BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute - ECPv6.16.5.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Australia/Melbourne BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20240406T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20241005T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20250405T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20251004T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20260404T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20261003T160000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250620T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250620T220000 DTSTAMP:20250528T002458Z CREATED:20250527T010329Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250528T002458Z UID:65168-1750446000-1750456800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:'Next Fall'\, A Ballarat National Theatre Production DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/next-fall-bnt-1/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Ballarat National Theatre,Ballarat Pride,Theatre Production ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Next-Fall-Square-BMI-Event-Listing-v2.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Ballarat National Theatre":MAILTO:contact@bnt.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250621T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250621T170000 DTSTAMP:20250528T000716Z CREATED:20250527T020143Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250528T000716Z UID:65179-1750514400-1750525200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:'Next Fall'\, A Ballarat National Theatre Production DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/next-fall-bnt-3/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Ballarat National Theatre,Ballarat Pride,Theatre Production ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Next-Fall-Square-BMI-Event-Listing-v2.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Ballarat National Theatre":MAILTO:contact@bnt.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250621T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250621T220000 DTSTAMP:20250528T001222Z CREATED:20250527T015841Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250528T001222Z UID:65177-1750532400-1750543200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:'Next Fall'\, A Ballarat National Theatre Production DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/next-fall-bnt-4/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Ballarat National Theatre,Theatre Production ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Next-Fall-Square-BMI-Event-Listing-v2.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Ballarat National Theatre":MAILTO:contact@bnt.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250622T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250622T170000 DTSTAMP:20250527T235219Z CREATED:20250527T020353Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250527T235219Z UID:65181-1750600800-1750611600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:'Next Fall'\, A Ballarat National Theatre Production DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/next-fall-bnt-5/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Ballarat National Theatre,Ballarat Pride,Theatre Production ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Next-Fall-Square-BMI-Event-Listing-v2.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Ballarat National Theatre":MAILTO:contact@bnt.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250625T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250625T193000 DTSTAMP:20250624T020208Z CREATED:20250403T040834Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250624T020208Z UID:64256-1750874400-1750879800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In Conversation with Kylie Ladd | This event has now been CANCELLED DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kylie-ladd/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Fundraiser,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/kylie-ladd-promo-v2.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250625T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250625T200000 DTSTAMP:20250408T033736Z CREATED:20250408T033234Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250408T033736Z UID:64345-1750878000-1750881600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations for Relaxation DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-25-june/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Relaxation-Ballarat-promo-square.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250629T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250629T163000 DTSTAMP:20250527T234616Z CREATED:20250523T002017Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250527T234616Z UID:65094-1751205600-1751214600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:The Australian Barbra Streisand Show | Featuring Rachael Grace DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/australian-barbra-streisand-show/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Pride,BMI Produced Event,Live Music ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/babs-sq-promo.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250702T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250702T200000 DTSTAMP:20250408T033918Z CREATED:20250408T033759Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250408T033918Z UID:64354-1751482800-1751486400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations for Relaxation DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-2-july/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Relaxation-Ballarat-promo-square.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250704T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250704T190000 DTSTAMP:20250617T022343Z CREATED:20250617T020437Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250617T022343Z UID:65677-1751650200-1751655600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Margaret Schofield OAM | Memorial Grand Piano Unveiling DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/grand-piano-unveiling/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Community Partner,Royal South Street Society,Theatre Production ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/grand-piano-launch-for-post.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250708T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250708T150000 DTSTAMP:20250528T005150Z CREATED:20250317T032147Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250528T005150Z UID:62936-1751983200-1751986800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Day Tours of the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute | Ballarat Winter Festival 8 July DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/day-tours-ballarat-winter-festival-1/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Winter Festival,Festival,Fundraiser,Important Dates,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/BMI-woodcut_bags-low-res-1kb-e1703024949185.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250708T150000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250708T163000 DTSTAMP:20250707T030941Z CREATED:20250523T031147Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250707T030941Z UID:65105-1751986800-1751992200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Author Talk | J.S. Davidson 'Hunted' & 'Tethered' | Now CANCELLED DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/hunted-tethered-davidson/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Ballarat Winter Festival,Fundraiser,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sq-promos-davidson-h-t.