October 29 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets A Surgeon Commander & A Leading Cook – Ballarat Connections to HMAS Sydney 2 in 1941 HMAS Sydney 2 Crew, 1934 It is nearly 84 years this November that the mighty pride of the Royal Australian […]
September 24 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Gold! Gold! A comparison between the Ballarat & Bendigo Goldfields. An overview of the production of gold and its implications from the goldrush era of the 1850s up until today in both the Ballarat and Bendigo
Twilight Talks 2025, Season 3, Spring Season | Gold! Gold! Bendigo – Ballarat Read More »
September 17 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Saving Dragons: The Life and Times of Russell Goldfield (Louey Yeung Man) Jack by Dianne Dempsey Russell Jack, the visionary founder of the internationally renowned Golden Dragon Museum, spent his life breaking barriers and preserving the
September 3 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Ballarat’s Henry Lawson, Unknown facts presented by Hedley Thomson The young Henry visited Ballarat, specifically to ‘bone up’ on the happenings at Eureka on Sunday 3rd December 1854; he proceeded to write numerous poems and prose
March 5 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Bar Open from 5:30pm $35 – $110 Humffray Room Get tickets The world in 2025 and beyond : What is the good news? What is the not-so-good news? Brought to you by Nicolson Construction Speaker: Professor Geoffrey Blainey AC Now in his mid nineties, Professor Geoffrey Blainey
April 30 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets The Life of Walter Withers Until now there has been no family history of Walter Withers (1854-1914), a notable but underestimated Australian landscape artist of the Heidelberg school. For nearly 200 years his Birmingham ancestors had
Twilight Talks 2025, Season 2, Special Event | The Life of Walter Withers Read More »
February 26 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9 – $13 Humffray Room Get tickets Dancers on the Sea: Stories from Atauro Island, Timor-Leste 1994-2002 Speaker: Gabrielle Samson, Author Gabrielle Samson Gabrielle, a writer of fiction and memoir, has won national prizes for her short stories and has co-written a radio
Twilight Talks 2025, Season 1, Special Event | Dancers on the Sea by Gabrielle Samson Read More »
April 16 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Medals and Memorabilia David will talk about Australian medals from the Sudan in 1885, The Boer War 1899-1905, WW1, WW2 and the other conflicts where Australians were awarded medals. He will also talk about the correct
April 23 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets Feeling the Battlefield Spirits Speakers: Rene Degryse, Garry Snowden & Marion Snowden Feeling the Battlefield Spirits Sometimes in life, a seemingly inconsequential event can, without us realising it, nudge our life along a new and exciting
April 9 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Bar open at 5pm $9.73 – $13.83 Humffray Room Get tickets War Grieving from a Doctor’s Perspective Grief is a natural response to loss. War Grief is complex. Ballarat’ s participation in WW1 was substantial: about 4000 men from Ballarat enlisted in World War One and approximately
Trivia Night Fundraiser
26 August Doors open 6.45pm | Tickets also available at the door
$25 per person | $20 BMI members
Minerva's Secrets Night Tours
Tue 19 May with special visit to Lantern Vaults
Tour 1 at 7pm – Tour 2 at 9pm.
Calling for Pre-loved books
These donation assist in our Library Fundraising Activities
We can take delivery during regular Library operating hours. See website footer.
Coming in November…
Stella Day Out, Ballarat, Rachael Johns & Margaret Hickey
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
Pre-Sale $60 from 6 Aug to 9 Aug - $65 thereafter
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.
