Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute

In Conversation with Paula McLean
2026-02-25 18:30 - 20:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | BMI – Humffray Room, 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia
In conversation with Chloe Adams & Alli Sinclair

August 6

@

6:00 pm

-

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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