Twilight Talks – Connections to War from a Ballarat Perspective: Dr Hardy and the Men of St Paul’s

Twilight Talks have been held at the Ballarat Mechanics Institute since 2001, providing a great opportunity to hear some fantastic speakers and meet up with friends over drinks.

Participants arrive at the Humffray Room from 5:00pm for drinks and conversation, followed by a 30 to 40 minute talk commencing at 5:30pm.

Dr Charles Henry ‘William’ Hardy was a well-known and well-respected member of the Ballarat Community. He was a member of many Ballarat organisations, including the Ballaarat Mechanics Institute, where he was President twice.

Apart from those involvements he was a family man and a member of the militia. After war broke out, in 1915 Dr Hardy enlisted into the AIF and took the 6th Field Ambulance, a part of the 2nd Australian Division, to Egypt and Gallipoli.

Anne Doggett, in her recently published book on the Honour Board of St Paul’s Church on Bakery Hill Lives on Honour, Ballarat East and the Great War gives details on nine of St Paul’s Church men who also served with the 6th Field Ambulance. Dr Hardy and the men of St Paul’s Church chronicles the life of Dr Hardy and those nine men.

Two of Dr Hardy’s family will attend the talk. Speaker: Neil Leckie.

The BMI appreciates the support received from the Community Bank Buninyong for the staging of Twilight Talks.