30/06/2023 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Maya LinnellFrom country show baking to raising orphaned lambs, bestselling author Maya Linnell writesabout the life she lives and loves. A keen bookworm, former rural journalist and radio show host.Maya is also an ambassador for the digital library app Libby OverDrive. She lives in rural Victoriawith a menagerie of animals, sweeping gardens, three bookworms and…
02/07/2023 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Free ENTRY | GENRE: FOLK / SPOKEN WORDThis is a celebration of local talent in music and poetry, showcasing the vibrant artistic community of our city. Featuring Cassells (Band) and Poets - Jazz Giuliani, Michael Heald and Nathan Curnow.This is a free event in the Heritage Reading Room More About Cassells Live Music Festival Meet the…
16/05/2023 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm $10.00 Image: Courtesy Paul Lambeth The Tour (by day) A colourful history of the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute and it’s people. Tuesday’s at 2pm By appointment only, (to organise a volunteer guide we require 24hrs notice). Please complete the on-line booking form. Cost (incl. gst) $10 per person Find out about our Night Tours More Tour Information Enq/Book a…
04/07/2023 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm $10 A. J. Lyndon I have a long standing interest in history, particularly the English Civil Wars of the 17th century. In 2014 I started writing a novel about the “War Without an enemy” as it was described by an army commander in 1643. The Welsh Linnet was published in 2017. The sequel, The Tawny Sash, will be published…
07/07/2023 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm $47 Dive into the mesmerizing world of Spanish guitar music with “Six Strings, One Heart: The Enchanting Spanish Guitar of Andrea Gonzalez Caballero.” This enthralling concert program showcases the prodigious talent of Andrea, transporting the audience through a vibrant musical journey that will leave them spellbound. The concert opens with the alluring “Fantasy on themes from…
16/05/2023 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm $10.00 Image: Courtesy Paul Lambeth The Tour (by day) A colourful history of the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute and it’s people. Tuesday’s at 2pm By appointment only, (to organise a volunteer guide we require 24hrs notice). Please complete the on-line booking form. Cost (incl. gst) $10 per person Find out about our Night Tours More Tour Information Enq/Book a…
13/07/2023 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm Australia, 2022, 95 min. Directed by Bill Code Indigenous Australian Documentary This film by former Guardian and Al Jazeera journalist Bill Code takes us to a corner of Victoria which is a place of great beauty, environmental significance, and rare archaeological wonder. As the clock ticks, an unlikely partnership forms that could see positive cultural…
22/07/2023 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm $45 In these uncertain times, you need a voice you can trust. Someone who’s travelled the world and knows how to fix it. Courage. Integrity. Other stuff. Vote 1 Randy Feltface. Randy Feltface has spent the past eighteen years carving out a unique niche on the international comedy circuit. He was nominated for best comedy at…
23/07/2023 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm $25 Explore tales of the weird and supernatural – the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute at night. Looking for a unique way to explore Ballarat’s rich history and culture? Look no further than the Ballaarat Mechanics Institute’s Night Tours! This beautiful heritage building dates back to the 1860s and boasts a fascinating history that is just waiting to…
23/07/2023 @ 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm $25 Explore tales of the weird and supernatural – the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute at night. Looking for a unique way to explore Ballarat’s rich history and culture? Look no further than the Ballaarat Mechanics Institute’s Night Tours! This beautiful heritage building dates back to the 1860s and boasts a fascinating history that is just waiting to…
29/07/2023 @ 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm $40 Join ARIA and eight-time Golden Guitar award winning singer-songwriter Fanny Lumsden and her incredible band, The Prawn Stars, as they hit the road celebrating her fourth studio album ‘Hey Dawn’. Fanny’s third album ‘Fallow’, released in March 2020, was considered a ‘breakthrough’, winning the ARIA, CMAA Golden Guitar and AIR awards for Country Album of…
10/08/2023 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm Spain/Argentina, 2019, 107 min. Directed by Alejandro Amenabar Spanish Civil War Film Historical dramas have been very popular at Ballarat Film Society, so this year we are screening an intriguing Spanish political and military film set in 1936, during the first few months of the Spanish Civil War. The film recreates, in a surprisingly measured…
Minerva's Secrets Night Tours
Tue 19 May with special visit to Lantern Vaults
Tour 1 at 7pm – Tour 2 at 9pm.
Linen & Lace Exhbition
Includes Devonshire Tea | $20
Sat & Sun 22, 23 Oct
10am-4pm
Remembrance Day:
A Surgeon Commander & A Leading Cook - Recent War Memoribilia
Wed 29 Oct & 5 Nov, 5.30pm.
Coming soon…
Rozzi Bazzani. Stella Day Out: Katia Ariel & Samah Sabawi, Rachael Johns
Coming soon…
Dianne Dempsey, Chrissie Bellbrae, Paula Gleeson, Rozzi Bazzani.
Coming in November…
Stella Day Out, Ballarat, Rachael Johns & Margaret Hickey
Australian Heritage Festival
Minerva's Secrets
25 April – Tour 1 at 7.30pm – fully booked
Tour 2 at 9.30pm – still tickets.
Spring Season, History Talks:
Ballarat's Henry Lawson - The Dragon's Den - Gold! Gold! Gold!
Wed 3, 17 & 24 September, 5.30pm.
Bubbly on arrival & Featuring quality items from our Vintage Shop | $60
The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 2026 Calendar
Featuring illustrations from our Heritage Book Collection $40
Your gift will be tax-deductible this financial year if you make it before June 30.
Like many organisations the BMI faces significant funding challenges.
2 course dinner & lots
of dancing
