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…
October 7 @ 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 8 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm Minerva Room Dustbowl Folk Singer Elegy Folk legend Woody Guthrie, an extraordinary hard-driving, ‘truth-telling man’ from the Oklahoma Plains, who left the American mid-west Dust Bowl in the 1930s for the promise of California and on his journey became one of America’s most noted poet-folk singers. Guthrie, through years of travelling, penned more than 1000…
October 9 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm $40 – $49 Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute Get Tickets Telegraph Road — The Dire Straits Legacy. A celebration of the legendary British rock band known for their clean guitar tone, understated style, and poetic storytelling. "Matt Arthur, an expressive vocalist and blues guitarist from Central West NSW, leads The Lazybones—a five-piece group drawing on decades of musical experience. Following…
October 10 @ 2:15 pm - 4:15 pm $33.00 Doors open 1.45pm | 2.15pm show-time Get Tickets Royal Australian Navy 125th Anniversary Concert Fundraising event for Ballarat RSL and Ballarat Mechanics' Institute The Royal Australian Navy Band at HMAS Cerberus. Victoria Royal Australian Navy Wind Band The RAN Wind Band performs a wide variety of musical styles from traditional military marches and classical symphonic…
October 14 @ 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 21 @ 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 28 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm $9 – $13 Humffray Room Get Tickets The Light on the Hill: An Updated History of the Australian Labor Party. by Ross McMullin Speaker: Ross McMullin The Light on the Hill The Light on the Hill is Ross McMullin’s acclaimed commissioned history of the ALP. Hailed as a “classic”, it covers all states and the federal scene comprehensively…
October 28 @ 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 31 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm $27.50 – $33 Doors open 30min prior to show-time Get Tickets An Intimate Hour of Magic With Barry Govan, Magician Ballarat's own professional magician Barry Govan performs a show that will take you back over 100 years when world famous magicians such as the Wizard Jacobs, Max Malini, Harry Houdini and many others performed in Ballarat and Melbourne…
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.
