your copy of the August newsletter here

The Ballaarat Mechanics’
Institute Newsletter
August 2016
Within
Our Walls
with Venue Manager David Dahlenburg
Ph: 0419 677 713, bookings@ballaratmi.org.au
It’s been another busy month at the BMI
with a range of new programs, training
and celebrations.
BMI hosted the Australian Historical
Association Conference: From Boom
to Bust, convened by the Collaborative
Research Centre in Australian History
(Federation University). With over 380
delegates from around Australia, it was
an inspiring venue for such a conference.
In the past month a series of publicly
accessible programs & workshops have
commenced. Kadampa Meditation
has commenced two courses: The Art of
Meditation and Choose Happiness. No
meditation experience is required and
the courses are suitable for beginners
and the experienced. Sessions are self
contained so you can drop in any
week. The very popular Exhale Yoga
classes have scheduled a second season
in the Humffray Room, commencing
in September. Commencing in August
are the Memory Atlas workshops – a
project bringing to life the memories
of the people of Ballarat. As you will
read elsewhere in the newsletter, this
month we prepare for the biggest event
for the year, our Spring Celebration
incorporating Open Day. Three days of
activities, entertainment and celebrations
that reflect much of what the Mechanics
Institute, and our partnerships, have to
offer the community of Ballarat. Join us
and celebrate the magnificence of the
Mechanics Institute.
See page 3 for more info
on how to get in contact with these programs.
Time to
Celebrate!
All is in readiness for Spring
Celebrations: a three day
showcase of everything that is
BMI on September 1 - 3.
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See back page for
more info.
Ballarat Film Society’s August screening:
Lore (Australia/Germany)
Thursday August 11, 7:30pm in the Minerva Space.
Lore, the 14 year old daughter of SS parents, is forced to flee Bavaria
after the death of Hitler. Her values are challenged by her attraction
to a young Jewish refugee, who saves her family from arrest. A
powerful drama of lost innocence and dissolving patriotism. Palace Films
Email Meg at m.tasker@federation.edu.au or
telephone Carolyn on 5327 9585 for membership details.
Luke Hadler turns a gun on his wife
and child, then himself. When federal
police investigator Aaron Falk returns
to Kiewarra, for the funerals his
investigative skills are called on. As Falk
probes deeper into the killings, old
wounds are reopened, for Falk and his
childhood friend Luke shared a secret – a
secret Falk thought long-buried – which
Luke’s death starts to bring to the surface.
Only in Naples
Katherine Wilson
This enchantingly warm and witty
memoir follows American-born
Katherine Wilson on her adventures
abroard, where a 3 month rite of passage
in Naples turns into a permanent
embrace of this boisterous city on
the Mediterranean. It’s all thanks to a
surprising romance, a new passion for
food, and a spirited woman who will
become her mother in law.
A special thank you to author Douglas
Wilkie for his very generous donation of
four of his books:
The Journal Madame Callegari: An
account of an unexpected and utterly
fascinating woman.
The Life and Loves of Eugene Rossiet
Lennon: Professeur Extraordinaire
1849: Forgotten origins of the 1851
gold rushes in Victoria
The Sink of Iniquity: A history of
Education on the Goldfields of Amherst
and Talbot between 1836 and 1862.
These books are
available to borrow
or you can purchase
them on line at
historiancognita.net
Author
of the month
News from
the President
Jenny Haymes (on leave for six
months), Dr Jessie Harman, Prof
John McDonald, Mike Stephens
and Andrew Wallace.
Conference
During the week of 4-8 July the
BMI was one of the main venues
for the Australian Historical
Association (AHA) Annual
Conference, hosted by Federation
University. About 400 participants
from Australia and New Zealand
attended the conference that had
a theme of ‘From Boom to Bust’.
Visiting historians made many
favourable comments about
Ballarat’s wonderful historical
buildings and, in particular, the
ambience of the BMI.
Membership
Membership rates for the coming
12 months were set at the AGM:
General Membership $55,
Concession (Pensioners, Students) $45,
Corporate $150.
A new two-year category was
introduced:
General Membership $100,
Concession $80.
Our librarian Rosemary McInerney
sends out notices when subs are
due and I urge all members to pay
promptly as this is an important
part of our BMI Income.
