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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. 
 
There will be no December meeting.
 
Expression of Interest to participate >

For more information go to

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Past the Shallows | Favel Parrett

NOVEMBER SESSION

Past the Shallows | Favel Parrett

Brothers Joe, Harry and Miles live with their father, an abalone fisherman, on the south-east coast of Tasmania. Everyday their dad battles the unpredictable ocean to make a living. He is a hard man, a bitter drinker who harbours a devastating secret that is destroying him. 

Unlike Joe, Harry and Miles are too young to leave home and so are forced to live under the dark cloud of their father’s mood, trying to stay as invisible as possible whenever he is home. Harry, the youngest, is the most vulnerable and it seems he bears the brunt of his father’s anger…

This event is a BMI Community Art Project – Ballarat’s Oldest Cultural Institution

Book cover The Marriage Trap by Victoria Purman promotional image

Rosemary’s Book of the Week

The Marriage Trap Victoria Purman Don’t miss Victoria who will be in conversation with radio presenter Prue Bentley at the BMI on Monday 11 May at 6pm In 1960s Australia, the scent of freedom is in the air… From bestselling Australian author, comes the story of a mother and her two daughters, set in the tumultuous extraordinary decade of the 1960s. A time of great change; the effects of the pill, rebellion and new ideas on ordinary Australian women… as, alongside

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Lantern Vaults art installation poster featuring illuminated hanging lantern

Newsletter – May 2026

Rosemary’s New Releases and Recommendations | Author Talks – Live Music – Film – LIve Theatre – Twilight Talks – Message from the Chair – Ballarat Heritage Festival

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Book cover featuring three children riding bicycles in 1950s

Rosemary’s Book of the Week

Dickie Larsen’s Pumpkin and other stories Geoff Carr The 2026 Twilight Talks event proudly sponsored by Community Bank Buninyong and Bendigo Bank. Don’t miss Geoff at the BMI on Wednesday 29 April at 5.30pm Spike is a young boy in 1950s Australia, surrounded by sprawling landscapes and a menagerie of animals. Together with his friends Leany and Riddy, they do what all young boys in the bush make their own fun. From chooks in outhouses, exploding trees and rats at the

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A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | May 2026

Welcome to another jam packed Newsletter! I hope some of you have been able to attend the first couple of Twilight Talks for the year on April 15 featuring Hedley Thomson and April 22nd with Amethyst May & Gary Snowden as a duo. These events were very well attended, thanks to our speakers for entertaining and educating in this series, thanks to Community Bank Buninyong for their sponsorship again this year and our Patron Phil Roberts for his efforts in

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