The engine has fallen silent.
Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst, the relentless engine room of the iconic band, passed away peacefully at 70 after a three-year struggle with pancreatic cancer.
Surrounded by loved ones, his fight ended, leaving behind a legacy etched into the nation’s cultural bedrock.
From the formation of the Oils in 1976 to their final album Resist, Hirst’s powerful rhythms fueled anthems of protest and passion that rallied a generation.
Tributes poured in, with Jimmy Barnes calling him “irreplaceable” and Hoodoo Gurus praising a spirit that “left this world a far better place.”
More than a drummer, Hirst was a creative force, a writer, a collaborator, and the driving pulse behind one of the world’s greatest live acts.
His final request was simple: to direct remembrance into donations, turning the volume of grief into a chorus of support for others.
