You could say Canberra has had a rocky relationship with Batemans Bay in 2020. Our favourite holiday destination has been through the wars this year, starting with horrific fires and now the devastating news the iconic Soldiers Club has been linked to a spread of Covid.
The Eurobodalla Council have closed some of its facilities from Monday to stop the spread throughout tourist hot spots. Among those venues that closed was JJ’s at The Marina. The owner of the South Coast restaurant, Jacob Crooke, took to his business page to vent his frustrations after witnessing locals acting unfavourable to tourists, particularly Canberrans.
Jacobs consensus was that the Batemans Bay behaviour has been “absolutely terrible” and at the forefront of negativity.
“It’s no one’s right to say get out of our town. It’s a disgusting way of thinking. We need to band together as a community to come up with plans, come up with positive thinking to try and get people to continue to come later on.”
The video has been viewed over 37 thousand times with hundreds of Canberrans flocking to the comments to thank Jacob for his support.
Should we stay or should we go? has been the question on most our minds with conflicting information as to whether locals should jump in our car, head down the Clyde and inject some money into the South Coast, or whether we should simply stay home.
In his Facebook video, the restaurant owner encouraged locals to remember Batemans Bay is “situated between Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra” and that business (including his own) relied on visitors for their survival.
“Without them I don’t have a business, I know half a dozen friends in business in town who wouldn’t survive without tourists. Everyone has to realise that,” Jacob said.
