Frank Roberts

Frank Roberts (c. 1899 - 21 June 1968) was a Bundjalung pastor who spent much of his life at the Aboriginal reserves that were established at Cabbage Tree Island and Tuncester. The reserve at Tuncester became known as Cubawee Reserve and he was the pastor-in-charge there from 1937 until his retirement in 1956.

Roberts was also an Indigenous rights activist and a member of the Aborigines' Progressive Association. He spent his life campaigning for the rights of his people and was often frustrated by mistreatment by the Australian government, the Aborigines Protection Board, and the United Aborigines Mission who he worked for.

Biography Roberts was born around 1899 at Blakebrook, near Lismore, in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. He was the eldest child of Lyle and Bella (née Davis) who went on to have fourteen further children. His parents were both Bundjalung people and, because of this, Roberts was taught at a segregated school at Cabbage Tree Island which was then designated as an Aboriginal reserve.

After completing his schooling Roberts worked as a labourer and, on 13 August 1918, married Dorothy Hart in Ballina. By 1925 the couple and their young children moved to Lismore were he was able to enrol the children in a public, unsegregated school, however, in 1928 they were forced to return to Cabbage Tree Island when segregation was reintroduced. In 1933, while there, Roberts became an evangelist within the community through the United Aborigines Mission (UAM). For many years Roberts was recognised as a 'native helper' and later 'native evangelist'.

In 1937, following an argument Roberts had with the manager there, the family moved again to Tuncester where Cubawee Reserve had been established. Many of Roberts family were already at Cubawee and, upon arrival, Roberts and some of his family members, ran regular prayer meetings and more generally helped in the management of the reserve.

In 1938, as a member of the APA Roberts travelled to Sydney to take part in the 'Day of Mourning' protest which was the first of its kind. The Day of Mourning coincided with the 150th anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet and the protestors demanded full citizenship rights and equality within the community. He was among the key organisers. Perhaps in recognition of this success Roberts was finally recognised as a pastor and officially named 'native pastor' in 1947. This made him the first recognised Aboriginal pastor, engaged in missionary work, in Australia. In February 1948 Roberts was made the caretaker of Cubawee.

Despite this Roberts, and many others at Cubawee, was frustrated and wanted to establish and autonomous Indigenous church without the involvement of the UAM. However, they were unable to make this happen due to a lack of funds. Roberts was also frustrated with the lack of assistance from the church an, in a 1950, letter to the editor expressing frustration about the lack of assistance following floods he stated:

Roberts retired from the UAM in 1956.

He is the paternal grandfather of Rhoda Roberts (1959 – 2026).