BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute - ECPv6.17.1//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:20260404T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20261003T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20270403T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20271002T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20280401T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20280930T160000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20270501T100000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20270502T140000 DTSTAMP:20260619T051712Z CREATED:20260619T051024Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260619T051712Z UID:73683-1809165600-1809266400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Book Sale | Reward yourself with some excellent Autumn reading DESCRIPTION:Twilight Talks is back on again to celebrate the Ballarat  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Session 5: This session is now fully booked\n \nWedneday 24 May | 5.30pm\nBallarat Chinese Library | 200 Sturt Street\nChinese History\n“Join us for a unique Twilight Talk when we take the BMI on the road\, to the nearby Chinese Library. A more intimate event for no more than 20 people\, you’ll hear about local historian Yvonne Horsfield’s fascinating research into the Chinese contribution to life on the goldfields\, while sitting among precious Chinese books and artefacts drawn from collections all over Australia. Charles Zhang\, will then offer a tour of the library for those who would like to delve a little deeper.” \n \n \n \n \n \n Charles Zhang Ballarat Chinese LibraryLocated in the heart of Ballarat\, the library covers an area of 700 square metres with 16 rooms. Housing over 200\,000 Chinese books\, the Xin Jin Shan Library (translates to new gold mountain) now has the largest collection of Chinese-language books in Australia. Charles is a committee member of the library and president of the Chinese Australian Cultural Society in Ballarat. The Library is not only the largest in the Southern Hemisphere\, but also serves as an education and research centre for Chinese languages and the history of Chinese immigration and settlement in Australia. (source SBS Mandarin) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Haoliang Sun and Charles Zhang are the driving forces behind the Chinese library. (ABC News: Rochelle Kirkham )\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Yvonne HorsfieldChinese on the goldfields.Yvonne is a retired teacher who has spent the majority of her teaching career working at Sovereign Hill an as Education Officer\, followed by another role in education at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery (now Art Gallery of Ballarat). She first developed an awareness of the significant role the Chinese played in the early Goldfields history of Ballarat when working at Sovereign Hill. She has a family connection with Reverend John Tong Way who became Superintendent Missioner to the Ballarat and district Chinese from 1903 until he retired in 1949. She has recently completed her PhD to further research the history of the Tong Ways and other families of Chinese descent who settled in both Ballarat and Bendigo. Since graduating she has written “Chinese Roots”\, a biographical story of the Tong Way family recently published on 25 th March this year by Shawline Publishing in Ballarat. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Yvonne Horsfield\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinese Roots | Yvonne Horsfield \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Oldest Bank Building in Ballarat | ABC Ballarat \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinese Library | ABC Ballarat \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A drawing from 1854 shows Chinese miners walking to the goldfields.(Supplied: State Library of Victoria) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A painting by artist Shen Jiawei is the first thing visitors see when they enter the library. (ABC News: Rochelle Kirkham ) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Oldest Bank Building in Ballarat | ABC Ballarat \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charles Zhang and Haoliang Sun have a lot of knowledge to share with visitors. (ABC News: Rochelle Kirkham ) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Note: Accessibility This building is not wheelchair accessible. To access the library spaces it is necessary to climb a set of stairs. \n \n Cost & Bookings | $10 flat fee per person\, funds will be split 50/50 with the Ballarat Chinese Library \n \n \n \n \n \n Information on the full series  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Full Series\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Book places \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Book Places\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n View the full list of Ballarat Heritage Festival Events at the BMI \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ballarat Heritage Festival | BMI\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Twilight Talks 2026 | Season Finalised\n  Twilight Talks for 2026.Thank you to Community Bank Buninyong for... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Trivia Night Fundraiser\n New Releases\, Recommendations & Author Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rosemary’s Book of the Week | Cold River by Margaret Hickey\n Cold River Margaret Hickey Deep in the mountains\, secrets grow... \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Our Library | New Releases\, Recommendations & Author Talks – August 2026\n New Releases\, Recommendations & Author Talks \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Load More URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/book-sale-reward-yourself-with-some-excellent-autumn-reading/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/square-promo-autumn-26.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR