Ballarat Chess Club

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

Meet Thursdays in the Humffray Room

$3 – $80

In Conversation with Leah Kaminsky & Jacinta Halloran

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

July 29 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm $10 Humffray Room Leah Kaminsky Leah is a physician and award-winning writer. Her debut novel, The Waiting Room, won the Voss Literary Prize. The Hollow Bones won both the Literary Fiction and Historical Fiction categories of the 2019 International Book Awards, and the 2019 American Book Fest’s […]

$10

In Conversation with Louise Le Nay

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

July 16 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm $10 Humffray Room Edenhope Louise Le Nay. 'A moving story about one woman’s unconditional love, the kindness of strangers, and what’s right as well as what’s wrong with the way we live now.’ Amanda Lohrey, Miles Franklin Award-winning author of 'The Labyrinth' Marnie is sixty-three and downwardly […]

$10

In Conversation with Léonie Kelsall

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

July 12 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm $10 The Homestead in the Eucalypts Léonie Kelsall. Sometimes finding the way forward means retracing your past. When student doctor Taylor Lawrence's city life is turned upside down, she seeks sanctuary on her grandparents' farm in the South Australian countryside. During the lonely nights, she fantasises of […]

$10

Ballarat Chess Club

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

Meet Thursdays in the Humffray Room

$3 – $80

Ballarat Chess Club

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

Meet Thursdays in the Humffray Room

$3 – $80

Ballart Pride Month Launch Morning Tea

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

June 1 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am Join us for a glorious morning high tea and speeches to launch our first official Ballarat Pride Month! Dress in something that makes you feel fabulous! Pride Month (June) is the month where we celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual people. We take the time to […]

Free

Twilight Talks 2024, Season 2, Session 6: History of Hoyts

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

May 29 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm $8 – $12 This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics' Institute, […]

$8 – $12

BMI165th Birthday Devonshire Tea Party

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

May 26 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm $15 As the Institute is 165 years old this year, we will take the opportunity to celebrate during the festival, by including a heritage-style Devonshire Tea as an afternoon Birthday Party, the first of many celebratory events for 2024. This will be on offered as a ticketed […]

$15

Ballarat Chess Club

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

Meet Thursdays in the Humffray Room

$3 – $80

Twilight Talks 2024, Season 2, Session 5 | Stories of the Silver Screen in the Golden City

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

May 22 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm $8 – $12 This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics' Institute, […]

$8 – $12

Twilight Talks 2024, Season 2, Session 3 | Not the Last Picture Show: Moving Pictures at the BMI

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

This special edition of our regular Twilight Talks series will feature speakers discussing the history of cinema in Ballarat, complimenting our free exhibition. Just a year after the Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in 1895, the first screenings were held at the Mechanics' Institute, meaning many had their first ever experience of 'moving pictures' in […]

$8 – $12

with Nicole Alexander

28 May at 6pm

Ballarat Heritage Festival BMI Day Tours

Two tours  on 20 &  21 May 

 

portrait of author with book cover

Australian Heritage Festival

Natasha Lester in conversation

1 May at 6pm

guides dressed in period costum

Australian Heritage Festival

Minerva's Secrets

25 April – Tour 1 at 7.30pm – fully booked
Tour 2 at 9.30pm – still tickets. 

portrait of author with book cover

Australian Heritage Festival

Natasha Lester in conversation

1 May at 6pm

Dame Nellie Melba Birthday Celebration

  Performance – 18 May.

Ballarat Heritage Festival Events at the BMI

16 to 25 May 

Connections to War from a Ballarat Perspective

Wed 2-30 April, 5.30pm

Australian Heritage Festival Events at the BMI

18 April to 18 May

Dame Nellie Melba Birthday Celebration

Fundraising Dinner
17 May. 

  Performance – 18 May.

Christmas Holiday Closures | Library

Monday 23 December – Sunday 5 January

Devonshire Tea & Fashion Parade

Bubbly on arrival & Featuring quality items from our Vintage Shop | $60

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 2025 Calendar

Featuring the BMI Image Collection | Now $20

Tax Deductible 

Your gift will be tax-deductible this financial year if you make it before June 30.

We need
your help.

2024 End of Financial Year Appeal 

Or alternatively go to our Donations web page.

Our Challenge

Like many organisations the BMI faces significant funding challenges. 

We thank you for your support.

BMI Fundraiser

Featuring:
The Hideaways,
The Harmonies &
Surf Shadows. 

2 course dinner & lots
of dancing