Aussie rocker Russell Morris backs Eagleby group’s anti Coomera Connection campaign with song dedication

A fight to stop a six-lane highway south of Brisbane was given wings on the weekend, when rock legend Russell Morris said his hit song Wings of an Eagle would be the campaign anthem. WATCH THE VIDEO

It was the real thing when Aussie rock legend Russell Morris sang his hit song Wings of an Eagle at a concert on Saturday night and dedicated it to Eagleby residents fighting the state government over the Coomera Connector.

Morris, now 72, told the crowd he was backing a local preservation group trying to stop the second M1 clipping through a portion of wetlands at Eagleby, effectively dividing their community.

The generous rocker also said The Eagleby Community and Wetlands group could use the song to promote the area and the sanctity of its wildlife.

Aussie rock legend Russell Morris meets members of the Eagleby Wetlands Conservation Group who are fighting the state government to stop a six-lane highway ploughing through their community. PHOTO: Eagleby Community and Wetlands Group.

Members of the group wrote to Morris in May and asked him if they could use the music in a video for the campaign against the highway cutting across the Eagleby wetlands.

The song was a particular favourite of the group’s original secretary and treasurer Mandy Lumley, who died on June 6 after a battle with an aggressive cancer.

It was one of the last songs members of the conservation group played to her on her deathbed.

The group was amazed and delighted when Morris picked up the phone and called them after their letter and invited them to his concert and made the musical offer.

The Coomera Connector will go through parts of the Eagleby community and nearby wetlands.

Eagleby Community and Wetlands Group president Marilyn Goodwin said Morris’s generosity would help bring their campaign to the attention of a wider audience.

“He said we could use the song to promote the wetlands group and that he would film a video sharing his support for our aims,” she said.

“He talked to me about having previously been in campaigns against poor planning decisions that impacted communities.

“We wanted to be sure that there were no copyright issues that we needed to be aware of before publicising his wonderful generosity.”

The group received his permission in writing last week, just days before heading to the SoundLounge at Currumbin for Saturday night’s fully booked concert.

After the show, they were invited backstage to chat.

“He was a very warm and personable person,” Ms Goodwin said.

“He spoke of his own experiences fighting for things he believed in and was supportive.”

Morris also accepted the offer of a “real” tour of the wetlands by Eagleby elder Uncle Peter Eather, who said the site was of cultural significance.