Robert Smith Dods [also known as Robin Dods] was born in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand on 9 June 1868. In 1886 he went to Edinburgh, Scotland where he trained as an architect in the office of Hay & Henderson. He also studied at the Edinburgh Architectural Association. In 1890 he moved to London and worked in the office of Aston Webb. The following year he was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA).
In 1894 he moved to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and in 1896, with Francis Richard Hall (1862-1939), formed Hall & Dods, a Brisbane-based architectural partnership. The partnership was dissolved in 1913 and Dods moved to Sydney, New South Wales where he established a new practice and subsequently worked alone.
He died in Edgecliff, Sydney, New South Wales, on 23 July 1920
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001