May 24 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm $7 Get tickets Heritage Conversations: A life in photos - John Gollings John Gollings | Photo: Heide Smith. As one of Australia's most influential architectural photographers, John Gollings has changed the way audiences see the built environment to reveal stories about its character and personality. From architecture […]
NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK | The Secret History of Sharks with Professor John Long.
August 16 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm $69.90 Get Tickets Live & intimate. Get ready Australia for a Night To Remember as Australian heartthob Craig McLachlan brings his unique & exciting Live & Intimate stage show to theatre’s and venues across Australia. Craig McLachlan – actor, singer, musician & songwriter from TV’s Ramsay Street […]
September 3 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm 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 […]
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 […]
September 17 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm 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 […]
September 24 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Gold! Gold! A comparison between the Ballarat & Bendigo Goldfields. An overview of the production of gold and its implications from the goldrush era of the 1850s up until today in both the Ballarat and Bendigo […]
October 29 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets A Surgeon Commander & A Leading Cook - Ballarat Connections to HMAS Sydney 2 in 1941 HMAS Sydney 2 Crew, 1934 It is nearly 84 years this November that the mighty pride of the Royal Australian […]
November 5 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Recent War Memorabilia – from WW2 to Afghanistan. Left to right - Australian Service Medal - Afghanistan Medal - International Force East Timor Medal - Australian Service Medal for Korea - Iraq Medal - Vietnam Medal.On […]
November 19 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Her Majesty's Renovation This talk will examine the recent renovation of Her Majesty's Theatre and explore the challenges, rewards and outcomes for the community that accompany transformational change to a treasured Heritage Building in the heart […]
November 26 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Ballarat Arts Foundation: 25 Years Old The Ballarat Arts Foundation (BAF) has been supporting the emerging artists of Ballarat for 25 years. The Foundation is completely community funded and supports artists from any genre, with an […]
January 28 @ 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm $25 Minerva Space Living with inner peace is not something we have to wait for. It is something we can actively cultivate every day. Our mind has incredible power. It can create stress and unease, or it can support a life filled with stability, joy, and meaning. In […]
Minerva's Secrets Night Tours
Night Tours
Fri 31 Oct – Sat 15 Nov
& Fri 12 Dec
Tour 1 at 7pm
Tour 2 at 9pm.
Linen & Lace Exhbition
Includes Devonshire Tea | $20
Sat & Sun 22, 23 Oct
10am-4pm
Remembrance Day:
A Surgeon Commander & A Leading Cook - Recent War Memoribilia
Wed 29 Oct & 5 Nov, 5.30pm.
Coming soon…
Rozzi Bazzani. Stella Day Out: Katia Ariel & Samah Sabawi, Rachael Johns
Coming soon…
Dianne Dempsey, Chrissie Bellbrae, Paula Gleeson, Rozzi Bazzani.
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 | $60
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