Phil Roberts
President
Johanna
Nicholls
Johanna comes from a theatrical family.
She is the daughter of comedy writer
Freddie Parsons, who wrote for Graham
Kennedy. Johanna was a journalist and
magazine writer in Sydney, Melbourne
and London. In television she worked
as a researcher, writer and Head Script
Editor of TV Drama at the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation. Titles by
Johanna include the historical dramas
Ironbark, Ghost Gum Valley, The Lace
Balcony and Golden Hope (see below).
Rosemary had the pleasure of meeting
Johanna in the BMI last week, while she
was visiting Ballarat for research.
Book
of the month
Golden Hope
Johanna
Nicholls
Clytie Hart, a daring equestrienne, is
travelling with her mother in a wagon
train along the back roads of Victoria’s
gold triangle. Wildebrand Circus is
now struggling to survive, however
an invitation to play Hoffnung, an
isolated gold-mining town, promises to
restore the circus’s fortunes. Hoffnung’s
respectable veneer conceals the dark
secrets of a town haunted by a mystery
that threatens to blight Clytie’s life –
and all those she has learned to love.
NOVEL
The Life of Elves | Muriel Barbery
Magic Hour | Kristin Hannah
The House Between Tides | Sarah Maine
My Italian Bulldozer | Alexander McCall Smith
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper |
Phaedra Patrick
The Mandibles | Lionel Shriver
The Boy Who Could See Death | Sally Vickers
AUSTRALIAN
A Woman of Courage | J.H.Fletcher
The Dry | Jane Harper
Castle of Dreams | Elise McCune
SCANDANAVIAN
Hellfire | Karin Fossum
No Echo | Anne Holt
The Devil’s Cubs | Leena Lehtolainen
The Final Word | Liza Marklund
for August
The Dry
Jane Harper
T
MYSTERY
Die Of Shame | Mark Billingham
The Swimming Pool | Louise Candlish
When She Was Bad | Tammy Cohen
After the Lie | Kerry Fisher
Between You and Me | Lisa Hall
Forget Me Not | Luana Lewis
What She Knew | Gilly MacMillan
Written in the Scars | Mel Sherratt
Only the Brave | Mel Sherratt
The Missing | C.L.Taylor
Out of the Ice | Ann Turner
Fatal Pursuit | Martin Walker
Keep You Close | Lucie Whitehouse
New Releases
Recommended
Reads
hank you to Prof Terry Lloyd
for deputising as President
during June when Graham
Gooding was overseas and in July
when also I have been overseas.
This report has been written in
early July before my wife Geraldine
and I travel to Europe.
As reported in the July Newsletter
our AGM was held on Wednesday
29 June when BMI Curator
Amy Tsilemanis provided an
enthusiastic and comprehensive
presentation about her work at
the Institute. She focused on her
curatorial work with the Max
Harris photographic collection
and on the preparations for the
forthcoming BMI Open Day
that is to be held on Saturday 3
September.
I encourage all BMI members
to embrace our Open Day
and provide full support for
Amy. Details of the Open Day
are outlined elsewhere in this
newsletter and I call on everyone
to advertise it by word–of-mouth,
by inviting friends and by assisting
in the various programs. If we
have a full team effort this can
be a significant occasion for the
Institute. The end result could be
that our wonderful facilities – our
libraries and our rooms for hire receive more use.
We were very heartened at the
AGM to have such a strong Board
elected. The five new members - Dr
Jessie Harman, Ross Furness, Prof
John McDonald, Mike Stephens
and Andrew Wallace – all bring
experience and a wide range of
skills that we can call upon.
