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Dadswell Family History

Generation 10
Gladys Jessica Dadswell (Gaye Robinson) 1930-2019

On this page:
Ancestors of Gladys Jessica Dadswell
Gladys' story
Key family dates
Photographs
Further information

Ancestors of Gladys Jessica Dadswell

Robert Doudeswell 1560 > Robert Doudeswell 1606 > Edward Dodswell 1659 > Alexander Dodswell 1686 > Thomas Dadswell 1732 > James Dadswell 1786 > Thomas William Dadswell 1828 > Alfred Otto Dadswell 1860 > Henry William Dadswell 1894 > Gladys Jessica Dadswell 1930

Gladys' story

Gladys Jessica Dadswell was born at Red Cliffs, Victoria on 1 September 1930, the second child of Henry William and Jessie Isabel (Smiley) Dadswell. After her marriage to Ian Robinson in 1953, she became known as Gaye Robinson.
Gaye Robinson
She attended Red Cliffs East and Mildura High Schools but left school early and worked at a number of jobs including bookkeeper, barmaid, telephonist and receptionist.

Gaye and Ian William Robinson, son of William Ernest and Blanche Olive (Whitehead) Robinson, were married in Melbourne on 11 December 1953 and they lived in Service Street in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton for around 65 years. It was there that they raised their children.

Gaye went to night school when she was in her mid-forties and studied history and literature, eventually sitting her final HSC exams alongside her daughter in 1976.

She loved education and continued her studies at Monash University where she gained an Arts Degree, majoring in history and English literature.

Gaye later made two trips to Europe, visiting many of the sites and countries she had studied, meeting new friends and ideas as well as occasionally meeting up with friends from home who were also travelling.

She was artistic and painted in water colours and oils, and won awards for flower arranging. Her artistic bent also extended to theatre. Initially working front of house, she quickly moved onto stage and performed for three seasons with the Hampton Players. She was also a talented photographer and spent many hours in the field and in the dark room.

After her university studies, Gaye began writing short stories, poems, monologues and plays. Some of her plays were performed and broadcast on radio and she won a number of literary awards and with some of her writings published in anthologies. In one such anthology Gaye lists her hobbies as "reading, gardening, gold detecting, teaching English as a second language and writing". Another anthology has her describing her years between 18 and 45 as being "filled with work, travel, marriage, children, family elders and eight years as a Brownie Leader".

It was from her time taking the Hampton Brownies that she acquired the affectionate nick-name of "Coori," the name subsequently used by her children. Not wanting to be known by the traditional name "Brown Owl", Gaye (or Coori) and her helpers chose Aboriginal words instead. At one Brownie camp, an official from head office did an unannounced snap inspection and commented that they were the happiest Brownies she had ever seen in her many years of service.

Gaye's later life was spent with her husband Ian supporting their parents, their three children, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren, and being involved with a close circle of friends. And at the very end of the 1990s, Gaye was reunited with her first-born son, Chris. Ian died in 2017 at the age of 95, Gaye in 2019 aged 89.

Key family dates

Gladys Jessica (Gaye) Dadswell
born 1 September 1930 - died 21 November 2019
married
11 December 1953
at Melbourne, Vic
Ian William Robinson
born 19 November 1922 - died 30 December 2017

Photographs

Click on any picture to see a larger size photograph.

Gladys Dadswell 1931 Gladys Jessica Dadswell 1939 Gladys Dadswell 1950 Gladys Dadswell 1953 Gaye Robinson 2019

Further information

Information on generation 10 sister/brothers of Gladys Dadswell (Gaye Robinson)
Information on Henry William Dadswell (generation 9, father of Gladys Dadswell)
Information on Jessie Isabel (Smiley) Dadswell (mother of Gladys Dadswell)


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