September 3 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm $10.00 Minerva Space Get tickets Angry. Grateful. Still Alive. Kate Gale A book launch for Angry. Grateful. Still Alive., the powerful memoir by Ballarat local Kate Gale. Through honesty, resilience and hope, Kate shares her journey from a breast cancer diagnosis at just 27 through multiple cancer diagnoses to becoming a passionate advocate, speaker and author.…
September 5 @ 10:00 am - September 6 @ 2:00 pm Free Books priced from $5 - more for collectable items. Discover your next great read at The BMI Library Book Sale! Browse an incredible selection of titles at unbeatable prices. Don't miss our book sale this weekend. Admission and parking are free (one hour on Saturday, all day Sunday). There are hundreds of books - some…
September 6 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm $60 – $65 Get Tickets Take part in this important BMI fundraiser The BMI vintage & Pre-loved Shop are showcasing their wares Make time for a lovely get together. A glass of champagne on entry with music accompaniment: Fashion Parade Once again our beautiful models will be displaying outfits from the Vintage shop, we hope you can join…
September 9 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Free – $12 – $12 Lending Library, ground floor These classes offer simple, practical methods to improve the quality of our life and develop inner peace through meditation and Buddhist teachings. The in-person setting fosters a supportive community and offers real-time interaction with the teacher for personalized guidance. Classes include guided meditations and teachings to help us solve…
September 10 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm Minerva Room Māori Roadtrip Film The Māori celebration of New Year in July, marked by the rising of the stars in the Matariki constellation, is an occasion to mourn the deceased, celebrate the present, and prepare the ground for the coming year. While driving the length of New Zealand from hospital on the South…
September 16 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Free – $12 – $12 Lending Library, ground floor These classes offer simple, practical methods to improve the quality of our life and develop inner peace through meditation and Buddhist teachings. The in-person setting fosters a supportive community and offers real-time interaction with the teacher for personalized guidance. Classes include guided meditations and teachings to help us solve…
September 23 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.00 Humffray Room Get Tickets Things With Teeth By Moonlight: A Miscellany P.A. Swanborough Pam will be in conversation with Rebecca Fletcher Things With Teeth by Moonlight is an illustrated multi-genre collection of flash, micro-fiction and short stories covering loss, revenge, affection, and spending too much time in cafes. Human and other creatures in urban, forested,…
September 23 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Free – $12 – $12 Lending Library, ground floor These classes offer simple, practical methods to improve the quality of our life and develop inner peace through meditation and Buddhist teachings. The in-person setting fosters a supportive community and offers real-time interaction with the teacher for personalized guidance. Classes include guided meditations and teachings to help us solve…
September 26 @ 10:00 am - 6:00 pm $77 Weaving Magic Together September 26 @ 10:00 am - 6:00 pm $77 Minerva Space Get Tickets The Australian Wiccan Conference: Weaving Magic Together The AWC has run annually since 1984 for witches, occultists and pagans of all paths. It is a significant not-for-profit event for those involved in Wicca and Paganism in Australia, fostering a…
September 29 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.00 Humffray Room Get Tickets Styled Sally Mackinnon Sally will be in conversation with radio presenter Mary Card Personal stylist Sally Mackinnon, known to her almost 400K (Instagram & Facebook) community, brings STYLED — a warm, practical and refreshingly realistic guide to building personal style with confidence, clarity and ease. Drawing on nearly two decades of…
September 30 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm $9 – $13 Humffray Room Get Tickets Ideas of Love and Loss, Big Challenges and Small Victories. Speakers: Writer, Anne Connor Australian poet, Anne Gleeson Topic Synopsis: In this conversation, writer Anne Connor explores with Australian poet Anne Gleeson ideas of love and loss, big challenges and small victories, as revealed in her most recent poetry collections, Small…
September 30 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Free – $12 – $12 Lending Library, ground floor These classes offer simple, practical methods to improve the quality of our life and develop inner peace through meditation and Buddhist teachings. The in-person setting fosters a supportive community and offers real-time interaction with the teacher for personalized guidance. Classes include guided meditations and teachings to help us solve…
Trivia Night Fundraiser
26 August Doors open 6.45pm | Tickets also available at the door
$25 per person | $20 BMI members
Minerva's Secrets Night Tours
Tue 19 May with special visit to Lantern Vaults
Tour 1 at 7pm – Tour 2 at 9pm.
Calling for Pre-loved books
These donation assist in our Library Fundraising Activities
We can take delivery during regular Library operating hours. See website footer.
Coming in November…
Stella Day Out, Ballarat, Rachael Johns & Margaret Hickey
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
Pre-Sale $60 from 6 Aug to 9 Aug - $65 thereafter
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.
