Library closure Saturday 4 July
30/06/2026
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The Library will be closed on Saturday 4 July and re-opening on Monday 6 July. Our apologies for any inconvenience.
The Reading Room (2pm in the Library for a start @ 10.30am – 12noon)
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.
Expression of Interest to participate >
For more information go to
JUNE SESSION
Here are forty texts to read at some stage in your life- forty texts that can enrich you in all manner of ways. Some are recent, like Harry Potter; some ancient, like Homer and Lao Tzu. There are memoirs (Nelson Mandela), poetry (Les Murray) and many of the world’s great novels, from George Eliot’s Middlemarch to Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Our guide, in entertaining short essays about personal encounters with each of these works, is Michael McGirr- schoolteacher and former priest, reviewer of hundreds of novels and lifelong lover of literature.
His humour and insight shine through in stories that connect the texts he has selected with each other, and connect us to them. Never prescriptive, and often very funny, this book is an invitation to reflect on-and share with others-the extraordinary gift of reading. ‘It is a gift that is taking me a lifetime to unwrap,? McGirr writes. ‘The excitement has never worn off.?
About the Author
Michael McGirr is the bestselling author of Snooze- The Lost Art of Sleep, Things You Get for Free and Bypass. He has reviewed almost one thousand books for various newspapers; his short fiction has appeared in Australian and overseas publications; and he has been a publisher of Eureka Street and fiction editor at Meanjin.
Review a title
Why not review a book for the benefit of our members. We will publish these reviews in our social media and website from time to time.
This event is a BMI Community Art Project – Ballarat’s Oldest Cultural Institution
NAIDOC Week
30/06/2026
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NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in
Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.
29/06/2026
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The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence,1940 Thrown out of occupied Paris by the Nazis, brave, beautiful Mathilde finds refuge with her cousin in Provence, where she’s soon drawn into the Resistance movement. Secrecy and subterfuge are her constant companions, where passions run high and betrayal is a continual threat. But Mathilde’s greatest pain and
A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026
24/06/2026
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Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests for financial assistance from many organisations, as the month of June draws to a close thus representing the End of the Financial Year for most businesses and indeed Not for Profits. For the BMI, we are already 2 months into our financial year and not
Newsletter – July 2026
24/06/2026
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Rosemary’s New Releases and Recommendations | Author Talks – Live Music – Film – LIve Theatre – Message from the Chair – fundraisers Digital version coming soon…
Rosemary’s Book of the Week | For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark
22/06/2026
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For All The Dead Girls Sherryl Clark Don’t miss Sherryl who will be in conversation with local fellow author Tracey Rolf who will be talking about Sherryl’s new book at BMI on Wednesday 1 July at 6pm Tough and gutsy PI Lou Alcott returns with a terrifyingly gritty new case that takes her deep into
