Goanna – Let The Franklin Flow

On 13 February 1983, Gordon Franklin & the Wilderness Ensemble performed “Let the Franklin Flow” at the People for Nuclear Disarmament Concert in Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The ensemble included members of Goanna and fellow folk rock group Redgum, and Lucas.

In May 1983, “Let the Franklin Flow” was issued as a single with Lucas and Jeff Chapell as producers. Howard, the song’s writer, was credited as F. River. The single reached No. 12 nationally. Proceeds supported the Tasmanian Wilderness Society’s campaign against the proposed damming of Tasmania’s Gordon and Franklin Rivers for a hydroelectricity project. Howard physically supported the protests by joining the picket lines. The B-side of the single, “Franklin River – World Heritage”, was written and recorded by the Society’s director, Bob Brown, who later became a senator and the leader of Australian Greens.