When you have a big family, the older ones take charge of the younger ones.
- Dorothy Robertson
Most families get together to celebrate milestone birthdays and today's 90th birthday celebration at Kangaroo Flat for Dorothy Robertson will be no exception
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What is exceptional is the sheer size of her family.
Mrs Robertson is the matriarch from which 15 children, 41 grandchildren, 71 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren have come.
The family has hired the Kangaroo Flat Sports Club for a lunch birthday gathering, where 146 family members are expected to attend.
Mrs Robertson had her first child at age 18 and her last child at 40. She never set out to have a big family, but said it just happened that way.
The family lived in Eaglehawk for many years, with Mrs Robertson only recently moving out of her home of 40 years to live with her daughter in Golden Square.
Mrs Robertson said some of her children were naughty but she didn't have as much trouble with her children then as some people do with their three or four children these days.
"When you have a big family, the older ones take charge of the younger ones," Mrs Robertson said.
"I didn't have time to spoil mine," she said.
Her youngest child, Trish, said she and her siblings "were too busy fighting" each other to worry about having 'middle child syndrome'.
"She's done well not to go crazy with that many children," Trish said.
Mrs Robertson is humble about her enormous feat of raising 15 children. Her children said their mother used to go grocery shopping on a bike and she would hitchhike to visit her mother.
Mrs Robertson has never forgotten a grandchild's birthday and always sent them a card - all 41 of them.
"She's very sharp with her dates," daughter Barbara said.
Family Christmases in the Robertson household were always outdoors so everyone could fit and always ended in water fights.
One year Mrs Robertson had enough of the water fighting and hid the hose in the boot of a car.
There are so many people in the family that milestone moments - weddings, engagements, births - happen many times each year.
At 90, Mrs Robertson is in excellent health, which her children put down to her never smoking or drinking and keeping her mind active by doing crosswords.
"I just think she's a very beautiful, loving Mum. She's a giver. Before she thinks of herself, she thinks of everybody else," Barbara said.
"It's great having a big family," Trish said.
"There's always someone to talk to."
