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The Reading Room (This session will start at 1030am until the resumption of normal operating hours)

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 >

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The House by the Lake | Thomas Harding

FEBRUARY SESSION

The House by the Lake | Thomas Harding

In the summer of 1993, Thomas Harding travelled to Berlin with his grandmother to visit a small house by a lake. It was her ‘soul place’ she said – a sanctuary she had been forced to leave when the Nazis swept to power. The trip was a chance to see the house one last time, to remember it as it was. But the house had changed.

Twenty years later Thomas returned to Berlin. The house now stood empty, derelict, and soon to be demolished. A concrete footpath cut through the garden, marking where the Berlin Wall had stood for nearly three decades. Elsewhere were signs of what the house had once been – blue tiles showing behind wallpaper, phographs fallen between floorboards, flagstones covered in dirt. Evidence of five families who had made the house their home over a tumultuous century.

The House by the Lake is a groundbreaking work of history, revealing the story of Germany through the inhabitants of one small wooden building: a nobleman farmer, a prosperous Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, a widow and her children, a Stasi informant. Moving from the late nineteenth century to the present day, from the devastation of two world wars to the dividing and reuniting of a nation, it is a story of domestic joy and contentment, of terrible grief and tragedy, and of a hatred handed down through the generations. Breathtaking in scope, intimate in detail, it is the long-awaited new history from the author of the bestselling Hanns and Rudolf.

Review this title

Why not review this 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

Newsletter – July 2025

A Message from the Chair… | Rosemary’s New Releases and Recommendations | Author Talks – Exhibition – Film – Live Comedy – Live Music | Festivals

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Rosemary’s Book of the Week

Broke Road Matthew Spencer. From the bestselling author of Black River. This July sees the release of Broke Road. Perfect for fans of Jane Caro and Chris Hammer, this gripping mystery unravels a string of unexplained murders set against the haunting backdrop of the Hunter Valley. Broke Road was inspired by a conversation Matthew Spencer had with a forensic pathologist, exploring the complexities and chilling realities of what it would take to commit the perfect murder. A late-night phone call is never good

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A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2025

Important Dates Hi Folks I have a confession to make- I’m writing this note from a plane heading from Budapest to Nice and it is definitely warmer here. I tell you this not to boast but because as you can expect my husband and I are enjoying many cultural and heritage sites and buildings. Amongst these was the stunning Austrian National Library in Vienna. It just served to inspire and reiterate to me the precious nature of our Heritage Collection

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Rosemary’s Book of the Week

The Secret Year of Zara Holt Kimberley Freeman. Melbourne 1927 The summer flowers smell like Christmas the night Zara Dickins meets Harry Holt. It’s party season and the university crowd are celebrating end-of-year exams. Zara loves dancing with the boys and flirting with them, but it’s a game to her. Nothing serious. Until Harry. He plans to be a politician once he finishes law. She, a fashion designer, if she can find a way to break out of the secretarial pool.

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Rosemary’s Book of the Week

The Last Girl’s Cry Alison Belsham. Det Lexi Bennett is walking through the quiet Canterbury streets when she hearsscreaming. Rushing towards the sound, she finds the body of a teenage girl lying beneath one of the city’s ancient towers. Lexi looks up at the cold grey stone, and vows that she will find answers. Did the girl jump or fall…or pushed? Olivia’s distraught parents say their daughter was a talented musician with everything to live for Lexi’s nephew, Sam, who knew

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Book Launch | E. A. Gleeson – The Deepest Thing: A Poetic Memoir

In early May Anne Gleeson launched The Deepest Thing: A Poetic Memoir. The launch was a tremendous success as well evidenced by the photos. If you were interested in finding out more about this memoire under the penship of E A Gleeson, contact culturalservices@ballaratmi.org.au E A Gleeson Photos: Robert Rouse The Deepest Thing: A Poetic Memoir | E A Gleeson

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Tracey Lee Holmes: A Life Through Sport

Thu 4 September at 6pm

Dame Nellie Melba Birthday Celebration

  Performance – 18 May.

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The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 2025 Calendar

Featuring the BMI Image Collection | Now $20

Devonshire Tea & Fashion Parade

Bubbly on arrival & Featuring quality items from our Vintage Shop | $60

Christmas Holiday Closures | Library

Monday 23 December – Sunday 5 January

Dame Nellie Melba Birthday Celebration

  Performance – 18 May.

Australian Heritage Festival Events at the BMI

18 April to 18 May

Connections to War from a Ballarat Perspective

Wed 2-30 April, 5.30pm

Ballarat Heritage Festival Events at the BMI

16 to 25 May 

portrait of author with book cover

Australian Heritage Festival

Natasha Lester in conversation

1 May at 6pm

with Michael Robotham

 Wed 20 August at 6pm

guides dressed in period costum

Australian Heritage Festival

Minerva's Secrets

25 April – Tour 1 at 7.30pm – fully booked
Tour 2 at 9.30pm – still tickets. 

portrait of author with book cover

Australian Heritage Festival

Natasha Lester in conversation

1 May at 6pm

Ballarat Heritage Festival BMI Day Tours

Two tours  on 20 &  21 May 

 

with Nicole Alexander

28 May at 6pm

with Gail Holmes

 Wed 4 June at 6pm

with Kylie Ladd

 Wed 25 June at 6pm

Ballarat Pride Month

Events at BMI

The Month of June 

Ballarat Winter Festival

Events at BMI

5 July – 27 July 

BMI Fundraiser

Featuring:
The Hideaways,
The Harmonies &
Surf Shadows. 

2 course dinner & lots
of dancing