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250708T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250708T193000 DTSTAMP:20250707T031118Z CREATED:20250527T041755Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250707T031118Z UID:65216-1751997600-1752003000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Author Talk | Ella Stone - 'Breakfast With You' | Now CANCELLED DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/ella-stone/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Ballarat Winter Festival,Fundraiser,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sq-promos-davidson-h-t3.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250709T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250709T193000 DTSTAMP:20250528T004045Z CREATED:20250527T060905Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250528T004045Z UID:65240-1752084000-1752089400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In Conversation with Matthew Spencer DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/matthew-spencer/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Ballarat Winter Festival,Fundraiser,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sq-promo-matthew-spencer.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250709T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250709T200000 DTSTAMP:20250408T035613Z CREATED:20250408T033940Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250408T035613Z UID:64356-1752087600-1752091200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations for A Clear Mind DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-9-july/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Clear-Mind-Urban-Ballarat-square-promo.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250710T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250710T210000 DTSTAMP:20250321T110608Z CREATED:20250212T025248Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250321T110608Z UID:61983-1752175800-1752181200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Film Society | Sweet As DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bfs-sweet-as/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Film Society,Externally Produced Event,Film ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sqaure-promo-bfs-update.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250711T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250711T210000 DTSTAMP:20250616T012211Z CREATED:20250526T023451Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250616T012211Z UID:65144-1752262200-1752267600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Andrew Hamilton | Jokes about the time I went to Prison DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/andrew-hamilton/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sq-promo-andrew-hamilton.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250715T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250715T150000 DTSTAMP:20250528T005007Z CREATED:20250527T053759Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250528T005007Z UID:65236-1752588000-1752591600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Day Tours of the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute | Ballarat Winter Festival 15 July DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/day-tours-ballarat-winter-festival-2/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Heritage Festival,Ballarat Winter Festival,Festival,Fundraiser,Important Dates,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/BMI-woodcut_bags-low-res-1kb-e1703024949185.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250716T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250716T193000 DTSTAMP:20250714T011514Z CREATED:20250604T015536Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250714T011514Z UID:65475-1752688800-1752694200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In Conversation with Irma Gold | This event has now been CANCELLED due to low ticket sales DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/irma-gold/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Ballarat Winter Festival,Fundraiser,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/irma-sq-promo.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250716T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250716T200000 DTSTAMP:20250408T035944Z CREATED:20250408T035652Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250408T035944Z UID:64363-1752692400-1752696000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations for A Clear Mind DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-16-july/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Clear-Mind-Urban-Ballarat-square-promo.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250718T123000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250718T153000 DTSTAMP:20250625T033649Z CREATED:20250625T032957Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250625T033649Z UID:65910-1752841800-1752852600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Freemasons Vocal Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-vocal-schedule-1/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos3.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250718T170000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250718T213000 DTSTAMP:20250625T032911Z CREATED:20240717T012721Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250625T032911Z UID:57382-1752858000-1752874200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Freemasons Vocal Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-vocal-schedule/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos3.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250719T100000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250719T213000 DTSTAMP:20250626T063216Z CREATED:20250624T031631Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250626T063216Z UID:65790-1752919200-1752960600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Freemasons Vocal Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-vocal-schedule-2/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos3.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250720T093000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250720T200000 DTSTAMP:20250626T063107Z CREATED:20250624T050147Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250626T063107Z UID:65830-1753003800-1753041600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Freemasons Vocal Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-vocal-schedule-3/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos3.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250721T091500 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250721T213000 DTSTAMP:20250626T063213Z CREATED:20250624T032442Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250626T063213Z UID:65793-1753089300-1753133400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Schimmel Pianoforte Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-pianoforte-schedule-1/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos2.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250722T091500 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250722T180000 DTSTAMP:20250626T063205Z CREATED:20250624T034613Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250626T063205Z UID:65803-1753175700-1753207200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Schimmel Pianoforte Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-pianoforte-schedule-2/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos2.