Darwin Rocksitters Club

File:Darwins_Rocksitters_at_East_Point_1977.jpg

The Darwin Rocksitters Club was an Australian rocksitting club. Formed in Darwin in the Northern Territory in 1974 by a group of journalists at East Point, its members practised rocksitting, the practice of sitting on rocks and drinking beer for as long as possible. The group were awarded an official world record for longest rocksit in October 1978 and then again in 1980, shortly after which rocksitting declined due to the enforcement of public drinking laws.

History

Rocksitting, sometimes known as rock sitting, is the practice of sitting on rocks and drinking beer for as long as possible. The rocks they sat on would be a metre underwater at high tide.{{Cite web |title=Rocksitters |url=https://rocksitters.com/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=rocksitters.com}} The Darwin Rocksitters Club began in 1974 when a group of journalists gathered on the cliffs at East Point on a Saturday afternoon to drink beer, tell stories, and watch the sunset. This soon became a regular event and the club began to meet every Saturday.{{cite news |date=17 October 1977 |title=Darwin's 'rockers' get off |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article250159928 |accessdate=8 March 2024 |newspaper=Papua New Guinea Post-courier |location=International, Australia |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=}} One of the members of the club, Robin Davy, said of it:{{Cite news |date=2018-10-10 |title=Reliving the rocksitting religion where no funny business was allowed |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-11/rock-sitting-in-darwin-turns-40/10354878 |access-date=2024-03-08 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}

{{Block quote|text=You have to remember, in those days Darwin was smaller, nobody was watching TV, no iPhones, none of that. We had to make fun and that was the way we did it.|author=Robin Davy|title=ABC Radio Darwin|source=2018}}

The group grew rapidly and published a list of Official Rules for a Rock-sit-athon and the first rule was "there shall be no funny business on The Rock". The third, fifth, seventh and twelfth rules were simply "[n]o funny business".

The group attempted to break the world record by sitting for five days; their success was ignored by an official record-keeping company for drinking too much beer. However, other clubs formed in Victoria and New Zealand and the New Zealand club, The Parua Bay Sitters, soon broke their record when they sat for six days.{{Cite web |last=Brain |first=Caddie |date=2021-03-21 |title=Darwin Rocksitters Club |url=https://www.caddiebrain.com/post/darwin-rockstitters |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=caddiebrain |language=en}}

Darwin won the title back with an eight-day sit in October 1978,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110916427 |title=IN BRIEF Rock-sitting record |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=53 |issue=15,728 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=14 October 1978 |accessdate=8 March 2024 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}} which was run to commemorate the passing of the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978, and the new Northern Territory flag was raised.{{Cite news |date=1978-06-30 |title=Rock call of honor |work=Northern Territory News |pages=2}} Several other marathon sits were conducted, often to raise money for charity. These included a 12-day world record that was set in 1980,{{Cite web |title=Rock sitters, East Point, Darwin [Northern Territory 1970s] [picture] / Michael Jensen – Catalogue {{!}} National Library of Australia |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/3550861 |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=catalogue.nla.gov.au |language=en}} although this was jeopardised on the 11th day when an official complaint was made to the Northern Territory Police Commissioner concerning drinking in a public space, prompting police to visit the sitters and take the names of all people sitting at or visiting the rock.{{Cite news |date=1980-10-16 |title=Rocksitters getting sympathy |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/187828. |access-date=2024-03-12 |work=Northern Territory News |pages=3}} Also in 1980 the rocksitters held their first sit on the inaugural flight from Sydney to Los Angeles and also held a sit on Uluru.{{Cite web |title=Milestones {{!}} Rocksitters |url=https://rocksitters.com/milestones/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=rocksitters.com}}

Two popular stories of the rocksitters are that two people once met at the rock and went on to get married and that many other former sitters have had their ashes scattered on the rock.{{Cite news |date=2018-10-10 |title=Reliving the rocksitting religion where no funny business was allowed |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-11/rock-sitting-in-darwin-turns-40/10354878 |access-date=2024-03-08 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}} Rocksitting declined with the enforcement of public drinking laws. The club was debated in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1978, with concerns being raised that the club (and events like the Darwin Beer Can Regatta) were affecting the Northern Territory's image in the rest of Australia, and that "down south many people think Territorians to be backward, drunken country hicks".{{cite web |title=Debates – 08 June 1978 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/695266 |access-date=8 March 2024 |website=Territory Stories |publisher=Northern Territory Legislative Assembly |hdl=10070/695266 |publication-place=Darwin}}

A memorial plaque to the Darwin Rocksitters Club was first put in place at East Point in 1987 by foundation member Beat Erismann (photographer) in honour of their 10th anniversary.{{cite web |date=1997-01-12 |title=Beat returns to fly new flag |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/131994 |access-date=8 March 2024 |website=Territory Stories|hdl=10070/131994 }}{{cite web |date=1984-02-20 |title=Sitters notch a decade |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/190693 |access-date=8 March 2024 |website=Territory Stories|hdl=10070/190693 }} This was later damaged and replaced in 2001.{{Cite web |title=Flag Raising and Plaque Unveiling 2001 {{!}} Rocksitters |url=https://rocksitters.com/gallery/flag-raising-and-plaque-unveiling-2001/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=rocksitters.com}} In the 1980s, the original rocks used by the club were broken up by a lightning strike and further damage was done to the remaining rocks during heavy swells in 2012.{{Cite news |last=Byrne |first=Conor |date=2012-01-28 |title=Smashed by the sea |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/635760 |access-date=2024-03-08 |work=Northern Territory News |pages=6|hdl=10070/635760 }} Their 40th anniversary was celebrated in 2017.{{Cite news |last=Brain |first=Caddie |date=2017-10-08 |title=Forgotten territory |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/420947 |access-date=2024-03-08 |work=Northern Territory News |pages=17|hdl=10070/420947 }}

In May 2024 members of the Darwin Rocksitters club met in Darwin to celebrate their 50th anniversary and at the meet up former Northern Territory politician Dawn Lawrie said that: "[w]hen I was a member in parliament … I wanted to find people who were kind, articulate, intelligent and charming and I found the Rocksitters".{{Cite news |date=2024-05-12 |title='One big party': Darwin Rocksitters recall 50 years of friendship, mishaps and world records |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-12/nt-darwin-rocksitters-celebrate-50-years/103831110 |access-date=2024-05-23 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}

File:Rocksitters_at_East_Point,_1978.tif|Rocksitters at East Point (Darwin) in 1977

File:Rocksitters_from_the_Darwin_Rocksitters_Club.tif|Rocksitters from the Darwin Rocksitters Club in 1978

File:Darwin_Rocksitters_Club_Memorial_Plaque.jpg|Darwin Rocksitters Club Memorial Plaque, April 2024