike up the mountain, slowly but surely building a connection with Milo and his companion Lucy, but there are other mysterious things happening up there – bones being rearranged into different shapes – and always the question: who left the horses here in the first place?
Once Were Wild is a fascinating and heart-warming story about a woman and her resourcefulness and determination to do what’s right for two beautiful brumbies.
Leslie Scott’s love for horses and the bush began when she got her first pony at age 6. Her father, an experienced bushman taught her to listen, appreciate and be able to read the bush. When Leslie can’t get to the high country, she immerses herself in the rugged terrain of Mt Beckworth, a nature reserve seven minutes from her front gate. Leslie lives on a small property with her husband in historical Clunes, rural Victoria. They have a menagerie of animals. In her spare time she’s either riding her horses in the bush or hiking through it with her dog. For Leslie the bush is not just a place to visit – it’s her home.
This event is a BMI Community Cultural Project – Ballarat’s Oldest Cultural Institution

Rosemary’s New Releases and Recommendations | Author Talks – Live Music – Film – LIve Theatre – Twilight Talks

What The Bones Know Kirstyn McDermott A child’s bones, a lost girl, a mind adrift – sometimes what is lost comes back to haunt you…from an award-winning author comes a contemporary gothic tale of guilt, grief and redemption. In the village of Kiln Creek in the Victorian Highlands, a ghost gum falls in a storm.
The BMI certainly had a busy and productive 2025/2026 financial year, filled with so much generosity of spirit, innovative thinking, positive action and energy that would be the envy of any For Profit business. Of course there have been challenges, but as has been the case for 166 years, these challenges have been seen as

Letter from Provence: A memoir Sheryle Bagwell Australian journalist Sheryle Bagwell’s move to Provence is enlivened by the discovery of a book of seventeenth-century letters. After buying an ancient stone house in Provence, Australian journalist Sheryle Bagwell finds in her attic an old edition of selected letters by the seventeenth-century French noblewoman Madame de Sévigné,

Stella Prize The 2026 Stella Prize Longlist presents another twelve exceptional works by Australian women and non-binary writers. Spanning poetry, memoir, fiction, non-fiction and graphic works, the 2026 longlist presents themes that explore the transformative power of memory, truth and the intrinsic beauty of creative fiction. This year Stella received 212 entries. In the coming weeks, this list will be

The Romanov Secret Chrissie Bellbrae Don’t miss Chrissie at the BMI on Tuesday 24 March at 6pm A priceless Fabergé jewel. An empire on the brink of revolution. A love to dangerous to reveal. A celebrated artist’s painting holds clues to long-held family secrets and lives under threat, long after the fall of the Russian
Minerva's Secrets Night Tours
Night Tours
Fri 31 Oct – Sat 15 Nov
& Fri 12 Dec
Tour 1 at 7pm
Tour 2 at 9pm.
Linen & Lace Exhbition
Includes Devonshire Tea | $20
Sat & Sun 22, 23 Oct
10am-4pm
Remembrance Day:
A Surgeon Commander & A Leading Cook - Recent War Memoribilia
Wed 29 Oct & 5 Nov, 5.30pm.
Coming soon…
Rozzi Bazzani. Stella Day Out: Katia Ariel & Samah Sabawi, Rachael Johns
Coming soon…
Dianne Dempsey, Chrissie Bellbrae, Paula Gleeson, Rozzi Bazzani.
Coming in November…
Stella Day Out, Ballarat, Rachael Johns & Margaret Hickey
Australian Heritage Festival
Minerva's Secrets
25 April – Tour 1 at 7.30pm – fully booked
Tour 2 at 9.30pm – still tickets.
Spring Season, History Talks:
Ballarat's Henry Lawson - The Dragon's Den - Gold! Gold! Gold!
Wed 3, 17 & 24 September, 5.30pm.
Bubbly on arrival & Featuring quality items from our Vintage Shop | $60
The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 2026 Calendar
Featuring illustrations from our Heritage Book Collection $40
Your gift will be tax-deductible this financial year if you make it before June 30.
Like many organisations the BMI faces significant funding challenges.
2 course dinner & lots
of dancing