In August, Beeac was dealing with a big problem: coronavirus was quickly spreading through the region, with 136 cases in nearby Colac and 11 in the small area surrounding the town.
Bruno Dimasi and his partner Monique Adamson contracted the virus after watching the footy with their mates in July and are only just coming good now.
Mr Dimasi's infection saw him hospitalised for two weeks and he's still dealing with fatigue and brain fog.
"I was absolutely blown away [by] the fact that we got it, I was not expecting it," Mr Dimasi said.
"I didn't think it would happen. And sadly, for us individually, it did."
But if there was a silver lining to the couple's experience, it was the support they received from their tight-knit community.
Mr Demasi said the hardest part of being hospitalised was knowing his partner was completely isolated at home. But help was always at hand.
"You may not see them on a day-to-day basis and you might not hear from them all the time, but when the chips are down, people in this town come out of the woodwork.
"And you're just surprised at the amount of people that are saying, 'Hey, what can I do for you, what do you need?'"
The pandemic hits the postie
Life in Beeac revolves around the post office and the pub.
Mr Demasi said he rarely made it in and out of the post office in less than 20 minutes.
"Two minutes turns into 20 and there goes your morning," he said.
For the past 27 years, Dave Clancy has been delivering mail in the town.
This year, demand is booming with around 120 parcels needing to be delivered each day to the roughly 230 people the post office services.
And eventually, as cases rose, the virus found its way to the post office; Mr Clancy was a close contact of a positive case.
"We were quite thankful that we were away from Melbourne.
"But the next thing you know, coronavirus has arrived here and we've all had to just be quite aware about how we do things and just how vulnerable you are."
That message was driven home when his father died at a nursing home in Werribee.
"I feel sorry every day for the people who've lost their lives because I know what it feels like," Mr Clancy said.
"So it's been a tough month-and-a-half. It sucks. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
"People are coming back, coming out of their houses. It's like an awakening."
Beers are back on in Beeac
A perfect spring Sunday in Beeac, combined with regional Victoria's relaxed COVID-19 restrictions means the Farmers Arms is fully booked for lunch.
Publicans Dorothy and Ean McDowell are the 106-year-old pub's current custodians; restoring its charming 1960s wood-panelled bar years ago.
The latest additions are face masks for the front bar's two full-sized moose heads.
While takeaway meals kept the bills paid during round one of lockdown, things were much more difficult the second time around.
"It hit us really, really badly. And we struggled to, you know, without the government assistance and we'd be in big, big trouble," Ms McDowell said.
"But the community is really, really supportive, and once we started opening up, they started coming back again."
Unconstrained by the five-kilometre radius restrictions, residents of the surf coast, Geelong and nearby Colac are all booking tables at the Farmers Arms.
And while some in regional Victoria will be wary of Melburnians bursting out of the city when its strict lockdown is lifted, those travellers are essential for pubs like Ean McDowell's.
"Melbourne opening up will certainly help us and will be better for them," he said.
