Robin's writing career began in the 1950s with fortnightly articles for the Auckland Weekly News. She went on to author and photograph two popular social study series, Families of New Zealand and People at Work (Price Milburn), followed by her Country Readers, which sold in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom.In the 1980s and early '90s, Robin travelled widely, recording the lives of people in 63 countries as varied as North Korea, the Soviet Union, and Saudi Arabia. Her syndicated articles appeared in the Dominion, Christchurch Press, and Waikato Times.