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Robert Thomson Robinson
The Mount Lawley Society published articles on Robinson and on Killowen in its online newsletter, From the Verandah, Jan-Feb 2023. I have taken the liberty of republishing the Robinson material here.
Mount Lawley Society:
Robert Thomson Robinson (known as ‘RT’) was born in 1867 in Ballybay, County Monaghan, Ireland, to Margaret (née Thomson) and John Robinson.
His family moved to Victoria in 1873 and then to Albany, Western Australia in June 1878. Robinson was sent to Adelaide to be educated, attending Prince Alfred College, and became a lawyer being admitted to the Western Australian Bar in 1889 and entering into partnership with S.J. Haynes in Albany. Robinson was appointed as King’s Counsel (KC) in 1914. Also known as ‘Cocky Robinson’, he was, by all accounts, a unique larger-than-life individual who married three times, fathering twelve children.
In 1908 he was elected to the Perth Road Board (now the City of Stirling), was an executive member of the WA Town Planning Association, a member on the Kings Park Board, Minister for Forests, and more. He served as a Member of Parliament under several Premiers representing the seat of Canning (21 October 1914–12 March 1921) and was also the Attorney-General of Western Australia (27 July 1916–17 May 1919).
In 1906, RT inherited his father John’s half share of the 700 acres making up Location Z to become known as the Mount Lawley Estate that had been bought originally in 1900.
His father’s partner, Samuel W Copley was a real estate speculator. In developing the land, the objective was to attract wealthy business people and high-ranking public servants with houses built to high standards. The plan worked and Mount Lawley became an area of prestige. Copley and RT were ably assisted by the legendary town planner and architect, Harold Boas.
RT got right behind the concept of creating an attractive garden suburb by selecting a block for his own house in a prime location. No detail was missed in the design of RT’s house. He had a keen interest in horticulture and was a collector of plants, and he sought advice from the best for his estate plan including consultation with the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London.
The estate was a masterpiece in terms of the garden – taking full advantage of the elevated riverside location. All credit to the collaborative endeavour of RT and the others involved. A feature common to Federation gardens was the inclusion of a kitchen garden not far from the house, with an adjoining fowl run and cow paddock.
Charles Lancelot Oldham is credited as the designer of the gardens and architect of the 30-room residence, noted in the period for its size and scale, having the first swimming pool in a private residence and a tennis court with changing rooms. Oldham also designed ‘Sorrento’, RT’s Albany holiday home.
Robert Thomson Robinson passed away at home in 1926 after a short illness at the age of 59 years. His widow, Elizabeth, and some family stayed at Killowen until its sale in 1933.
On 4 November 1933, The West Australian newspaper ran an article on a Farewell to Perth function held by Mrs R T Robinson, with an impressive guest list, as the family prepared to vacate Killowen.
The house was purchased in 1935 by the Sisters of Mercy to become the first Sisters of Mercy Hospital in Western Australia. The first baby was delivered on 17 July 1937 following the introduction of a maternity service. The house still stands in the grounds of the St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital and contains several medical suites.
Robinson was a larger than life character, his nickname was "Cocky Robinson". Married three times, Robinson was survived by eleven children. He was the Mount Lawley ward representative on the Perth Roads Board from 1908 until his death in 1926. He was instrumental in promoting the Greater Perth Scheme of 1911 He was a member and executive of the WA Town Planning Association formed in 1916. A prominent lawyer, he became a King's Counsel in 1914 and was active at the bar until his death in 1926 He entered Parliament in 1914 in the Legislative Assembly seat of Canning He held the position of Attorney General in the Wilson (1916), Lefroy (1917), Colebatch and Mitchell coalition ministries Other portfolios held included Mines, Industry and Forests
In his capacity as Minister for Forests he was responsible for putting place the first policies for management of forests.
He resigned from the Mitchell Ministry in 19195 at the time Lane Poole commiserated with Robinson that he was the first member to grasp the significance of forests as a national asset, rather than "a revenue collecting machine" ruing the fact that "forests make no appeal at all to the rank and file voter". Robinson was not returned at the 1921 election, and his attempt to stand for the member of Albany in 1924 was unsuccessful.
Robinson's legal advice was sought by influential people such as Winthrop Hackett. He was a member on several boards including the Kings Park Board, was president of the Royal Automobile Club and the Perth Motorcycle Club.
He died at home after a short illness at the age of fifty-nine. (Source unkown, found on the MaylandsHPA flickr set for Killowen.)
References and Links
MaylandsHPA flickr set for Killowen.
Wikipedia page for Robert Thomson Robinson.
From the Verandah, Newsletter of the Mount Lawley Society, 46, 1, Jan-Feb 2023.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 23 December, 2021 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/robinsonrobert.html (it was last updated on 15 March, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.