Topical talks to take place for free

TWILIGHT Talks are returning to the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute’s Humffray Room this month with the series being free of charge for the first time in the its two-decade history.

The five single-hour sessions featuring varying topics and presenters are being supported by Community Bank Buninyong, set to run every Wednesday from 8, February to 13, March.

Assistant coordinator Dr Phil Roberts said the series has always been about providing culturally important talks for the community.

“Their talks of interest to the community, and we have a series of different talks on different themes,” he said.

“To me, the variety of talks has kept it engaging. We have two speakers each time presenting on two allied topics.”

The first session will feature amateur astronomer Graeme Hood on the prospects of living on Mars, followed by an exploration on the life of female astronomer Effie Baker, led by historian Dr Anne Beggs-Sunter.

Session two will see athlete Steve Moneghetti talking about Ballarat’s role in the 2026 Commonwealth Games, while former North Ballarat Football Club coach Gerard Fitzgerald will talk about great teams.

For session three, Dr Roberts and Jenny Beacham will talk about the histories of the Ballaarat Club and Trades Hall respectively.

Homelessness will be on the agenda for session four, with talks from representatives of the Ballarat Future Shapers and the Committee for Ballarat’s Michael Poulton.

The final session will feature Lateral Plains founder George Fong and Aiculuson CEO, Dr Omaru Maruatona speaking on the importance of data.

Dr Roberts said he hopes the free tickets will boost the number of attendees.

“Before COVID, we’d typically get 50, 60, sometimes 80 people so we want to make sure that happens again and we increase the interest in the community,” he said.

“Last year, we’d have about 20 to 30 people. These are very high-standard, well-illustrated talks of very interesting talks.”

Each session will start at 5.30pm at the BMI and bookings can be made at their website or in the library.