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250723T091500 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250723T210000 DTSTAMP:20250626T063153Z CREATED:20250624T035330Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250626T063153Z UID:65806-1753262100-1753304400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Schimmel Pianoforte Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-pianoforte-schedule-3/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos2.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250723T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250723T200000 DTSTAMP:20250408T042633Z CREATED:20250408T042521Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250408T042633Z UID:64378-1753297200-1753300800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations for A Clear Mind DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-23-july/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Clear-Mind-Urban-Ballarat-square-promo.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250724T091500 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250724T163000 DTSTAMP:20250626T063134Z CREATED:20250624T035700Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250626T063134Z UID:65807-1753348500-1753374600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Schimmel Pianoforte Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-pianoforte-schedule-4/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos2.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250725T110000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250725T163000 DTSTAMP:20250626T063123Z CREATED:20250624T042305Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250626T063123Z UID:65813-1753441200-1753461000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Schimmel Pianoforte Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-pianoforte-schedule-5/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos2.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250726T091500 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250726T183000 DTSTAMP:20250626T062951Z CREATED:20250624T064136Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250626T062951Z UID:65868-1753521300-1753554600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Royal South Street Society | Schimmel Pianoforte Schedule DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n February 25\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n6:00 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n$10 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Humffray Room \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Outrageous Fortunes \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan & Lucy will be hosted in conversation by Dr. Meg Tasker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Adventures of Mary Fortune\, Crime-writer\, and Her Criminal Son \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Engrossingly illuminating and ultimately deeply moving' - John Connolly \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 'Mary Fortune's bold fictions electrified colonial Australia. But her own story\, pieced together by two tenacious literary detectives\, was best of all.' —Gideon Haigh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855\, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman\, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective’s Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years – but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms\, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about ‘unladylike’ subjects. When Mary died in 1911\, her identity was nearly lost. In Outrageous Fortunes\, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune’s astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her illegitimate son\, George. While Mary was writing crime\, George was committing it\, with convictions for theft and bank robbery. In their intertwined stories\, crime fiction meets true crime\, and Melbourne’s literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About the authors \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong\, examining the work of Mary Fortune. She has contributed chapters to The Routledge Companion to Australian Literature and The Unsocial Sociability of Women’s Life Writing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Megan Brown\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex’s books include Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab\, which won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award\, Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century and Saltwater in the Ink: Voices from the Australian Seas. She has a PhD from the University of Wales and is an honorary fellow at La Trobe University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lucy Sussex\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Host \n \n \n \n \n \n Meg Tasker: Dr Meg Tasker taught British and Australian literature and cultural studies for many years\, her most notable publication being the first and only critical biography of Anglo-Australian writer\, Francis Adams (Struggle and Storm\, Melb UP 2001). She has published quite a few articles and conference papers on Adams and other 19th century writers\, including a handful co-written with Lucy Sussex as part of an ARC funded project on Australian writers in London. Formerly general editor of the Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies (AJVS)\, and President of the Australasian Victorian Studies Association (AVSA)\, she left her position as Associate Professor at Federation University Australia (formerly the University of Ballarat) in 2018\, and is now\, like Lucy and Megan\, happy to be a Victorianist-at-large. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr Meg Tasker\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Enquiries:  Any event specific enquires should be direct to library@ballaratmi.org.au \n \n \n \n \n \n $10 per person plus booking fee & gst 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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Collins Booksellers\, Ballart on Lydiard will be handling book sales for the event. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Not become a member\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 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. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More author talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI news \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Seen Again by Benita Bensch\n Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Don’t miss Benita... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n NAIDOC Week\n NAIDOC 2026 National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | The Secrets of Provence by Daisy Wood.\n The Secrets of Provence Daisy Wood Provence\,1940 Thrown out of... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | July 2026\n Membership Contriubtions I imagine many of you have received requests... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n BMI Events URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rsss-vocal-schedule-9/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Royal South Street Society ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sq-promos2.webp END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR