• Arresting the Ephemeral: The Beautiful Usefulness of a Victorian Herbarium

    BMI - Humffray Room, level 2 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

    July 24 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Free Humffray Room Get Tickets The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute is custodian of the most intact surviving set of the Educational Collections of Victorian Plants (1874–1876). A herbarium and series of books compiled by the first Chief Botanist of the Colony of Victoria, Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller. This presentation reveals the history and significance of this remarkable collection,…

    Free
  • Day Tours of the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute

    Library, ground floor Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

    July 28 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm $11.00 Tuesdays at 2pm | A colourful history of the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute and it’s people. By appointment only, (to organise a volunteer guide we require 24hrs notice). Group Tours: Group tours can also be accommodated on other days. We also offer specialty tours, information on these can be found on our Building Tours webpage.

    $11.00
  • 150 Years of Botanical Communication

    Lending Library Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, Victoria, Australia

    August 7 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm $15 Get Tickets Before digital databases and photography, how did we learn about the natural world? This Biodiversity Week, discover the BMI’s rare set of Ferdinand von Mueller’s Educational Collections of Victorian Plants (1874–1876). Designed to “diffuse information on the native vegetation” across Victoria, this historic herbarium and book collection reveals how early scientific communication cultivated…

    $15
  • Twilight Talks: Season 2, A Brief, Selected History ‘Herstory’ of Nursing at Ballarat Base Hospital – Over the Years.

    BMI - Humffray Room, level 2 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

    September 16 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm $9 – $13 Get Tickets A Brief, Selected History ‘Herstory’ of Nursing at Ballarat Base Hospital - Over the years. Speakers: Emeritus Professor Margaret Bennett AM Sarah Birtles Shirley Jones Topic Synopsis: The 'herstory' of nursing at BBH, now Grampians Health, reflects changing times in Victoria. After looking at what is a nurse in 2026, we briefly glance…

    $9 – $13
  • Twilight Talks: Season 2, Ideas of Love & Loss – In conversation with Anne Connor & Anne Gleeson

    BMI - Humffray Room, level 2 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

    September 30 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm $9 – $13 Get Tickets Ideas of Love and Loss, Big Challenges and Small Victories. Speakers: Writer, Anne Connor Australian poet, Anne Gleeson Topic Synopsis: In this conversation, writer Anne Connor explores with Australian poet Anne Gleeson ideas of love and loss, big challenges and small victories, as revealed in her most recent poetry collections, Small Acts of…

    $9 – $13
  • Twilight Talks: Season 2,The Importance of Ballarat East – Doug Bradby

    BMI - Humffray Room, level 2 117-119 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia

    October 7 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm $9 – $13 Get Tickets The Importance of Ballarat East Speaker: Doug Bradby Topic Synopsis: In the period 1832-1850 the Chartists of Britain tried and failed to extend Democracy to all male citizens. In the 1850‘s the Chartists of Ballarat succeeded. This talk will explore how the diggers of Ballarat obtained economic power, how they converted that economic…

    $9 – $13