From a very young age, Robin Miller was in my life. Mum and Robin had a special connection, and Mum was heartbroken when she passed away at the age of 35. Robin had a profoundly calm, kind aura about her. She seemed unflappable – an old soul manifesting as a beautiful, brave young woman.

I remember being at a post-wedding gathering (my sister’s wedding) with mum and dad one night in a hotel room at the Palace Hotel in William St. I was about 13 years old and very disconsolate that all these adults were in my space. Robin came and just sat with me to make me feel better. I particularly recall her gentle, reassuring gaze.

You can read about how they flew across America together in the Powder Puff Derby, and mum also flew with Robin on several of her Flying Doctor visits to give polio vaccinations to children in the Western Australian outback, which is chronicled in the book Sugar Bird Lady.

Robin’s plane is memorialised (above) in a replica at Jandakot airport.

In a new biography about Robin’s life (2025), Dianne Wolfer touches on some anecdotes about Rose and Robin in the Powder Puff Derby.