September 14 @ 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm Free – $5 – $5 Get Tickets Stage Ready - Industry Conversations: Venue & Industry Leadership What does it take to run a venue, build a crew and create opportunities in Ballarat's live events industry? Behind the scenes magic — crew members prepare the stage for an upcoming production in this historic theatre space. Join Stage Ready for…
September 16 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm $9 – $13 Humffray Room Get Tickets A Brief, Selected History ‘Herstory’ of Nursing at Ballarat Base Hospital - Over the years. Speakers: Emeritus Professor Margaret Bennett AM Sarah Birtles Shirley Jones Topic Synopsis: The 'herstory' of nursing at BBH, now Grampians Health, reflects changing times in Victoria. After looking at what is a nurse in 2026, we…
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…
October 1 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.00 Humffray Room Get Tickets Tell Me Something True Michael Robotham MICHAEL IS COMING HOME: This is his 20th novel, but the 1st to be set in Australia. This is a once-in-a-lifetime publishing event for a book destined to enter the Australian canon as a classic. The astonishing, emotional epic from Michael Robotham: a mystery, a coming-of-age…
October 5 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.00 Humffray Room Get Tickets When Sullivan Met Lola Monica McInerney Monica will be in conversation with radio presenter Mary Card The eagerly awaited new novel by beloved Australian author Monica McInerney. Lola Quinlan is eighty-six. If her time on earth is running out, she’s not leaving quietly. Against the wishes of her family in South…
October 7 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm $9 – $13 Humffray Room Get Tickets The Importance of Ballarat East Speaker: Doug Bradby Topic Synopsis: In the period 1832-1850 the Chartists of Britain tried and failed to extend Democracy to all male citizens. In the 1850‘s the Chartists of Ballarat succeeded. This talk will explore how the diggers of Ballarat obtained economic power, how they converted…
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
Sunday 6 September at 2pm - Cost $65
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.
