TitleRobert MartinPhoto Number005070DescriptionRobert Martin built the Settlers Arms hotel at Shellharbour in 1856. The inn was a meeting place for many events, most significantly for the signing of the petition to form a Municipality of Shellharbour. In 1864 Mr. Henry Parkes on a campaign visit to the area, addressed the children of the National School from the verandah of the Settlers Arms Inn.
Robert had arrived from Ireland in 1838 when he was about eight years old and by the 1850s he was a digger at the Victorian goldfields.
In 1853 he married Lillian (Lily) Anne Cochrane.
The Martin’s faced several tragedies during the mid 19th Century. They lost several children; James, Lily, Robert, Eliza, and Isabella.
Robert Martin’s eldest daughter Isabella aged 14 years was drowned in 1868 when she attempted to get water from the well for washing.
The following year, Lily died.
in 1872 Robert married Rebecca Clinton and had two more children; Alexander Gray and Elizabeth Isabel.
