BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute - ECPv6.17.0//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:20210403T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20211002T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20220402T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20221001T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20230401T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20230930T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20240406T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20241005T160000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T150000 DTSTAMP:20230328T222715Z CREATED:20230327T231124Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230328T222715Z UID:36550-1680012000-1680015600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Day Tour of the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/tours-of-ballarat-mechanics-institute-heritage/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/tours-banner-draft-cropped.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230503T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230503T190000 DTSTAMP:20230425T230806Z CREATED:20230321T055028Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230425T230806Z UID:35753-1683135000-1683140400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 2\, Session 1 DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/twilight-talks-season-2-ballarat-heritage-festival-3-may-2023-2/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Heritage Festival,Culture,The Collection,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/twilight-talks-gold-black-2023.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T150000 DTSTAMP:20230328T222715Z CREATED:20230327T231124Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230328T222715Z UID:36550-1680012000-1680015600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Day Tour of the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/tours-of-ballarat-mechanics-institute-heritage/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/tours-banner-draft-cropped.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230502T103000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230502T113000 DTSTAMP:20230329T222016Z CREATED:20230327T230710Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230329T222016Z UID:36544-1683023400-1683027000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:The Reading Room DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/the-reading-room-book-discussion-2/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,BMI Produced Event,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Reading_room_adjusted-e1704770529709.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230501T103000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230501T143000 DTSTAMP:20230412T033854Z CREATED:20230328T024519Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230412T033854Z UID:36692-1682937000-1682951400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Digitisation Workshop | AMaGa | Geraldine Brault DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/digitisation-workshop-amaga-geraldine-brault-session-1/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Culture,Exhibition ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/hands-on-digitisation-2.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230430T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230430T220000 DTSTAMP:20230221T003522Z CREATED:20230221T003406Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230221T003522Z UID:34698-1682883000-1682892000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow | Ballarat DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/micfroadshow2023/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy,Externally Produced Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FB_Header-01-e1676939589744.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230428T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230428T200000 DTSTAMP:20230327T215854Z CREATED:20230310T034250Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230327T215854Z UID:35019-1682708400-1682712000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Meet the Author | Olivia Wearne & Elizabeth Coleman DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/meet-the-author-elizabeth-coleman-olivia-wearne/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Culture,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/event-listing-2.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T150000 DTSTAMP:20230328T222715Z CREATED:20230327T231124Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230328T222715Z UID:36550-1680012000-1680015600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Day Tour of the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/tours-of-ballarat-mechanics-institute-heritage/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/tours-banner-draft-cropped.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T150000 DTSTAMP:20230328T222715Z CREATED:20230327T231124Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230328T222715Z UID:36550-1680012000-1680015600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Day Tour of the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/tours-of-ballarat-mechanics-institute-heritage/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/tours-banner-draft-cropped.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230416T090000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230416T140000 DTSTAMP:20230317T002839Z CREATED:20230309T005139Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230317T002839Z UID:34979-1681635600-1681653600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:BMI Autumn Maker Market DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bmi-autumn-maker-market/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Market ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/maker_image-e1628392488945.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230415T090000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230416T140000 DTSTAMP:20230317T002615Z CREATED:20230310T045900Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230317T002615Z UID:35050-1681549200-1681653600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:BMI Autumn Book Sale DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bmi-autumn-book-sale/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Fundraiser,Library,Market ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IMG-0851-e1678425194379.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230414T170000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230414T183000 DTSTAMP:20230317T002330Z CREATED:20230315T023507Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230317T002330Z UID:35114-1681491600-1681497000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Book Launch | Look Back on Languor: The memoir of a hurkle-durkle Australian male DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/look-back-on-languor-frank-hurley/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Culture,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Langour_-front-cover-flyer-image.