Robert Gye was certainly a philander ('a lover, given to making love'), a philanderer ('one who philanders, a male flirt) and also a philanthopist ('one who loves his fellow-men and exerts himself for their well-being). All these words share the Greek root of phil - loving, dear.

Maureen Kinsella née Gye says;

"I remember Uncle Bob and used to visit him in Melbourne for my holidays. He bought me my first pair of silk stockings(!) and I remember him as a very kind and caring person. At Christmas time he would fill his car with toys and drive through the poorer suburbs distributing them to the children."

Robert was a Life Patron of the Royal Children's Hospital and was passionate about injustice, particularly where children were concerned. Even though his relations with Marie, his illegitimate child, were strained, he never failed to support her financially. She would go to his grill on Exhibition Street every Thursday with her mother, Tess, and collect her one pound per week maintainence.