What does it mean to be a Victorian? For many of us it includes a love of football and other sports; a love of music and the arts; a love of browsing in a bookstore, of literary events; a love of the local cafe or pub. And, of course, food. So what does it mean when all those things that make Melbourne and Victoria such a wonderful place to live face shutting down?
Empty chairs at empty tables are the new reality in the restaurant industry. Credit:Bloomberg
The coronavirus outbreak is quickly making our lives more constrained, more confined to our homes, more focused on getting through each day safely. Routines are being disrupted, traditions broken. It will take some time to settle into this new way of living. For many, sitting at the kitchen table or home office will replace a desk at work. Uniforms and business attire will be stored away.
But for all those musicians, chefs, actors, athletes, stagehands, artists, waiters, ushers and many others who help enrich Melbourne with such a diverse range of entertainment and experiences, it will mean more than a change of habits. Prime Minister Scott Morrison's decision to ban all indoor gatherings of more than 100 people and the space restrictions have put a stop to most shared activities. Closed theatres, sporting arenas, galleries, music venues, and possibly down the track restaurants and pubs and cafes will create great hardship for many.
Governments will step in to assist: for those who lose their job or shut down a business or run our cultural and sporting bodies and institutions. But they will need more than what government handouts can offer. It will require a more collective effort. For those who can – and when the time comes – showing support not just with well wishes, but in whatever way possible, will be crucial. The summer bushfires showed that Victorians can be very generous in the face of a crisis.
We will need to make decisions about whether to maintain memberships and annual subscriptions to sporting clubs, orchestras or theatre companies. We should err on the side of generosity.
For when the virus is contained, which it will be, we will want our lives to return to normal, and we will want those places and people who enrich our lives to be there, ready to put on a show, take to the field, open their doors, welcome us back. And so we must support them now. How rich our lives are after the outbreak will very much be determined by our actions today.
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The next few months will be a time that won't be forgotten easily. There will be much to reflect on: how we acted, how well we looked after each other, how the strains of this crisis changed us. Melbourne and Victoria will not be the same place. The collective memory will linger.
History has shown that those from the arts community – authors, painters, playwrights, performers, filmmakers, musicians – are often the ones who give us a better understanding, a better perspective, a better appreciation of what has happened. Fixing the economy will be important, and getting people back to work crucial, but let us not lose sight of the emotional toll this will have on many people.
When the day comes for crowds to flood the MCG, or for the Melbourne Theatre Company to throw open its doors, or your local music venue or sporting club to roar back to life, it will be a moment to truly celebrate. Only then will Victoria again be the place we know and love. Let's make sure that happens.
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