On and off I've been walking in and out of Eesti Maja all my life. It’s a conspicuous address in Sydney’s CBD that I've never really had anything to do with it. Yet it's as familiar as any landmark in Sydney to me.
From the road, the first glimpse you get of this Harry Siedler inspired corner shop draws the instant response that Eesti Maja is stuck in a time warp. Aside from the words "ESTONIAN HOUSE" that dominate the wall immediately above the used/disused shop at the front of the building, there is only a subtle copper plaque at the gate entrance to let you know what the place actually is. Not that any passerby would know what an "Estonia" is.
On entering through a very "Estonian" front gate that opens to a tree lined walkway, the path to the front door of the Maja leads the eyes to a sculpture of the Estonian nation on the wall above the entry awning. It's probably my favourite thing about the Maja - the sculpture. It has these glass marbles inserted into the sculpture that reminds me of Estonian women’s jewellery that my mother used to wear. Subconsciously comforting I'm sure and probably why I feel a sense of ease when walking in.
When entering the Maja, the visitor is confronted by...a wall. Perhaps it’s a subconscious element of the Eesti Maja, reflecting the Estonian personality in general. You see, to enter you have to turn hard right, and then left which will lead you into the main hall. But before you get there, you walk through the main entry foyer and wonder why the main doors to the Maja aren’t open instead of the side "front" door. Haaaa.....
The decor is 50's/60's/70's/80's but not so significant in that what the hall consists of is made up from donated furniture and effort from days gone by. No different from any other community hall in Australia, maybe even Estonia for all I know. But there's an instant homey feeling which is undeniable. I think I might be one-eyed in this regard, and I'm sure there would be plenty of people who would have the other eye open instead.
My sentimentality received a bit of a check recently at one of the bi-monthly Eesti Cafe dinners when during a conversation, the topic of Eesti Majas future came up. What should be done with Eesti Maja? Should it be fixed or sold?
Instantly I was disappointed by the prospect of losing such a relic of my past, as I’m sure many other people would be too. It’s old, it’s daggy but it’s ours. “How could anyone think of selling it off?” I thought. The reality of the halls situation was quickly brought to the fore by a figure in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, just to bring the place up to fire code, let alone make it a desirable place to mingle.
I’m not a stranger to this situation though. Several years ago, my uncle saw a similar situation unfolding with another relic of the Australian-Estonian communities past, the old Estonian Hall in Thirlmere. He put it to a meeting of the younger generation of Australian-Estonians that eventually something had to give in regards of the Hall. The cost of maintaining such a place was exceeding the usefulness of it and the question was asked; if it were sold and the money invested elsewhere, would the community benefit more from it? From memory there was no definitive answer agreed upon, and as such to date, the situaton is unchanged with the Hall still in the Societies hands.
If a meeting were called today to ask the same question about Eesti Maja in Sydney, I suspect the same result might apply. I guess there’s a point in a society’s life when things of the past are either retained to keep perspective on what that society is about, or they accept change is necessary to survive and evolve into something different and/or something more.
The question that really struck me though about the old Estonia Hall in Thirlmere and Eesti Maja was that for all this time, why have these places been left to get to such a point? It seems to be a common thread that for anything made, owned and developed by the Australian-Estonian societies past generations needs to now have its validity questioned and future justified. Why? What culture, or lack of culture, has developed that has let things slide into such a state? Worst of all, it seems to be threatened by (dare I write it) a lack of creativity. No one seems to know what the hell to do with all this property and the responsibilities that come with it.
But it's completely understandable.
Aside from what apears to be a fruity and political past, only a small portion of the Australian-Estonian baby boomers and the remnants of some grand and great-grand parents have kept these places alive and going. Whether that's only because it’s these peoples second home, the responsibilities placed on their shoulders has been large and is starting to show.
Others, like me included, have had no real input other than turning up to the occasional event put on by the "regulars". For me this has been a constant source of guilt as I have wanted to be more involved and part of this community in the past, but have felt weird about approaching from the outside. This is for several reasons as may not only be mine, but other peoples as well. Namely, geography - I (did) live well away from anything to do with Estonians; the fact I don't speak fluent Estonian; I've had no real meaningful association with any other Australian-Estonian in the past; I don't know anyone my age and the worst fear of all - if I started turning up to functions on my own, I would eventually be singled out as 'that creep who keeps turning up to things and never speaks to anyone'. Aaaargh Shudder.
However, since the beginning of the Eesti Cafe series, my fears have been quashed by contrary facts. Most Australian-Estonians my age don't speak fluent Estonian - if any; I know more people than I thought I did and the best surprise of all, if I did turn up on my own, I wouldn't have been the only creep there! All this time in the wilderness...tsk tsk Siimon.
I have digressed here, but I have brought myself to the Eesti Cafe dinners. These nights, instigated as I understand it by the daughters of a baby boomer, have perhaps signalled resurgence in the attention afforded to our culture in Australia. The idea behind the dinners is to raise badly needed funds to bring the Sydney Eesti Maja back up to building code. To keep it alive. To keep it going. To keep the community going. And it seems to be working, wanted and definitely justified.
What I find more surprising however is that it’s not just the old vanguard showing up month in, month out, but its actual visiting Estonians (and complete ring-ins) showing up too. Now this throws a spanner in the works. Suddenly we’ve gone from justifying these places of community for ourselves, to justifying them for everyone. Not just Australian-Estonians. From these dinners, certain questions have begun to arise:
• Is the awareness in the Australian-Estonian community growing again?
• Why is it growing again?
• If the community is growing again, is selling Eesti Maja the right thing to do?
• If Eesti Maja was sold, what would the community do next? Where would the community go?
• If we got another hall in another place that was bigger and better, wouldn’t that just increase the responsibility and the expense?
These questions have no immediate answers and tend to only fuel more questions. However, some things are certain. As Australian-Estonians, we are afforded a unique position of responsibility and opportunity to capitalise on what little we have now, for the future. As we cling to the relics of Eesti Maja and the old Estonian Hall in Thirlmere, we must remind ourselves that although other larger communities like the Finnish and Swedes have societies in Sydney, they don’t have places to call their own. I'm failry certain no one wants to see this happen to us.
Eesti Maja is trailing badly in last position for the Sydney Baltic Community. The likes of the Latvian Club in Strathfield, and heady heights of the Lithuanian club in Bankstown only light the way for what potential is on offer for us to have, and call our own. Eesti Maja is situated in the heart of one of the most popular cities in the world and needs to be a beacon not only for its community here in Australia, but for every Estonian who walks through its front door and for others looking from abroad.
The time has come to let go of the 'look' of the past without letting go of Eesti Maja and what it is about - us. Whilst Eesti Maja is daggy and yes, we have all become confortable and nonchalant about it, the fact remains the place is old and the most colouful thing insdie it these days are the people who come together in it. Fundamentaly this should always be the case, however it's dangerous to throw a party when the walls are coming down around you...slowly.
I’m putting this out to my generation and anyone older who wants to build on what is here now, for the future, for the next generation and most of all, for your own damn satisfacrtion: do not sell Eesti Maja. Eesti Maja on meie kodu. The oldest member of our Estonian family still has a pulse, and I for one want to keep that pulse going for a very, very long time.
