An accomplished Journalist, novelist and poet, Robin was born in 1906 in Cape Town as Iris Wilkinson and moved to Wellington before her first birthday.

While attending Wellington Girls' College, Robin wrote poems for The Reporter magazine. In 1919, she placed first for her original story "The Daughter of the North Wind".  

At 18, Robin suffered a knee injury which plagued her for much of her life.  While in Rotorua for knee treatment in 1926, she had a love affair with Frederick de Mulford Hyde and fell pregnant. However their son, Christopher Robin Hyde, was stillborn, hence his mother adopting his name in his memory.  While in recovery Robin began writing again, mainly poetry and social columns in newspapers.  In those days, social columns were the only way women journalists could get publish.  Later she had a son, Derek, whose father (who was married to another woman) only provided occasional maintenance payments.  

Between 1929 and 1938, Robin published several novels and poetry books.  During this time she also attempted suicide and spent periods as a voluntary patient in an Auckland psychiatric facility.

In 1938, Robin travelled as a war correspondent to the occupied frontline in eastern China, where she was beaten by Japanese soldiers and again fell ill.  Later, having been handed over to British authorities, she was living in poverty in an attic in London when World War II loomed.  Despite arrangements being made to expatriate her back to New Zealand she sadly died of suicide in 1939 at the age of 33.

Robin is considered one of New Zealand's finest writers of the era between world wars. This year she was honoured with her personal and literary papers being registered as items of national significance with UNESCO's Memory of the World programme. She is considered part of Aotearoa's 'big three' women authors of the 20th century alongside Katherine Mansfield and Janet Frame, but has a much lesser known profile.

A crusader for truth, an advocate of society's marginalised and a fine writer, it took a long time before she was recognised.  Robin produced 10 publications in 10 years and inside that 5 novels in four years.  The big difference between her and Frame or Mansfield was the fact she was a journalist.  As well as the Dominion, she worked for New Zealand Truth and 'lady editor' of New Zealand Observer.

By Andre Chumko, 30 April 2021, Stuff online news