Take the back roads at the BMI

JOURNEY through some of Heather Ewart’s great Australian road trips at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, or BMI, next month.

The award-winning journalist is the host of ABC’s Back Roads and author of Back Roads: The Great Aussie Road Trip, where she shares her tips for the best ways to travel the country.

Ms Ewart, who was a senior political reporter and foreign correspondent, will be joined by theatre writer and performer Emma Mary Hall.

BMI volunteer Gerardine Christou said the event is a great way to hear Ms Ewart’s stories firsthand.

“It’s about her journey as a woman and she’s been a journalist for a long time and hasn’t always done Back Roads,” said Ms Christou.

“It will be really interesting to hear from her about her journey and it will also be really interesting to hear about some of her experiences as she travelled around Australia.

“She has really nice angles that she puts on communities.”

Ms Christou was the driver behind the BMI developing a partnership with the Wheeler Centre, which is an organisation that supports writers, readers and thinkers.

She said it is important to provide opportunities for regional Victorians to interact with authors.

“I used to travel to Melbourne to see Wheeler Centre events… inevitably when I was travelling back on the train I would meet other people from the same event, so it got me thinking, why wasn’t the Wheeler Centre doing something here in Ballarat?,” she said.

“They were so receptive and really, really pleased to be able to work with an organisation in Ballarat and do joint projects.

“It also builds on the history of the Mechanics’ Institute because it has a history of learning and books and the arts.”

Heather Ewart in Conversation will be on Tuesday 10 September from 6pm. Tickets can be purchased on the BMI website.