15/07/2025 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm $11.78 A colourful history of the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute and it’s people. By appointment only, (to organise a volunteer guide we require 24hrs notice). Group Tours: Group tours can also be accommodated on other days.
16/07/2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets Shift Irma Gold 'Unforgettable' - Nigel Featherstone. ‘Evocative, propulsive and heartbreaking, Shift is a novel that can change the way you think.’ – Rochelle Siemienowicz, Double Happiness ‘Seductive, superbly atmospheric and beautifully narrated with a painterly, cinemascope feel, Shift will make your heart race.’ – Niq Mhlongo, The City is Mine In the year of…
06/08/2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.78 TBA Get Tickets The Occupation A Woman's Voice Chloe Adams Alli Sinclair 'Assured, deft, sophisticated, Chloe Adams is the real deal' - Emily Bitto A sweeping romantic adventure based on true events of the women's liberation movement The Occupation | Chloe Adams In the autumn of 1949, two women convene in the parlour of an…
10/08/2025 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm $21 – $26.13 Get Tickets The Little Brass Band an award-winning Goldfields Region Brass Quintet . The Little Brass Band presents a selection of cool jazz and popular tunes. The Bar will be open and complimentary snacks. This is a fundraiser for the BMI. The first half is cool Jazz ranging from New Orleans classics to upbeat…
15/08/2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $8 – $11 NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK | The Secret History of Sharks with Professor John Long.
20/08/2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets The White Crow Michael Robotham She upholds the law. Her family breaks it. 'A twisty-turny, second-guessing great read with a killer ending' - Herald Sun for 'When You Are Mine' Michael Robotham Beloved character Police Constable Philomena McCarthy, from When You Are Mine, returns in a heart stopping thriller from the…
01/09/2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets High RiseGabriel Bergmoser 'An expertly executed shot of adrenaline' - Laura McCluskey'Grabs you by the throat and hurls you striaght into the action - Brutally good fun' - Michael Trant Bestselling author Gabriel Bergmoser returns with his most electrifying novel yet, High Rise – an adrenaline charged, heart-stopping, action-packed masterpiece that…
03/09/2025 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm $9.73 – $13.83 Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Ballarat's Henry Lawson, Unknown facts presented by Hedley Thomson The young Henry visited Ballarat, specifically to ‘bone up’ on the happenings at Eureka on Sunday 3rd December 1854; he proceeded to write numerous poems and prose pieces about the ‘battle’ and – more so…
04/09/2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm $11.78 Presented in Partnership with The Wheeler Centre September 4 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm $11.78 Minerva Space Get Tickets Image courtesy The Wheeler Centre The Eye of the Dragonfly: A Life Seeing the World Through Sport. by Tracey Lee Holmes With honesty and insight, Tracey Lee Holmes looks back on a pioneering career and…
06/09/2025 @ 10:00 am - 07/09/2025 @ 2:00 pm Free Lending Library Books priced from $1 - more for collectable items. Don't miss our book sale this weekend. Admission and parking are free (one hour on Saturday, all day Sunday). There are hundreds of books - some of which are in gently used condition and some in mint condition - and many start at a…
14/09/2025 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm $35 – $50 plus bkg. fee Minerva Space Get Tickets Take part in this important BMI fundraiser The BMI vintage & Pre-loved Shop are showcasing their wares Make time for a lovely get together. A glass of champagne on entry with music accompaniment: Fashion Parade Models will be displaying outfits from the shop. We are raising money for the…
17/09/2025 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm $9.73 – $13.83 Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Saving Dragons: The Life and Times of Russell Goldfield (Louey Yeung Man) Jack by Dianne Dempsey Russell Jack, the visionary founder of the internationally renowned Golden Dragon Museum, spent his life breaking barriers and preserving the history of the Chinese Australian community. Growing up…
Minerva's Secrets Night Tours
Tue 19 May with special visit to Lantern Vaults
Tour 1 at 7pm – Tour 2 at 9pm.
Remembrance Day:
A Surgeon Commander & A Leading Cook - Recent War Memoribilia
Wed 29 Oct & 5 Nov, 5.30pm.
Calling for Pre-loved books
These donation assist in our Library Fundraising Activities
We can take delivery during regular Library operating hours. See website footer.
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
Pre-Sale $60 from 6 Aug to 9 Aug - $65 thereafter
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
