"Goodbye Blinky Bill" is a song written and recorded by John Williamson with Bullamakanka and John’s daughters Ami and Georgie. The song was released in a limited edition in March 1986 as the only single from Williamson's 1986 compilation album '' All the Best''. The song is a

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

song, raising awareness of the decline in numbers of the Australian

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the w ...

due to

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

eucalypts Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

trees; with reference to an anthropomorphic koala named

Blinky Bill Blinky Bill is an anthropomorphic koala and children's fictional character created by author and illustrator Dorothy Wall. The character of Blinky first appeared in Brooke Nicholls' 1933 book, ''Jacko – the Broadcasting Kookaburra'', which ...

. A$1 from each sale was donated to the Koala Preservation Society in

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea c ...

. The song has been covered by The Wayfarers.

Track listing

; 7" Side A: "Goodbye Blinky Bill" (with Ami & Georgie Williamson and Bullamakanka)
Side B: "Koala Koala"

Release history

References

John Williamson (singer) songs 1986 songs 1986 singles Environmental songs Festival Records singles {{1980s-single-stub