MR MICHAEL GUDINSKI AM STATE MEMORIAL Wednesday 24 March 2021

Mrs Andrews, Ministers, Former Premiers, Members of Parliament Distinguished Guests Above all, Sue, Matt and Cara and Kate and Andrew

First, I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land upon which we are gathering and pay my respects to their Elders past and present and to the Elders here with us.

How fitting that we gather here – in an arena – to honour Michael Gudinski AM.

It’s fitting for the obvious reason that, across his illustrious career, an arena was a natural habitat for him.

But there’s another reason.

In 1910, former US President, Teddy Roosevelt, gave what would become one of the most widely quoted speeches of his career. So widely quoted, that today it is known simply as The Man in the Arena.

Roosevelt could have been describing Michael, as he spoke of the men who were trying to make the world a better place. The doers. The enthusiasts.

Roosevelt spoke of credit belonging to ‘the man who is actually in the arena… [the one] who strives…who knows great enthusiasms…who spends himself in a worthy cause… or, as he put it, [the one whose] place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.’

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And so, to this man in the arena.

There is much to say about Michael Gudinski. Someone who did so much, was so much and was loved and admired so very much.

Others this evening will speak of Michael from a personal perspective. Of matters close and dear to them.

I speak on behalf of the people of Victoria – and, for that matter, far beyond…such a wide arena of people, all enriched by Michael’s bold contributions.

And they were bold contributions.

Michael was indeed a precocious talent.

As is well known, he was organising gigs and booking acts while still a teenager.

He said he never had ‘a thing for school’.

What an inspiration Michael’s life has been, and will be, to others who, like him, find that they just don’t have a thing for school!

Obviously, it never held him back.

He has been described as the founder of the Australian music scene, the godfather of the Australian music scene, a legend, a cultural icon, the ultimate music man, a force of nature and an amazing Victorian.

In 2006, Michael was named as a Member of the Order of Australia. He was recognised for his service to the music and entertainment industries, but also for his service to the community.

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That reference to community is important. He loved his community and he was committed to it – with a generous spirit and a genuine heart – wherever and whenever he felt that he could help.

We saw that in the course of this last year.

The challenges of the global pandemic seemed to propel him to new heights in his support of performers, and his desire to answer, through the universality of music, the community’s need for connection.

On a more personal note, I think of Michael in different settings.

As an AFL Commissioner, I saw him at the footy. At St Kilda games, of course. Often wearing headphones…even when you were talking to him!

As Governor, I saw him at many events.

One was in May last year, when Something for Kate performed at Government House, as part of The State of Music initiative.

It was one of the few occasions that we were able to have people on site. Michael called in to oversee the filming. He was his usual talkative self. Mind you, how he came to have a beer in hand, I will never know! It will now remain a mystery forever!

I last saw Michael just before Christmas. Like everyone, my husband, Tony, and I we were so pleased to be out and about again. We wandered up Bourke Street for a casual bowl of pasta.

What a treat when Vika and Linda Bull suddenly started singing in a pop-up performance on the footpath.

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We looked over and saw Michael, visibly proud of ‘his’ artists – as usual. Sue, by his side – as usual. And when the performance was over, he chatted with us at a million miles an hour. AS USUAL!

Of course, as the Governor of Victoria, I loved it when he trumpeted Melbourne as the home of music in Australia!

In a 2015 interview published on themusicnetwork.com, Michael spoke of just how much he loved his job, referring to the many different forms of rock and roll, and finishing by saying that ‘rock and roll will never die’.

Well, neither will your memory Michael, nor our gratitude for the industry you’ve helped to build, for the city that you’ve nurtured and the decades of joy you’ve given to us all.

This arena, and all the others that you’ve filled – both literally and figuratively, with your larger than life presence – are now so very much the poorer for your absence.

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