February 14 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm $10.00 Minerva Space Get tickets My Sweet Monster: A Cautionary Tale of DesireTori BaxterBook launch for My Sweet Monster: A Cautionary Tale of Desire and live conversation event with Author Tori Baxter and Journalist Abby Dinham around motherhood, survival and domestic violence partnerships. My Sweet Monster | Tori […]
February 25 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets The One Remaining Paula McLean The One Remaining is a captivating story of overcoming loss, finding the courage to trust those who believe in us, and the self-healing power of writing our stories. Hilary Mason is thirteen when her sister Elaine disappears. She […]
March 24 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets The Romanov Secret Chrissie Bellbrae A priceless Fabergé jewel. An empire on the brink of revolution. A love to dangerous to reveal. A celebrated artist’s painting holds clues to long-held family secrets and lives under threat, long after the fall of the […]
April 14 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets Peg Rankin: A Journey of Faith and Resilience Peter Rankin SDB As told by Gerardine Christou This is the story of Peg, an ordinary woman who was “made of extraordinary stuff ” Margaret (Peg) Rankin is remembered by all who knew and […]
April 21 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets The Drowning Fiona Lowe Authentically Australian, Fiona Lowe’s stories are often triggered by a secret or a mystery, and they explore the themes of family, community and second chances. Described as gripping, thought-provoking, heart-warming and ultimately uplifting, Lowe's books have been praised […]
April 24 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm $27.50 Meet at the BMI entrance Get Tickets 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 […]
October 31 @ 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm $27.50 Meet at the BMI entrance Get Tickets 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 […]
April 30 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets When lemons give you life Anna Johnston 'Smart, authentic and full of heart' - Graeme Simsion From the author of The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife Redemption is a dish best served warm... Retired Michelin-star chef Griff Barlow has lost his appetite for […]
May 11 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets The Marriage Trap Victoria Purman In 1960s Australia, the scent of freedom is in the air... From bestselling Australian author, comes the story of a mother and her two daughters, set in the tumultuous extraordinary decade of the 1960s. A time of […]
May 13 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets After the Noise Kerri Rogan Lee squinted in the sunlight and patted around her. It felt like a mattress and a dog. For the first time in months, she had slept in a bed. Oh, dear. Moose. She had fed her a […]
April 24 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm $27.50 Meet at the BMI entrance Get Tickets 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 […]
October 31 @ 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm $27.50 Meet at the BMI entrance Get Tickets 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 […]
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
