Tom Robinson Biography

For the past 24 years Tom Mahuta Robinson has lived and breathed an adventurous boating life. He was born in Brisbane, Australia along with two sisters, delivered a minute before and after him.

Adventure was not a part of Tom’s early years, although his father had sailed offshore in a previous life, his parents brought him up in a sedentary home. Camping was unheard of in the Robinson household and contact sports were not allowed. Tom spent most of his primary school years in a Tom Sawyer-esque manner. He was part of the last generation of pre-teens to be without social media and mobile phones, instead, weekends and summer afternoons were spent building go-karts, treehouses, skateboards and swings. The epitome of this was his treehouse, purported to be the finest in the ‘burbs. By far the biggest in the neighbourhood, and the only one built entirely without the help of dad, the ‘camphor laurel commune’ was a favourite among the neighbourhood kids, a place to meet, show off, and tell stories. No newly built house was safe from the pilfering hands of Tom and his mates as they scoured the streets to find timber and nails. A new house on the block often meant an extension for the treehouse, excess and extravagance were the order of the day.

The course of Tom’s life changed forever when, at age 12, his family moved to a small suburban home on the banks of the Brisbane River. The camphor laurel commune was ceremoniously disassembled. Now, as far as I know, the only way to fill a treehouse shaped hole in a boy’s heart, is with a boat. Tom soon became the custodian of a little plywood dory built by his father, Tim, a few years previously. Go-karts, skateboards, treehouses and trespassing were all of a sudden replaced with boats, fishing, rafts and rowing. The simple fact that Tom had a rowing boat to use, as opposed to a sailing boat or a motorboat, changed the course of his life forever. Rowing became not just a hobby, but an obsession. Tom rowed his little dinghy every evening, even after rowing to and from school each day. This passion led to Tom’s first real adventure.

At age 14 he rowed 130km solo from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, spending 5 days living in his 13 foot dinghy that he and his father modified for the journey. It was one morning when Tom was 14 that he decided he was going to be the youngest person ever to row across the Pacific Ocean, an ambition he has held onto tight for the past 8 years.

The following year Tom was forbidden by his parents to undertake another voyage on his school holidays. Age 15 seemed a good time to rebel, so he set off one day, unbeknown to his mother and father, with the hope of reaching the Sunshine Coast, by way of the narrow and unexplored Pumistone Passage. For four days Tom battled headwinds and rain on his journey up to Caloundra, he then turned around and spent another four days rowing home, for a total of 200km. Upon arrival he was met by less than enthusiastic parents.

Tom spent his next year exploring the boatyards of Brisbane, working unpaid on his school holidays. During Tom’s final years at high school, work kept Tom very busy, there was always an old bloke who wanted his boat painted, or a new home being built that could use a labourer. Tom also worked as a deckhand aboard a commercial passenger vessel (his first ‘proper’ job).

In grade 12 Tom set out on his most ambitious adventure yet, to row 250km from Tin Can Bay, through the Sandy Straits, to Bundaberg, a journey encompassing, sharks, bar crossings, broken oars and strong wind warnings. “Teen rows with sharks on the Sandy Strait on way to Bundy” was the headline on page 12 of the Fraser Coast Chronicle.

Coming down from the dizzying heights of fame, Tom completed his year 12 certificate, to the amazement of his friends and family. He then moved down to Sydney at the age of 17 to pursue the life of a boatbuilder. Tom spent the first year of his apprenticeship in Sydney, taking full advantage of its world class sailing and boatbuilding heritage. While there, he managed to explore every bay in Sydney Harbour. Tom moved back to Brisbane to concentrate on wooden boat restoration. For the remaining three years of his apprenticeship Tom was without a spare minute, working full time, building and restoring his own boats, competing in offshore yacht races and travelling overseas.

In 2019 Tom travelled to PNG, exploring the diverse culture, amazing eco-systems, and boatbuilding of one of the last frontiers. Then in 2020 Tom flew to the remote Marquesas Archipelago in French Polynesia, where he crewed on a yacht to Tahiti, stopping at the idyllic Tuamotus en-route. This was the realisation of a lifelong dream to follow in the footsteps of figures such as Gauguin, Melville and Heyerdahl, just a few of Tom’s heroes. During these years Tom amassed many nautical miles in offshore yacht races and boat deliveries up and down the east coast of Australia.

The end of 2020 marked the completion of Tom’s boatbuilding apprenticeship, becoming a finalist in the Queensland training awards, and the beginning of a new life, with the simple goal to row across the Pacific Ocean. The pandemic quashed all plans for Tom’s first Sydney to Hobart, after training for most of 2020. Without the restraints of employment, Tom set about to build himself an ocean rowing boat, and indulge in other pursuits. He joined the Committee of the Carrington Boating Club as community liaison officer, a club he has been independently involved with since a young age. Tom’s love of reading and literature has led him to found a public, open forum, book club that meets every month, attendance ranges from 20 to 30 young people, and is growing. 2021 has seen the continuation of these pursuits, as well as the designing, building and outfitting of an ocean rowing boat. The project has been a full-time affair for Tom, working all year towards the project. Being the largest adventure Tom has undertaken, the journey thus far has involved a steep learning curve in project management. Tom has been learning what it takes to launch a large project like this. From websites, to blogs to sponsors and patrons, he has taken it all in his stride.

Hopefully this journey will be the launchpad for a lifetime of ambitious adventure and advocacy for Tom.