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The Reading Room (2pm in the Library for a start @ 2.30pm – 4pm)

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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JANUARY SESSION

The Dictionary of Lost Words Pip Williams

In 1901, the word bondmaid was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.

Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.

Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, she sees a slip containing the word bondmaid flutter to the floor unclaimed. Esme seizes the word and hides  it in an old wooden trunk that belongs to her friend, Lizzie,  a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world.

Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women’s experiences often go unrecorded. She begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.

Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative,  hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It’s a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape our experience of the world…

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

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Rosemary’s Book of the Week

My Name is Emilia del Valle Isabel Allende Abandoned at birth by her Chilean aristocrat father, Emilia comes of age in nineteenth-century San Francisco as an independent and fiercely ambitious young woman, decades ahead of her time. She will do whatever it takes to pursue her life’s passion for writing, even if it means pubishing under a man’s name. Landing a position as a journalist for the Daily Examiner, Emilia soon sets sale for Chile,where she’s tasked with covering a brewing

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Rosemary’s Book of the Week

Irma Gold. Shift In the year of the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter – which outlined the principles of democracy and freedom in South Africa – comes a novel set in the township where it was signed. Shift asks us to examine both the world around us…and ourselves. Arlie is a moderately successful thirty-something photographer who can’t seem to get his shit together. He can’t hold onto a girlfriend, or much else, and his relationship with his parents is complicated. His

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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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Raise a Glass for Brass

The Little Brass Band BMI Fundraiser

Sun 10 August at 2pm

portrait of author with book cover

Australian Heritage Festival

Natasha Lester in conversation

1 May at 6pm

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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 

Dame Nellie Melba Birthday Celebration

  Performance – 18 May.

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. 

Tracey Lee Holmes: A Life Through Sport

Thu 4 September at 6pm

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

Ballart Seniors Festival 

Celebrate at the BMI.

 October 2025

Ballarat Pride Month

Events at BMI

The Month of June 

Ballarat Winter Festival

Events at BMI

5 July – 27 July 

 Coming in September

Gabriel Bergmoser, Tracey Lee Holmes, Chrissie Bellbrae, Paula Gleeson.

with Michael Robotham

 Wed 20 August at 6pm

BMI Fundraiser

Featuring:
The Hideaways,
The Harmonies &
Surf Shadows. 

2 course dinner & lots
of dancing