1951 - present

Lindy Morrison’s extraordinary musical career has taken her from punk social worker to indie drumming sensation, then tutor to young rock hopefuls at Bondi Pavilion.

She graduated in social work in 1972, then went to work for Australia’s first Aboriginal and Islander Legal service and joined protests against Queensland’s controversial Bjelke-Petersen government.

In the late ‘70s, punk music emerged as a political movement: ‘That’s what finally made me … become a punk drummer,’ Morrison said. She joined a female band called Zero, then the ground-breaking Brisbane group the Go-Betweens in 1980, winning much acclaim in Europe. In 1990, she teamed up with another ex-Go-Between for three years in a group called Cleopatra Wong.

Motherhood brought Morrison to Sydney in the 1990. At the Bondi Pavilion, she took on the Bondi Wave program, mentoring budding talent for success in the music industry. The following year she also became a mother.

She was referred to as the heartbeat of music projects in the Pavilion, helping the Junction House Band, a group of musicians with mild intellectual disabilities, become semi-professional. She also mentored a seniors’ jazz band.

In 1998, she was appointed National Welfare co-ordinator of Support Act, a charity for the music industry. During the first year of the Covid pandemic it faced a 3000% increase in calls for help. It assessed nearly 2000 applications and distributed more than $5m in crisis relief. She retired from the position in 2021.

Morrison also advocated for musicians on copyright issues and in 1993 became Artistic Director on the board of the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Limited.

Turning to politics in 2003, she stood for the NSW seat of Coogee and the federal seat of Wentworth at the 2004 election. In 2010, she graduated with a Masters in Legal Studies from the University of NSW.

Her work as performer and advocate were rewarded with an Order of Australia Medal in 2013 and the Australian Performing Rights Association Ted Albert Award for outstanding services to Australian music. She is a lifetime honorary member of the Music Council of Australia.

In 2018, Morrison was back on the drums, with Alex the Astronaut, followed by Rob Snarski, Cassy Judy and on a short tour of the UK playing with the band Girl With The Replaceable Head.

Courtesy Lindy Morrison, Carl Allen and Mark Hopper.