
About Once Were Wild:
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.
About Leslie
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 Book of the Week | Lest Angels Weep by Phillipa Nefri Clark
Lest Angels Weep Phillipa Nefri Clark Don’t miss Phillipa who will be in conversation with Kate Atkinson talking about Phillipa’s new book at BMI on 29 July at 6pm The new case is cold. Stone cold. Until another murder with striking similarities rocks a remote outback town. Detective Liz Moorland is desperate to get out of Melbourne. Away from the aftermath of shocking events surrounding her team and her father. The heat of the red dirt is a welcome distraction.

Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner
19 June – 22 June | As events are confirmed they will be listed HERE.


Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern
Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who will be in conversation with Paula Gleeson talking about Petronella’s new book at BMI on 20 July at 6pm An unputdownable thriller from the bestselling author of Six Minutes and The Last Trace. Every Time She Wakes is a taut, time-bending thriller about family, identity and defying fate. When careers counsellor Suze and her family are evacuated from their home during a bushfire emergency, she suddenly realises they’re being kidnapped. The van crashes

Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch
Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita who will be in conversation with Dellaram Vreeland talking about Benita’s new book at BMI on 15 July at 6pm Matrescence is a biological, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual transformation that can leave mothers without the language or support to make sense of who they are. Many feel disconnected or invisible, wondering: Who am I now? Is it normal to feel this way? Blending intimate memoir, eighteen real-life stories and years of coaching into