Thanks to John Groom for nominating Pam for this award. Her daughter, Kate and Pam’s grandson Sam accepted the award and other family members attended the presentation
on zoom. It was a very moving ceremony.
This is the citation
Pamela Mary Robinson — 2026 Chardon Award Recipient
Pamela Mary Robinson (1933–2024) gave more than sixty years of her life to bushwalking, conservation, and the communities built around them, quietly, generously, and without ever seeking recognition.
Born in Moruya and raised walking everywhere, Pam joined the fledgling National Parks Association ahead of the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s founding in 1967. She became President of the Illawarra NPA in 1981, a role to which she returned across many years as the branch grew to over 400 members. From 2010 until her passing, she served as NPA Illawarra Vice-President. She was also a life member of the Illawarra Ramblers, where countless walks in the club library bear her name.
Pam walked every significant track in Australia — the Overland Track, Larapinta, Bibbulmun, Freycinet, Wilsons Promontory, and far beyond — and took carloads and busloads of people with her. She was an authority, a planner, an educator, and an encourager, always pointing others towards places and plants and birds they would otherwise have missed.
Her conservation work was equally remarkable. She is largely credited with protecting the Illawarra Escarpment in its natural state, managed a community Environment Centre, and remained an advocate into her late eighties: photographed at the Franklin Dam protests in 1984 and at the Mudgee Guardian’s front page three decades later.
In 2022, the Illawarra Grevillea Park erected a pavilion in her honour, officially dedicated by the NSW Governor. Pam gave generously and lived simply. The Australian bush was her life’s love, and she spent that life making sure others could love it too.
Pamela Robinson is a worthy recipient of the Bushwalking NSW Chardon Award.
Pam’s daughter Kate (left) receiving the award from Jessie Burke, President of Bushwalking NSW
.