In Conversation with Clare Fletcher

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

‘Funny, warm, and real…. Cements Clare Fletcher’s position as queen of the Aussie country town romance. Long may she reign!’– Hayley ScrivenorThe highly anticipated spin-off from Five Bush Weddings will have readers falling in love with footy, fashion and fabulous 1960s flashbacks.Clare Fletcher’s latest instalment from the fictional – and all too familiar - regional […]

$10

From the Shadows by Gillian Gregory | Book Launch

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

What if staying with the man you love meant leaving everything behind? There is little joy for Eliza, the well-educated wife of a dissolute cavalry officer, living in the colony of New South Wales in the early 1830s. Charmed by the attentions of a handsome stockman, the tempestuous ex-convict, Martin Cash, she flees her loveless […]

Free

In Conversation with Gabriel Bergmoser

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

An isolated, empty ski resort in the off-season. A woman who doesn't want to be found. A man who may not be who he appears to be. A game of cat and mouse - with deadly consequences. On the run from a controlling husband and his underworld associates in Melbourne, Charlotte has adopted a new […]

$10

BMI Members Christmas Party with the Ballarat Singers

BMI - Humffray Room 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

Come along to help us welcome the festive season. We will be joined by the Ballarat Singers & The Little Brass Band for some joyous Caroling as well as a thank you to our volunteers and to congratulate our fundraisers. The Ballarat Singers The Little Brass Band This is a free event, it would be […]

Free

In Conversation with Elizabeth Coleman

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

Elizabeth Coleman Elizabeth Coleman is a renowned screenwriter who has written on every season of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries. She is also the author of the hit play Secret Bridesmaids’ Business and co-created the much-loved ABC drama Bed of Roses. Her first novel, Losing the Plot, came out through […]

$10

In Conversation with Lucas Jordan

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

‘The Chipilly Six were extraordinary men in extraordinary times. Lucas Jordan reveals a wider story of Australia’s Great War veterans as they battled a nation forgetting, a bitter Depression, another World War and beyond. This is a remarkable insight into a vanishing world’ — Bill Gammage, Emeritus Professor, Humanities Research Centre, ANU. On 9 August […]

$10

In Conversation with Imbi Neeme | This event has now been cancelled

Lending Library Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, Victoria, Australia

Kind of Sort of Maybe... but probably not by Imbi Neeme A charming, nostalgic, quirky, uplifting novel of people young and old finding their tribe, gaining courage to be themselves and perhaps falling in love, too.Kind of Sort of Maybe... but probably notLibrarian Phoebe Cotton lives with misophonia. The sound of other people crunching an […]

$10

In Conversation with Noel Braun

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

Felix Schmidt is backpacking on the Camino de Santiago when he meets the love of his life, the beautiful French Pascaline. He brings her back to Australia where he joins a new firm of management consultants. Deeply engrossed in he company’s growth, he neglects Pascaline. She believes his addiction has reduced him as a person, […]

$10

In Conversation with Leah Kaminsky & Kylie Ladd

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

Leah Kaminsky Leah is a physician and award-winning writer. Her debut novel, The Waiting Room, won the Voss Literary Prize. The Hollow Bones won both the Literary Fiction and Historical Fiction categories of the 2019 International Book Awards, and the 2019 American Book Fest’s Best Book Award for Literary Fiction. She is the author of […]

$10

In Conversation with Rita McInnes | Book Launch

BMI - Humffray Room 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

Wake the Dust by Rita McInnes Jane Harper (The Dry) meets Nick Cave in backroad noir and beyond. When burnt-out Aussie nurse and wannabe writer, Ella, flees her suffocating life in Melbourne for a housesitting assignment on a remote rural property, she is thrust into a brutal and unfamiliar landscape. Her budding friendship with Tom […]

Free
Christmas Holiday Closures | Library

Monday 23 December – Sunday 5 January

Devonshire Tea & Fashion Parade

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

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 2025 Calendar

Featuring the BMI Image Collection | $40

Tax Deductible 

Your gift will be tax-deductible this financial year if you make it before June 30.

We need
your help.

2024 End of Financial Year Appeal 

Or alternatively go to our Donations web page.

Our Challenge

Like many organisations the BMI faces significant funding challenges. 

We thank you for your support.

BMI Fundraiser

Featuring:
The Hideaways,
The Harmonies &
Surf Shadows. 

2 course dinner & lots
of dancing