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  2022-01-02

  Quarantine Post Lockdowns

  HIST30060: This was a photo taken before dinner during my self quarantine at the beginning of this year, as I had come into close contact with my mum who had COVID on Christmas day. I was then promptly messaged by the Department of Health and Human Services to quarantine for the next week, which also meant I had to self isolate on my birthday (New Year's Eve). This dinner was the final night of that quarantine, in my apartment with my girlfriend and her dog, eating a dinner we had organised through having our groceries delivered for the first and only time. This quarantine reminded me and still reminds me of the presence COVID still has in our lives even in 2022, years on from the beginning of the pandemic and outside of lockdown restrictions. The virus still restricts us in ways we had not experienced before 2020.
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  2020-06-06

  History within History

  HIST30060: This photo was taken at the Melbourne Black Lives Matter protest in June of 2020, it was one amongst the wave of protests taking place across the world sparked by protests in the United States following George Floyd's death at the hands of the police. It was the second protest I had attended and the sheer number of people attending to show solidarity with people of colour in the US and shed light on police issues at home was an inspiring sight despite the harrowing reality of it all. Figures such as the Prime Minister at the time cited health risks as reason to not demonstrate, but this potential of COVID spreading however was consistently weaponised by conservative pundits (despite their consistent calls for lax restrictions). to discredit the movement.
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  2021-09

  Rising Profits

  HIST30060: This is a screenshot of a whatsapp group chat for the workplace I was in during the sixth COVID lockdown in Melbourne. Despite restrictions being at its highest at this point, the profits for my workplace broke new records this week, similar as to how other major companies raked in major profits during the lockdown era. I remember working that Wednesday night, me and the few coworkers I was with were inundated mostly by online delivery orders but there was still a steady stream of customers coming in (quite often without masks) to order in person. There was little reward for our efforts, but at the very least I was afforded some peace and quiet on the commute home with the lockdowns in place.
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  2021-08-28

  The First Jab

  HIST30060: This is an image of when I was waiting to leave the Royal Exhibition Building following my first vaccination. The experience was not something I was unfamiliar with, throughout high school I received regular vaccinations, the only downside this time was there not being a bowl of lollies to reward myself with as there was during high school. I had been anticipating the worst of symptoms after what I had heard from others, but fortunately all I really got was a stiff arm. This was also amidst the beginnings of the anti-vax movement and protests that we unfortunately are so accustomed to at this point.
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  2020-07-04

  The North Melbourne Public Housing Lockdown

  HIST30060: Just before the second lockdown in Melbourne I was told by my mum that my grandfather and step grandmother had been suddenly without warning placed into a sharp lockdown within the public housing they resided in. The confusion and anger was quickly shared by my family and extended family members, where was the consideration for some of the most vulnerable members of the community, who in some cases cannot speak english? Why were they subject to such harsh conditions whilst those in the wealthy inner east free to enjoy themselves despite their equally high rates of covid? This was noticed by me as well in the harsher treatment of those in the poorer, diverse suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne during some of the worst times of the pandemic.