The full 2016-17 Board is:
President Phil Roberts
Vice-Presidents
Prof Terry Lloyd (Library)
Andrew Miller (Building)
Secretary Ross Furness
Treasurer Grantley Hastings
Board members: David Berry,
Graham Gooding, Wendy Graham,
NON FICTION
Talking To My Country | Stan Grant
Wild By Nature | Sarah Marquis
Only In Naples | Katherine Wilson
New
Members
Roslyn Smallwood
Neil Huybregts
Rae Sebo
Robert MGuire
Jack & Pam
Engwerda
David Dalenburg
Nicola Cousen
Helen & Richard
McDowell
Bill Hitchins
Michael Ray
Robert Burns
Jessie Harman
Within Our Walls
Contact Information
from front page
Kadampa Meditation
info@kadampa.org.au
Exhale Yoga - Breath Body Mind
Contact Amy at UFS Dispensaries on
5327 7777
Memory Atlas
To be involved, contact the City of
Ballarat or visit www.hulballarat.org.au/
cb_pages/memory_atlas.php
Band for Life
Max Harris Collection
Mystery Spot
Memorial Concert Band to fill the library on September 3
As part of our Spring Celebrations we
have an array of performance coming
your way! See the lineup on this page
and logon to
ballaratmi.org.au/springcelebrations to
book tickets online or see Rosemary in
the library.
Open Day kicks off at 10am on Saturday
September 3 with the Ballarat Memorial
Concert Band in the lending library – an
experiment in how many people and
musical instruments can fit in the space!
This month we chatted with Cheryl
Russell, a committed BMI volunteer
who is also a member of the Ballarat
Memorial Concert Band.
Wade & Cheryl from
the Ballarat Memorial
Concert Band
“I first became involved with the BMI
when I moved to Ballarat twenty-two years
ago. I like reading and I was interested in
the (then unrestored) building and became
a member. I like the community feel of
the organisation. I started volunteering last
year and Rosemary has welcomed me like
an old friend. People are accommodating
and personable and of course I enjoy
working with books. As I reshelve, I’m
forever reading the review on a cover and
promising myself that I will read that
book!
The Ballarat Memorial Concert Band
is the legacy of The Returned Soldiers,
Sailors and Airmens Band which was
formed after the end of World War I.
It was a brass band for returned service
We are really looking forward to the
community contributing their vast local
knowledge to our new image collection
as it makes its home at the BMI.
This month we were able to gather
some great information about this
fabulous image from the collection
of a marching band passing Ewins
Booksellers on Sturt St (where
Cyclescape is now).
personnel. By the 1970s it changed with
the times and became a community band
and included woodwind instruments,
hence the name concert rather than brass
band. We are currently a band of about
forty members encompassing a variety of
ages and abilities enjoying playing music
under the baton of our Musical Director,
Wade Carman.
I play clarinet in The Ballarat Memorial
Concert Band and saxophone in The
Haddon band. I learnt to play well and
truly as an adult, but music in some
form or another has always been a part
of my life. I say to all budding musicians
out there, if you have wanted to, but
have not had the opportunity to play an
instrument, or know someone in that
situation, now is the time. The band is
currently establishing a developmental
band for beginners. If you are beyond the
developmental level, the senior band will
welcome you also.
Through a family connection,
Stephen Matthews was able to identify
the band as the Ballarat Caledonian
Society Pipe Band with Lew Zillies as
Drum Major, circa 1920s.
“The gent in the lighter suit is my
wife’s great grandfather” Stephen says.
“Including me, four generations (of my
family) have been in the band, which
is now Federation University Australia
Pipe Band.” Fascinating stuff!
If you come to the library on Open Day
you can expect an eclectic range of music
from foot tapping marches to musicals,
popular and classical pieces and more.”
Thursday September 1:
Ballarat Songwriters Night - 7:30pm
AMiner, The Dead Salesmen Duo,
Freya Hollick & Matt Malone
Spring
Celebrations
Friday September 2:
An Evening of Jazz & Soul - 7:30pm
Liana & The Petite Morte,
Geoffrey Williams, Motor City Sounds
September 1 - 3
Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute
Saturday September 3:
BMI OPEN DAY - 10am
For more information &
to book your tickets, go to
ballaratmi.org.au/springcelebrations
Free! See program inside
Vintage Night - 6:30pm
Sounds of Silent, Surf Shadows,
Short films by Erin McCuskey
Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute
117 Sturt St
Ballarat, Vic 3350
Library hours:
Mon - Fri: 10am - 4pm
Saturday: 9:30am - 12pm
www.ballaratmi.org.au
P: (03) 5331 3042
e: library@ballaratmi.org.au
For venue hire enquiries
e: bookings@ballaratmi.org.au
P: 0419 677 713