Tour heritage building by night

UNCOVER the secrets of the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute by touring the historical building at night.

The panned tours will take attendees through the 1860s building and are led by guides with extensive experience, including Tim Harris.

“The night tours are called Minerva’s Gaze because of the Minerva statue on the roof,” he said.

“The tours take you all through the building which is arguably one of the most important and beautiful buildings in Ballarat.

“We travel through nearly every area of the building with stories and tales from all different times in history.”

Attendees will get to see areas of the building which have only recently been reopened following renovations.

“One of the biggest highlights is we get to go into some spaces which have been off limit to the public for quite a long time now,” said Mr Harris. “It’s a bit spooky.”

The eerie atmosphere is also created in part due to the events being guided by lantern light.

“The tours are led by lantern light so it’s very dark and atmospheric,” said Mr Harris.

“It also harps back to the time the building was designed and built which was before main current electricity.”

Mr Harris encouraged people to take part in the next tour, particularly with Halloween coming up.

“Bring your friends especially this spooky season because you never know what you might see,” he said. “Old buildings mean odd things can happen.”

The tours cost $27.50 and have a limited number of spots. The next event is set for on Sunday 22 October and booked via the BMI website.