Rob Hirst

Robert George Hirst (3 September 1955 – 20 January 2026) was an Australian musician from Camden, New South Wales. He was a founding member of the rock band Midnight Oil on drums, percussion and backing vocals (sometimes lead vocals) from the 1970s until the band took a hiatus in 2002. The band resumed performing and recording in 2017.

Hirst was also a member of the bands Ghostwriters, Backsliders, the Angry Tradesmen and the Break. He also wrote a book, Willie's Bar & Grill, recounting the experiences on the tour Midnight Oil embarked on shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

In the 2026 Australia Day Honours, Hirst was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) "for significant service to the performing arts through music".

Midnight Oil

In the early 1970s when schoolboys, Hirst and close friends Jim Moginie and Andrew "Bear" James played their first public performance at a school hall in Sydney's northern suburbs, under the name Schwampy Moose, playing mainly Beatles' covers. By 1976 the band had changed their name to Farm (Fucking All Right Mate). Hirst, now a student at the University of Sydney (BA/LLB), placed an advertisement in The Sydney Morning Herald for a singer to join the trio. The new line up of Peter Garrett (lead vocals), Hirst (drums and vocals), Moginie (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and James (bass guitar) were joined soon after by Martin Rotsey on guitar and their manager and sixth member, Gary Morris. The band changed their name to Midnight Oil. to form a new surf rock band, the Break. Their debut album, Church of the Open Sky, was released on 16 April 2010 on the independent Bombora label distributed by MGM. A tour of Australia followed. Their second album, Space Farm, was released on 15 March 2013, again followed by an Australian tour.

In 2015, Hirst collaborated on music with his eldest daughter, Jay O'Shea, of the band O'Shea. Hirst had given O'Shea up for adoption at a young age and it was through her birth mother and Hirst's bandmate from Midnight Oil, Bones Hillman, that the two eventually connected. The song "The Truth Walks Slowly " was the second time Hirst had collaborated with his children after previously having his younger two daughters complete backing vocals on his solo album.

Personal life and death Hirst had three daughters, including two with his wife, Leslie Holland. One of his daughters, Gabriella Hirst, is an artist. Another daughter, the singer Jay O'Shea, was born to a former girlfriend and given up for adoption. They reunited in 2010 and subsequently collaborated musically.

He grew up in the Sydney suburb of Mosman where he attended primary school with Allan Border.

Hirst was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April 2023. He died on 20 January 2026, at the age of 70.

Discography

Albums Title Details Peak chart positionsAUS In the Stealth of Summer (as Hirst & Greene) Released: March 2005 Label: ABC Roots Music (14182) Format: CD, CD+DVD, digital download — The Sun Becomes the Sea Released: October 2014 Label: Rob Hirst Format: CD, digital download — Crashing the Same Car Twice (with Sean Sennett) Released: September 2015 Label: Sony (888751464020) Format: CD, digital download — The Lost and the Found (with Jay O'Shea) Released: February 2020 Label: Sony (19439729962) Format: CD, digital download, streaming — Born Electric (with Sean Sennett) Released: October 2025 Label: Self-released Format: LP 78

Extended plays Title Details Red Continent (with Jim Moginie and Hamish Stuart) Released: 8 September 2023 Format: CD A Hundred Years or More (with Jim Moginie and Hamish Stuart) Released: 14 November 2025 Format: CD, digital

Awards and nominations APRA Awards These annual awards were established by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 1982 to honour the achievements of songwriters and music composers and to recognise their song writing skills, sales and airplay performance, by its members annually.

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They commenced in 1973. (wins only)