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 […]
In Conversation with Victoria Purman Read More »
The Romanov Secret Chrissie Bellbrae Don’t miss Chrissie at the BMI on Tuesday 24 March at 6pm 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 Russian
Rosemary’s Book of the Week Read More »
July 15 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets Seen Again: Light On Matrescence Benita Bensch Seen Again is a modern companion through matrescence, the profound transition of becoming a mother. Matrescence is a biological, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual transformation that can leave mothers without the language or support to make
In Conversation with Benita Bensch Read More »
June 23 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets Where Truth Ends Mark Smith What if everything you believed in was a lie? Truth and betrayal collide in the new Mark Smith thriller, perfect for fans of Christian White and Lisa Jewell. Meg Maher thought she was doing the right thing.
In Conversation with Mark Smith Read More »
May 27 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm $11.78 Humffray Room Get Tickets The Model Murder Amanda Hampson A Tea Ladies Mystery A model vanishes – A man is murdered – and the Tea Ladies are back on the case. Sydney, 1968. In a shadowy city lane, a young man is shot dead. His glamorous
In Conversation with Amanda Hampson Read More »
The Missing Wife Kerry Barrett 1933 Hannah Snow is fleeing her unhappy marriage when she finds herself in a small hotel on the banks of Loch Ness. But when a monster is spotted in the depths of the waters, the press descends- and Hannah finds her hiding place is discovered. Present Day. True crime podcaster Scarlett
Rosemary’s Book of the Week Read More »
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
In Conversation with Anna Johnston Read More »
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 loved
In Conversation with Gerardine Christou: The story of Peg Rankin Read More »
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
In Conversation with Kerri Rogan Read More »
The Hiding Place Kate Mildenhall Don’t miss Kate and Josh Pomare at the BMI on Tuesday 10 March at 6pm From the Author of Skylarking, The Mother Fault and The Hummingbird Effect They’re good people. Why shouldn’t they get what they deserve? When Lou sees an ad for a long-abandoned mining town up for sale, it
Rosemary’s Book of the Week Read More »
Minerva's Secrets Night Tours
Night Tours
Fri 31 Oct – Sat 15 Nov
& Fri 12 Dec
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
