June saw Melbourne achieve joint 8th place on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index. This was a markedly reduced ranking for mighty Melbourne, which had for many years claimed a seemingly perpetual spot near the very top; frequently first, or at least, second of the most livable cities in the world.
Undoubtedly driven by the ongoing pandemic, many great cities have seen a change of fortune. Former European greats like Vienna [12] have faltered in the rankings while essentially covid-free Auckland [1] has now triumphed at the top of the table. No less than four Australian cities have made it into the top 10, with Adelaide [3] and Perth [6] faring strongly. Brisbane [10] also made the cut, and it can only be the scantest of consolations to Melbournians, that their traditional rival Sydney [11] has just missed out of a place at the top table. For better and for worse, many renowned cities have risen, and many have fallen across the globe.
Such change reminds us that great cities, just like great people, are subject to the ever-fickle churn of fortune; rising and falling within the perpetual motion of chance, circumstance, and human endeavor. It was ever thus, and as the father of western history himself observed, from his vantage in the 5th century BCE:
“… I shall go forward with my history, describing equally the greater and the lesser cities. For the cities which were formerly great, have most of them become insignificant; and such as those that are at present powerful, were weak in the times of old.” [Herodotus, Histories. Book 1.5]
In historical terms, we don’t have to go back that far to view a different Melbourne altogether. One that proudly celebrated itself as the ‘Seventh City of the British Empire’. The iconic 1930’s poster of Percy Trompf, for the Australian National Travel Association, showcasing the Manchester Unity Building, as a poster-icon of confident Australian identity, and an enduring classic of travel advertising.
Look back again further and another chapter in Melbourne’s fortune emerges when the largely unbuilt settlement exploded exponentially in size, following the boom of the 1850’s gold rush. Melbourne simply could not grow fast enough, and for a time it seemed the whole world flocked to Victoria’s booming city.
So does the lens of history, constantly focus and re-focus on the fortunes of a metropolis. Time changes many aspects in the circumstance, of nations, peoples, and their cities. Yet, no metropolis – no Athens, no Sparta, no Melbourne, no Auckland – has ever seen the end of flux or the ever-changing nature of fortune. Those that rise now will fall in time, and those that are laid low, have the potential to rise anew.
As a Melbournite, resident, and lover of the city, it’s been hard to miss the scarring effect that four significant covid lockdowns have had on Melbourne. However, knowing the spirit and character of this great city, can any doubt that Melbourne will, rise again.
