Robert Martin was born at Hamilton-on-Forth (now Forth) TAS in June 1855, a son of John Martin and Jane Bailey. His family had earlier lived in Launceston and following the death of his mother in 1857, the family returned to Launceston. The six surviving children were left as orphans when their father died in 1862.

They were Luke, Richard, Betsey, John, Annie and Robert. All but Robert were taken in by a local family friend named Catherine Reilly. Robert, aged only six, was admitted to the Queen's Orphan School. After his final discharge from the orphanage in 1872, he lived with an older brother for a couple of years before moving to Melbourne.

His movements over the next few years are unknown, but by 1880 he was employed at Buckingbong Pastoral Station near Narrandera NSW. In that year, he married a fellow worker at the Station, Melbourne-born Ellen Jackson, in the Narrandera Anglican Church. Ten children were born to them between 1881 and 1901. Robert eventually became a farmer near Walla Walla and Culcairn NSW and died in Culcairn in 1920.

The names of the ten children were Robert, Ellen (Mrs Frohling), John, Elsie (Mrs May), Frederick, William, Amy (Mrs Appleyard), Ethel (Mrs Hannon), Percy and Luke. I am a great-grandson of Robert Martin.