The second cousins have not lived all their lives in the Upper Clutha district but their family history extends back at least five generations to the days of gold-miners, settlers, orchardists, wagoners and boundary riders.
So it is no surprise they share more than one common ancestor, or that they share a passion for the history and community of Lake Hawea.
"We are pretty well established - and probably not going to live anywhere else," Mrs Lambert-Robinson said.
Mr Dennison was one of two in the Queenstown Lakes district who won a supreme Heart of the District Award for services to the community.
The other recipient was Margaret O'Hanlon of Queenstown.
Six others were category winners.
Mr Dennison's father was Lake Hawea born and bred but left the district in 1929.
Mr Dennison was born in Middlemarch and raised in Palmerston and moved to Lake Hawea in 1981 with his wife, Judith, to run the Glen Ruth Motels.
He quickly became involved in community life, serving on the Lake Hawea Volunteer Fire Brigade for about 12 years, with two years as chief fire officer.
He is also a Guardian of Lake Hawea and now works at MasterTrade in Wanaka.
Mr Dennison was nominated by the Lake Hawea Community Centre committee, which he helped found 19 years ago. He also helped build the centre. He was the community centre's chairman for its first four years.
Since then, he has also served as secretary, is now the treasurer and recently was assigned to lead a sub-committee responsible for extending the building.
This week, Mr Dennison received the first set of draft plans for the new community centre.
• Mrs Lambert-Robinson won the social and cultural category in the Heart of the District awards.
She was nominated by the Wanaka Arts Council, which she chaired for three years until resigning several months ago to concentrate on beating breast cancer for the second time.
"I really liked being on the arts council because you could help expand and develop people who are doing interesting things.
"People would put in their application and we would discuss it. It was just a great group of people to work with."
Mrs Lambert-Robinson said she agreed to join the arts council to represent Lake Hawea artists.
"I am an oral historian. That's my claim to art. And I buy other people's art works."
Mrs Lambert-Robinson recently completed 30 oral histories of Lake Hawea identities, such as Frank Hewson - who died last Saturday aged 79 - Fiona Rowley, Gerry Burdon, Dick Cotter, Edna Capell and Tom Walker.
Each history took at least 10 hours to complete, from making notes, doing research, conducting the interviews and completing records.
"I am always collecting wee notes on things people think I might like to know about, like owls that used to hoot in trees behind the school in 1932."
Mrs Lambert-Robinson trained at the Alexander Turnbull Library and with oral history tutors Judith Frizzell and Judith Fyfe and this week started archiving her histories for the Lake Hawea library.
She has a list of at least another 30 people she would like to interview and is particularly keen to talk to anybody who remembers living in the former Ministry of Works camp on Timsfield when the Lake Hawea dam was built in the 1950s.
She said she found her work fascinating and despite having close links to the area was constantly learning new things from the "quiet, unsung heroes like Mr Hewson".
Mrs Lambert-Robinson also serves on the QLDC reserves advisory committee for Lake Hawea and regards the public garden on the corner of Bodkin St and Capell Ave, where she has laboured, as one of her "contributions".
She also keeps an eye on another little grassy knoll along the street and the reserve in front of the new Timsfield subdivision.
Mr Dennison and Mrs Lambert-Robinson say they are just two of many people doing behind-the-scenes work for the growing town of 1500.
They admit there have been times when they have not waited for an official plan for a particular project.
"It is better to ask for forgiveness than permission," Mrs Lambert-Robinson said.
• Artist Robyn Urquhart was a category winner in the arts section.
A graduate of Canterbury University's Ilam Art School, she is a former farmer and long-time resident of Lake Hawea and now lives in Wanaka.
She has worked at the Art Upstairs Gallery since 1995, runs art classes for adults and children, and has helped with fundraising art auctions.
Ms Urquhart paid tribute to former gallery colleague Liz Kempthorne for "helping her find her feet".
