BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute - ECPv6.17.0//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH 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: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:20230526T110000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230526T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T051509Z CREATED:20230323T233725Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T051509Z UID:36193-1685098800-1685116800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Living Heritage Exhibition 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/living-heritage-ballaarat-mechanics-exhibition-5/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6413133691792ea538a2c867.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230525T110000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230525T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T051119Z CREATED:20230323T233604Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T051119Z UID:36191-1685012400-1685030400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Living Heritage Exhibition 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/living-heritage-ballaarat-mechanics-exhibition-4/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6413133691792ea538a2c867.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230525T103000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230525T120000 DTSTAMP:20230710T032706Z CREATED:20230403T064243Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230710T032706Z UID:37134-1685010600-1685016000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:The Photography of the BMI | Special Programs 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-photography-of-the-bmi-special-programs/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/looking-down-lydiard-street-north-showing-federal-hotel-mh1897.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230524T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230524T190000 DTSTAMP:20230505T003752Z CREATED:20230321T000642Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230505T003752Z UID:35642-1684949400-1684954800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 2\, Session 5 | Ballarat Heritage Festival 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/ LOCATION:Chinese Library\, 200 Sturt Street 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:20230524T110000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230524T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T050020Z CREATED:20230323T233445Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T050020Z UID:36189-1684926000-1684944000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Living Heritage Exhibition 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/living-heritage-ballaarat-mechanics-exhibition-3/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6413133691792ea538a2c867.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230524T103000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230524T120000 DTSTAMP:20230420T045148Z CREATED:20230403T064213Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230420T045148Z UID:37133-1684924200-1684929600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:The Artwork of the BMI | Special Programs 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-artwork-of-the-bmi-special-programs/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BMI-project-update-2-Mar-2022-4-pre-conservation.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230523T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230523T200000 DTSTAMP:20230516T011342Z CREATED:20230323T222238Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230516T011342Z UID:36146-1684868400-1684872000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Minerva's Secrets | Night Tours | Ballarat Heritage Festival 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/minervas-secrets-night-tours-ballarat-heritage-festival-3/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BMI_upshot_evening.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230516T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230516T150000 DTSTAMP:20230515T053446Z CREATED:20230515T053426Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230515T053446Z UID:39816-1684245600-1684249200@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-2/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/BMI-facade.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230523T110000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230523T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T043831Z CREATED:20230323T233214Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T043831Z UID:36186-1684839600-1684857600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Living Heritage Exhibition 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/living-heritage-ballaarat-mechanics-exhibitiion/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6413133691792ea538a2c867.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230523T103000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230523T120000 DTSTAMP:20230517T050827Z CREATED:20230321T000449Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230517T050827Z UID:35640-1684837800-1684843200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 2\, Session 4 | Ballarat Heritage Festival 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-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:20230522T110000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230522T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T042634Z CREATED:20230323T232402Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T042634Z UID:36178-1684753200-1684771200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Living Heritage Exhibition 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/living-heritage-ballaarat-mechanics-exhibition-2/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6413133691792ea538a2c867.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230522T103000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230522T143000 DTSTAMP:20230404T042439Z CREATED:20230328T020210Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T042439Z UID:36634-1684751400-1684765800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Cataloguing 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/cataloguing-workshop-amaga-geraldine-brault/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Culture,Exhibition ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/managing-your-collection-vc-logo.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230522T103000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230522T120000 DTSTAMP:20230420T045241Z CREATED:20230403T064019Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230420T045241Z UID:37131-1684751400-1684756800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Baron von Mueller Collection | Special Programs 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/baron-von-mueller-collection-special-programs/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/grimwade.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T210000 DTSTAMP:20230515T053759Z CREATED:20230322T052457Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230515T053759Z UID:35962-1684695600-1684702800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Life Drawing in the Basement (this event now cancelled) 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/life-drawing-in-the-basement-copy/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/641b9c63dce404b6288d524a.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T200000 DTSTAMP:20230516T011211Z CREATED:20230323T221945Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230516T011211Z UID:36143-1684695600-1684699200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Minerva's Secrets | Night Tours | Ballarat Heritage Festival (Originally scheduled 9pm-10pm) 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/minervas-secrets-night-tours-ballarat-heritage-festival-2/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BMI_upshot_evening.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T041835Z CREATED:20230404T041607Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T041835Z UID:37396-1684677600-1684684800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Life Drawing in the Basement 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/life-drawing-in-the-basement-copy-copy-2/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/641b9c63dce404b6288d524a.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T110000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T040910Z CREATED:20230403T233853Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T040910Z UID:37166-1684666800-1684684800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Living Heritage Exhibition 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/living-heritage-ballaarat-mechanics-exhibition-copy/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6413133691792ea538a2c867.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T103000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T120000 DTSTAMP:20230420T045333Z CREATED:20230403T063758Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230420T045333Z UID:37129-1684665000-1684670400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:The Ballarat Courier Collection | Special Programs 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-ballarat-courier-collection-special-programs/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ballarat-courier-11-september-1915-page-5-heritage-reading-room-4.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230520T235500 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230521T010000 DTSTAMP:20230516T010919Z CREATED:20230323T221229Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230516T010919Z UID:36126-1684626900-1684630800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Minerva's Secrets | Night Tours | Ballarat Heritage Festival 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/minervas-secrets-night-tours-ballarat-heritage-festival/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BMI_upshot_evening.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230520T120000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230520T210000 DTSTAMP:20230421T020449Z CREATED:20230411T234830Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230421T020449Z UID:37851-1684584000-1684616400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Victorian Pinup Pageant 2023 & Revue de 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/victorian-pinup-pageant-2023-and-revue-de-ballarat-her-majestys/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Ballarat Heritage Festival,Externally Produced Event,Theatre Production ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/pageant.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230520T110000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230520T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T040203Z CREATED:20230323T232803Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T040203Z UID:36181-1684580400-1684598400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Living Heritage Exhibition 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/living-heritage-ballaarat-mechanics-exhibition/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6413133691792ea538a2c867.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230519T110000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230519T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T035806Z CREATED:20230323T224741Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T035806Z UID:36150-1684494000-1684512000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Living Heritage Exhibition 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/living-heritage-at-the-ballaarat-mechanics-institute-exhibition/ LOCATION:Heritage Reading Room\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition,The Collection ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6413133691792ea538a2c867.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230519T103000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230519T120000 DTSTAMP:20230426T002837Z CREATED:20230322T052316Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230426T002837Z UID:35957-1684492200-1684497600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:The Heritage Collection | Special Program 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-heritage-collection-special-program/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs,Ballarat Heritage Festival,BMI Produced Event,Culture,Exhibition ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/641315e3602909f94cc8096a.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230518T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230518T210000 DTSTAMP:20230912T011423Z CREATED:20230202T030347Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230912T011423Z UID:33952-1684438200-1684443600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Film Society - A Hero (Ghahreman) 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-ahero/ 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/hero01-e1675307277220.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230516T140000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230516T150000 DTSTAMP:20230515T053446Z CREATED:20230515T053426Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230515T053446Z UID:39816-1684245600-1684249200@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-2/ LOCATION:Library Ground Floor\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:BMI Produced Event,Culture,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/BMI-facade.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230510T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20230510T190000 DTSTAMP:20230505T002500Z CREATED:20230321T025736Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230505T002500Z UID:35687-1683739800-1683745200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 2\, Session 2 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-4/ 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: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 END:VCALENDAR