May 17 @ 10:30 am - May 30 @ 4:00 pm Free MH 94 Coliseum Grenville Street, Ballarat Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895, the first screenings of this new technology of ‘moving pictures’ were held at the Mechanics’ Institute. By the 1970’s, cinema’s death was being heralded after […]
May 17 @ 10:30 am - May 30 @ 4:00 pm Free – $5 This event is part of the Ballarat Heritage Festival 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 […]
Meet Thursdays in the Humffray Room
The Reading Room This volunteer run reading and discussion group meets monthly, the last Monday of the month, in the Heritage Reading Room (subject to availability) . Members will select books to be discussed which will include fiction, non-fiction, poetry and short stories. If you would like to be a part of this group (free […]
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.
May 28 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm $10 Red Gifts in the Garden of Stones by Pam Swanborough Suspiciously long-lived matriarch Lizzie Coombe expects her one hundredth birthday to be memorable, But what comes after will never be forgotten by anyone in this close-knit Welsh community. Lizzie and her daughter Myfanway only remember old […]
May 29 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm $8 – $12 This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics' Institute, […]
May 22 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm These classes offer simple, practical methods to improve the quality of our life and develop inner peace through meditation and Buddhist teachings. Classes consist of two guided meditations and a teaching to help us solve our daily problems and find the lasting happiness we seek. Beginners welcome. […]
June 1 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am Join us for a glorious morning high tea and speeches to launch our first official Ballarat Pride Month! Dress in something that makes you feel fabulous! Pride Month (June) is the month where we celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual people. We take the time to […]
June 1 @ 10:00 am - June 2 @ 2:00 pm Free Books priced from $1 - more for collectable items. Image, artist impression only | Photo by | helloiamtugce Don't miss our book sale this weekend. Admission and parking are free. There are hundreds of books - some of which are in gently used […]
June 2 @ 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Come help us celebrate the opening weekend of Pride Month with the Pride Month Market at the Ballaarat Mechanic's Institute. With art and craft stalls, trash and treasure and second hand goods stalls as well as the awesome Trans And Gender Diverse Clothing Swap and A Queer […]
June 4 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm $10 Original Twin by Paula Gleeson Two sisters May and June couldn’t be more different. May is quiet, self-conscious withdrawn; June is boisterous, beautiful, magnetic...and missing. It’s been a year since June disappeared, a year of May waiting for her to turn up with an explanation of […]
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
