Midnight Oil are ‘shattered’ following the death of drummer Rob Hirst (Picture: Gaye Gerard/ Getty Images)
Midnight Oil have announced the death of drummer Rob Hirst.

The musician – full name Robert George Hirst – was a founding member of the Australian rock band, which was formed in Sydney in 1972.

From the 1970s, he took on drums, percussion and backing vocals. The band took a hiatus in 2002 but later came back together in 2017.

Hirst was also a member of the bands Ghostwriters, Backsliders, the Angry Tradesmen, and The Break.

However last year he publicly revealed he’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022 – about six months after the band had stopped playing – and had undergone ‘pretty much every treatment known to man’ to fight it.

Nearly a year on, the band has now announced that Hirst has ‘died peacefully’.

The musician was a founding member of the Australian rock band (Picture: Gie Knaeps/ Getty Images)

Posting photos of him performing on stage in the band’s early days, they shared: ‘After fighting heroically for almost three years, Rob is now free of pain – a ‘glimmer of tiny light in the wilderness’.

‘He died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. The family asks that anyone wanting to honour Rob donate to @pankind_australia or @supportact.’

In a statement to the ABC, the band added: ‘We are shattered and grieving the loss of our brother Rob. For now, there are no words but there will always be songs.’

Many fellow musicians and fans rushed to pay tribute to Hirst, with many crediting him with inspiring them to take up drumming too.

Rock legend Jimmy Barnes wrote: ‘Rob Hirst has had a massive impact on Australian culture. He was the engine driving one of the greatest live bands of all time. RIP, dear Rob. You are irreplaceable, one of a kind, and myself, my family, and all the rest of this great country will miss you so much.’

‘A star that will continue to burn bright in my heart, A wonderful human ♥️, country singer Troy Cassar-Daley commented.

Hirst revealed last year he’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022 (Picture: Martin Philbey/ Wire Image)
‘What a drummer. Formidable, powerful, he was an absolute force. Sad day ❤️’ TV personality Ryan Fitzgerald wrote.

‘I wasn’t ready for this. Rob is Midnight Oil. Gone too soon. Thank you for all you gave us,’ fan Paul shared.

‘Absolutely gutted 🙁 one of the best drummers the world ever got to hear. Wouldn’t have picked up the drums without his influence. Rest in Peace,’ Mick added.

Speaking to The Australian last year, Hirst shared how he’d been living with cancer for two years.

‘I’ve had pretty much every treatment known to man – every scan, ultrasound, MRI. I’ve kind of had “the works”,’ he said.

He recalled being diagnosed ‘early, with the tumour being caught while at stage three. Soon after he underwent months of chemotherapy before an unsuccessful eight-hour surgery to attempt the removal of the tumour.

Hirst then continued with both chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.

After initially deciding to keep his diagnosis a secret, Hirst said he decided to go public to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer as it ‘hasn’t really attracted the attention, for example, of skin cancers or breast cancers or others’.

Speaking to the publication, Hirst said he’d been forced to stop playing the drums as he ‘hadn’t got the breath power’ anymore.

He’d been forced to stop playing the drums due to his illness (Picture: Bill McCay/ Getty Images)
In one of his last interviews, in November Hirst spoke to the ABC about the shock of his cancer diagnosis. ‘Everything was going along and looking forward to retirement and then bang it hits you,’ he said.

‘One of the silver linings I think with battles people face…is that maybe you don’t really appreciate the love, friendship, attention, care that comes back at you when something serious happens to you.

‘That’s become manifest over the last couple of years, and it has brought tears to my eyes many times.’

Midnight Oil – whose frontman Peter Garrett went on to become a Labor Party politician – released their self-titled debut album in 1978 and gained a cult following in their home country despite initially struggling to get mainstream media success.

However, their 1987 album Diesel and Dust saw them gain worldwide attention with the single Beds are Burning charting at number one in multiple countries.

After releasing 11 albums, in 2002 Midnight Oil split in 2022, but went on to be inducted into the Aria Hall of Fame in 2006 and then reformed in 2016.

The band became well known for their political activism (Picture: Fred Tanneau/ AFP via Getty Images)
The band was also well- known for their political activism, particularly regarding anti-nuclear, environmentalist and indigenous causes.

Following their comeback the released a further two albums – The Makarrata Project in 2020 and Resist in 2022.

However, that year the band’s longtime bassist Bones Hillman also died from cancer aged 62.

Speaking to The Australian soon after, Hirst spoke revealed that Hillman had kept his diagnosis a secret from his bandmates.

‘Without going into the details, we think that Bonesy knew something was wrong a long time ago, but being the amazing, independent Kiwi that he is, he didn’t want to burden that with anyone else,’ he said.

‘And his capacity throughout life to live an authentic life remained right until the end. And that’s why it appears to people that it happened really quickly, but in actual fact, I think Bonesy knew a lot longer, but didn’t burden even his nearest and dearest with it.

Midnight Oil released their final album in 2022 (Picture: Don Arnold/ WireImage)
‘Near the end, we knew that something was wrong. But we think he might have known for a lot longer.’

The Guardian once described Midnight Oil as ‘one of Australia’s most beloved bands’.

Hirst is survived by his wife, Leslie Holland, their two daughters Alexandra and Gabriella, and his eldest daughter Jay O’Shea, who is also a musician.

Last year he told The Australian of his life: ‘It’s been absolutely better than anything anyone could ever ask for. And so, if my life is attenuated by this tiny little tumour that threatens to do me in, then I will still consider myself incredibly fortunate.’

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