Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute

The Great Aussie Road Trip: Heather Ewart in Conversation | NOW SOLD OUT.
2024-09-10 18:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | BMI – Minerva Space, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350
In conversation with Chloe Adams & Alli Sinclair

August 6

@

6:00 pm

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7:30 pm

$11.78

TBA

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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 upmarket Melbourne hotel. Tess is married and childless. Mary, unwed and pregnant. Over thirty minutes, Mary agrees to a life-altering pact: to hand over her child. One year earlier, Mary had arrived in the ruined port of Kure, where thousands of Australians had established an occupation of the Hiroshima prefecture. Among the rubble, she finds a surreal expat world of picnics, parties and uneasy privilege, while the local population struggles to rebuild. There she meets Sullivan “Sully” Darling, an Australian journalist. What begins as a weekend trip to the mountains turns into a love affair —one that forces Mary to confront her ideals about the war, the Allies’ legacy and herself. Back in Australia, the echoes of occupation linger, as Mary fights to reclaim her place —and her child —in a society determined to possess her. For fans of Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn, Kristin Hannah and Sarah Winman, The Occupation is a tender, beautifully told novel about love, legacy and the quiet aftershocks of history.

When violin virtuoso Laura Hartley’s priceless instrument is stolen, her celebrated European career collapses — and with it, her rare gift of seeing music in colour. Fleeingto her grandmother’s home in the Australian outback, Laura discovers anextraordinary legacy woven through sheets of music: a powerful symphony born fromthe revolutionary hearts of suffragettes who refused to be silenced, their voices risingabove the doomed decks of the Titanic. As she traces each note of this forgotten masterpiece, Laura uncovers a story of women who dared to fight for a world where every voice could be heard. And when scandal rocks the town of Gungderring, she must decide: will she stay in thewings, or step forward and fight?

About the authors

Chloe Adams

Alli Sinclair

Chloe Adams is the winner of the Penguin Literary Prize 2024. She is a journalist and fiction writer and has been published widely by Australian news mastheads and literary journals. She holds a master’s degree in Creative Writing and a Graduate Certificate of International and Community Development.

2025 Bestselling, multi-award-winning author Alli Sinclair uncovers little-known historical events through the eyes of women who defied society’s expectations. A global adventurer, she transports readers on journeys of discovery across continents and eras. When not writing, Alli runs the annual Writers at Sea retreat and crafts narratives for screen as a film and TV producer and screenwriter.

$11.78 per person includes booking fee & gst, also includes light refreshment. All proceeds go to the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to support the staging of our author events. Book on-line or contact Rosemary at the Libary via email library@ballaratmi.org.au or phone (03) 5331 3042

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This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work, learn and create. Always Was, Always Will Be, Aboriginal Land.

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Day Tour of the BMI | Victorian Seniors Festival | Tour 1
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Day Tour of the BMI | Victorian Seniors Festival | Tour 2
2024-10-04 12:30 - 13:30 | Lending Library, Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, Victoria, 3350, Australia

Day Tour of the BMI | Victorian Seniors Festival | Tour 3
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Twilight Talks 2024, Season 3 | Discovering the lost men of Fromelles & Ballarat Connections
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Twilight Talks 2024, Season 3 | Lights Everlasting: Australia's commemorative stained glass, Boer War to Vietnam
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In Conversation with Chris Hammer
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Twilight Talks 2024, Season 3 | Life So Full of Promise: vivid, compelling stories about Australia's lost generation.
2024-10-23 17:30 - 18:30 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour 1
2024-10-25 19:30 - 20:30 | The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour 2
2024-10-25 21:30 - 22:30 | The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

Fashion Parade Fundraiser | Vintage & Collectables
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In Conversation with Benjamin Stevenson
2024-10-30 18:00 - 20:00 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

Twilight Talks 2024, Season 4 | Uncovering the Past: The archaeology of a Goldrush city - identifying, protecting and managing Ballarat’s buried relics and ruins.
2024-11-06 17:30 - 18:30 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

In Conversation with Tea Cooper
2024-11-11 18:00 - 20:00 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

Open Garden & Devonshire Tea - BMI Fundraiser | Errard Hall
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Twilight Talks 2024, Season 4 | Uncovering the Past: How James became King
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Golf Day Fundraiser | Join Us at Snake Valley Golf Club
2024-11-22 11:30 - 15:30 | Snake Valley Golf Club, 341 Chepstowe Road, Snake Valley, Victoria, 3351, Australia

Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour 3
2024-11-23 19:30 - 20:30 | The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour 4
2024-11-23 21:30 - 22:30 | The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

Twilight Talks 2024, Season 4 | Uncovering the Past: Johnny Alloo... of Ballarat Notoriety
2024-11-27 17:30 - 18:30 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

Summer Book Sale | Stockpile for the holidays
2024-11-30 10:00 - 2024-12-01 14:00 | The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

In Conversation with Jane Cafarella
2025-02-18 18:00 - 19:30 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex
2025-02-25 18:00 - 20:00 | VIC

Twilight Talks 2025, Season 1, Special Event | Dancers on the Sea by Gabrielle Samson
2025-02-26 17:30 - 18:30 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

A BMI Fundraising Public Talk | The world in 2025 and beyond with Professor Geoffrey Blainey AC
2025-03-05 18:00 - 19:00 | VIC

Twilight Talks 2025, Season 1 | Ballarat's Changing Scene - Ballarat's Growth: Infrastructure Pressures
2025-03-12 17:30 - 18:30 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

Twilight Talks 2025, Season 1 | Ballarat's Changing Scene - Change in Ballarat's Car Industry
2025-03-19 17:30 - 18:30 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia

In Conversation with Charlotte McConaghy
2025-03-24 18:00 - 19:30 | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia