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230413T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230413T210000 DTSTAMP:20230202T024640Z CREATED:20230202T024047Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230202T024640Z UID:33946-1681414200-1681419600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Film Society - Both Sides of the Blade DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bfs-bothsidesoftheblade/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Externally Produced Event,Film ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Brody-Both-Blade.jpg-e1675305921383.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T150000 DTSTAMP:20230328T222715Z CREATED:20230327T231124Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230328T222715Z UID:36550-1680012000-1680015600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Day Tour of the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/tours-of-ballarat-mechanics-institute-heritage/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/tours-banner-draft-cropped.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T150000 DTSTAMP:20230328T222715Z CREATED:20230327T231124Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230328T222715Z UID:36550-1680012000-1680015600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Day Tour of the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/tours-of-ballarat-mechanics-institute-heritage/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/tours-banner-draft-cropped.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230403T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230403T200000 DTSTAMP:20230329T211548Z CREATED:20230217T030838Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230329T211548Z UID:34508-1680548400-1680552000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Meet the Author | Bill "Swampy" Marsh DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/meet-the-author-bill-swampy-marsh/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bill-portrait-2-e1678423349274.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230331T100000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230331T120000 DTSTAMP:20230320T041733Z CREATED:20230320T035701Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230320T041733Z UID:35539-1680256800-1680264000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Feeling Out Loud: Writing Poetry DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/feeling-out-loud-writing-poetry/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Externally Produced Event,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/0001-46481475799.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230330T123000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230330T133000 DTSTAMP:20230329T221641Z CREATED:20230329T221639Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230329T221641Z UID:36847-1680179400-1680183000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:The Reading Room | Now rescheduled to 2 May DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/the-reading-room-book-discussion-3/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,BMI Produced Event,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Reading_room_adjusted-e1704770529709.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230328T150000 DTSTAMP:20230328T222715Z CREATED:20230327T231124Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230328T222715Z UID:36550-1680012000-1680015600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Day Tour of the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/tours-of-ballarat-mechanics-institute-heritage/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/tours-banner-draft-cropped.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230309T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230309T210000 DTSTAMP:20230912T011436Z CREATED:20230202T023239Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230912T011436Z UID:33926-1678390200-1678395600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Film Society - Brooklyn DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bfs-brooklyn/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Ballarat Film Society,Externally Produced Event,Film ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/image-4-e1675305750390.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230308T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230308T190000 DTSTAMP:20230125T022201Z CREATED:20221104T022223Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230125T022201Z UID:24442-1678296600-1678302000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 1 DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/twilight-talks-2022-season-1-2023-03-08/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/twilight-talks-gold-black-2023.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230304T100000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230304T120000 DTSTAMP:20230221T065726Z CREATED:20230213T032835Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230221T065726Z UID:34263-1677924000-1677931200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Embrace the Begonia Festival Workshop | Location now changed DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/embrace-the-begonia-festival/ LOCATION:Soldiers Hill CBD | Pop-up\, 512 Macarthur Street\, Soldiers Hill\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,BMI Produced Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/hero-image-adjusted.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230301T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230301T190000 DTSTAMP:20230216T024412Z CREATED:20221104T022223Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230216T024412Z UID:24441-1677691800-1677697200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 1 DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/twilight-talks-2022-season-1-2023-03-01/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/twilight-talks-gold-black-2023.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230224T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230224T203000 DTSTAMP:20230221T002947Z CREATED:20230221T002924Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230221T002947Z UID:34689-1677265200-1677270600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Class Clowns | Ballarat Heat DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/classclowns2023/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy,Externally Produced Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/277816395_5466870933332660_6457270729669509639_n-e1676939338168.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230222T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230222T190000 DTSTAMP:20230221T231709Z CREATED:20230214T223946Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230221T231709Z UID:34385-1677087000-1677092400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 1 | Now moved to Minerva Space Level 3 DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/twilight-talks-2022-season-1-2023-02-22-2/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/twilight-talks-gold-black-2023.