Robyn Heitmann (Tilley Baxter)

Robyn grew up in Salisbury, in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide.  After leaving school early, she found her way to Flinders University, receiving a BA in Social Science with a large serving of Australian history on the side. 

After living briefly in UK, she returned to Canberra. Now her children are grown, she again calls Adelaide home. 

Her first foray in to writing was in the 1990's, when she entered a competition held by The Australian newspaper. Although the prize was worth more than her car, she went on to train as a teacher. In 2023 she received an honourable mention in the E M Fletcher prize for family stories for Honouring Introdacqua. She self published her debut novel, At the Hem of the Empire in 2026 under the pen name Tilley Baxter.  Based on the wife of John Smith, founder of what is now the Adelaide suburb of Smithfield, it brings to life the often overlooked experiences of women in Colonial Australia and New Zealand.

When she is not writing, Robyn  enjoys gardening, home preserving, crochet, dreaming of Italy and helping at her local Repair Café.  

Robyn also gives local history presentations to community groups and libraries, speaking on John Smith of Smithfield and The Strange Death of Mr Buchanan, which she believes may be South Australia's first unsolved murder.