The Reading Room (2pm in the Library for a start @ 10.30am – 12noon)
JULY SESSION
The discussion in July will not be on a pre-determined book but will be a readers choice format.
This event is a BMI Community Cultural Project – Ballarat’s Oldest Cultural Institution
Rosemary’s New Releases and Recommendations | Author Talks – Live Music – Public Talk – Film – Live Comedy – LIve Theatre | The digital version of the newsletter will be available here after 5.15pm today. The interactive PDF is available here.
Happy New Year to all our members and other subscribers and recipients of our newsletter. We are off to a flying start with all services resuming in January. Congratulations to all who won a prize in the Christmas raffle and thank you to everyone who purchased a ticket or two! Our book sale continues through January, with many shoppers picking up a bargain. Please let others know of this opportunity, it would be wonderful to not have to pack
The Piano Woman Rozzi Bazzani Reeling from the breakup of her ‘forever’ romance, writer Maddison Brown is trying to rebuild her life and get her successful career back on track. But when a letter arrives from an English lawyer telling her that she is to inherit a piano from a great grandmother she didn’t know exhisted, everything she’d ever believed about her life is turned upside down. Travelling to Kent to explore this unknown connection Maddison is forced to use all her
From the Heritage Collection Curator – Interview with ABC Radio Sydney | Nightlife – Tuesday 23 Dec 2025 at 10pm The Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute, or BMI, is celebrating 165 years since its reading room first opened in December 1860. It’s the oldest surviving cultural institution in Ballarat and has an incredible story. From hosting Mark Twain, screening some of Australia’s earliest films, to inspiring inventors like Henry Sutton. Joining Nic Healey on Nightlife to share the rich history of this
Jerry Wong Concert review by Bronislaw Sozanski… As part of the Ballarat Organs and Fine Music Festival this January, Jerry Wong delivered an outstanding recital, performing on the historic 1913 Bechstein piano at the Ballarat Mechanics Institute. The natural contrasts of dark and light in the human experience formed the basis of the program, supported by an instrument from a time when pianos displayed greater variety of timbre across their range. The Godowsky transcription of JS Bach’s Andante from the
Feel the Spirits Tours BMI Patron Phil Roberts Last April, when introducing the three Twilight Talk speakers, I mentioned that Geraldine and I are members of the Feel the Spirits family, having toured in 2016 with Garry Snowden, his wife Marion and their Belgian friend Rene Degryse, a passionate battlefield guide. Geraldine & Phil Roberts on Tour These tours began in 2012, and the planned August 2026 tour will be their final one. There are still a few seats on
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