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230215T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230215T190000 DTSTAMP:20230214T054412Z CREATED:20221104T022223Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230214T054412Z UID:24439-1676482200-1676487600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 1 | More tickets released DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/twilight-talks-2022-season-1-2023-02-15/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/twilight-talks-gold-black-2023.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230209T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230209T210000 DTSTAMP:20230912T011442Z CREATED:20230202T023137Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230912T011442Z UID:33922-1675971000-1675976400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Film Society - La Strada DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bfs-lastrada/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Ballarat Film Society,Externally Produced Event,Film ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/1600.jpg-e1675305711958.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230208T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230208T190000 DTSTAMP:20230125T020134Z CREATED:20221104T022223Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230125T020134Z UID:24062-1675877400-1675882800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 1 DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/twilight-talks-2022-season-1/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/twilight-talks-gold-black-2023.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230201T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230201T210000 DTSTAMP:20221214T000356Z CREATED:20221213T235025Z LAST-MODIFIED:20221214T000356Z UID:32169-1675279800-1675285200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Choose Happiness | A Public Talk\, Buddhist Monk\, Gen Kelsang Dornying DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/choose-happiness-a-public-talk-buddhist-monk-gen-kelsang-dornying/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Choose-Happiness-PT-Ballarat-1.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20221218T090000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20221218T140000 DTSTAMP:20221107T235041Z CREATED:20220927T034250Z LAST-MODIFIED:20221107T235041Z UID:22664-1671354000-1671372000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:BMI Christmas Maker Market and Book Sale DESCRIPTION:This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat\, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895\, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics’ Institute\, meaning many had their first ever experience of ‘moving pictures’ in our beautiful Minerva Theatre. Since then\, thousands of movies have been screened in the theatre through its many iterations\, including at the Vegas 70 theatre which is being reactivated for this year’s Heritage Week. Come along from 5.30pm to grab a drink and wander through the exhibition in the Williamson Foyer\, the former candy bar of the cinema\, before the talk.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The BMI’s Twilight Talks series has been a forum for sharing fascinating history and radical futures since 2001\, check out our website for upcoming talks.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At Play in the Fields of the past: Roleplaying\, gaming and local heritage | Dr David Waldron \n \n \n \n \n \n Over the past few years\, David Waldron has been experimenting with the use of live-play roleplaying game events to explore local Ballarat history and heritage in the community. These have featured events at the past three Ballarat Heritage Festivals featuring the stories Journey to the Southern Cross\, What Lies Beneath\, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion and this year’s\, Spectral Schemes: the Mystery of the Ballarat Ghost.  David has also recently published a spin-off story that explores the feud between Henry Seekamp and 1850s celebrity Lola Montez. Through these events\, David has endeavoured to create a vehicle for community engagement and re-enchantment in local history\, with a specific orientation to the young adult demographic\, which has often been a difficult audience to attract to local history. This talk explores the process of creating as one of walking a tightrope between historical fiction\, storytelling\, and heritage weaving through surviving sources and historical records designed to create deeply personal engagement with the people\, events\, and places of the past and the very human stories that underlie our local history.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch\,1856 | Seekamp established Ballarat Times in 1854\n \n \n \n \n Lola Montez\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker: David Waldron | Folklorist & Historian \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron is a Senior Lecturer in History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage.  He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008)\, Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013)\, editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). He is regularly involved in public engagements\, festivals and multi-media displays\, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival\, and is the co-writer and researcher for the National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award historical pod cast series Tales from Rat City.  He is also active in developing history and heritage tours including the NTAV Public Heritage award nominated Ballarat Old Gaol Tour and the Portsea Quarantine Station night tours. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr David Waldron\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Starting at 6pm (bar open at 5.30pm)\, close 7pm. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost: $12 general admission | $8 BMI members \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Bookings\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2024 Twilight Talks\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Thanks to the support of Community Bank Buninyong \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Community Bank Buninyong socials: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \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 is part of the Australian Heritage Festival \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n More Twilight Talks \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 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat National Theatre: God of Carnage | A BMI Community Partner\n 19 June - 22 June | As events are confirmed... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Biodiversity Week – Ballarat\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Every Time She Wakes by Petronella McGovern\n Every Time She Wakes Petronella McGovern Don’t miss Petronella who... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bmi-christmas-maker-market-and-book-sale/ LOCATION:Soldiers Hill CBD | Pop-up\, 512 Macarthur Street\, Soldiers Hill\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Market ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/maker_image-e1628392488945.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR