A long walk to a 68-year love story at Donald Robinson Village

When Mabel met Bruce at Vic’s Cabaret in 1954, she couldn’t have imagined their chance encounter would spark a lifelong romance that would lead them to Donald Robinson Village (DRV), where she now calls home. 

Bruce, a marine engineer who was working in Singapore, was on a three-month break when he met Mabel in Strathfield. 

“Dances were very popular back in my day,” Mabel recalls. “On a Saturday night, you would go and see these great bands playing and that’s where we met. 

“And he asked me ‘Could I take you home?’, and at the time, I lived in Malabar, and he lived in Leichardt, so I said ‘Well, that’s an awful long way out of your way!’ But he just said, ‘I’ve got three months to get home’.” 

What Mabel thought was a fleeting romance soon deepened into something much more. 

"Three months after that, we were engaged.” 

It’s a love story for the ages. 

Bruce eventually returned to Singapore after his three-month break and despite the distance, they always found a way to remain connected. 

“There were no computers then and letters would take a week to get there so you couldn’t get an instant reply to anything, and you couldn’t get a phone call either because they were underwater, but we would send telegrams,” she laughs. 

The two married in September 1956 and thus a life began between them. Bruce continued his career at sea, returning home for three months each year, and over time, he and Mabel welcomed three children into their family. 

“We had a beautiful marriage ... some of the most exciting moments was when we had enough to buy a home in Gymea, and we stayed there for 40-odd years. We had a good life,” she says. 

In 1965, Bruce left his life at sea to be with his family full-time, a shift that marked a new chapter in their lives. As their family grew to include five grandchildren, Bruce and Mabel then decided to downsize, moving into the newly completed Donald Robinson Village (DRV) in 2004. 

“Because we’d only moved from Gymea (five minutes away), life was more or less the same, we just wanted a property where we could lock up and leave ... so it was a serious decision because it was a big change in our lives, but it was a very smart move and very worthwhile. We loved it,” she says. 

Then, in October 2020, Bruce passed away after 68 years of marriage, leaving Mabel to face life without him for the first time in decades. 

“It was something I’d never experienced before, and I had great difficulty coping with his absence. Naturally, I’d cry, I just couldn’t help it,” she says. “But the chaplain at DRV created a grief group and it gave me great strength to keep going. 

“The care and love that I received here from all my friends and family, my DRV family. It was just so supportive and loving and wonderful –  that and my faith in God, He gave me great strength each day. 

“Bruce was a beautiful man. Very kind and loving and a good father for his children and his legacy lives on through them and that is love, kindness, gentleness and all those fruits of the spirit.: 

These days, Mabel is involved in nearly all the activities at DRV – if she’s not having a coffee with some friends, she’s in a fitness class or in a bible study or joining the ladies at Happy Hour. 

“I never felt alone here,” she says. “I'm a great one for cuddles; I love cuddles and that's something that happens a lot here too.” 

Donald Robinson Village has been a cherished part of the Kirrawee community for 20 years, creating a welcoming space where residents thrive and lifelong connections are formed. As we celebrate this remarkable milestone, we honor not just the years but the stories, friendships, and memories that have made the village what it is today.