Rhoda Roberts

Rhoda Ann Roberts (8 July 1959 – 21 March 2026) was an Australian theatre and arts director, arts executive, television presenter, and actress. She was head of Indigenous programming at the Sydney Opera House from 2012 until 2021. She was also a highly respected Aboriginal elder, being afforded the title "Aunty" (Aunty Rhoda). She credits herself with introducing the term "Welcome to Country" in the 1980s, and originated the idea of performing the ceremony before significant cultural events.

Roberts' parents, a mixed-race couple, were politically active, and Roberts was taught Aboriginal culture by her Bundjalung / Widjabul father. Roberts first studied nursing in her home town in Lismore, New South Wales, qualifying as a nurse at Canterbury Hospital in Sydney in 1979, undertaking further studies in England, and working as a nurse in India and other countries. On her return to Sydney, she studied performing arts.

Roberts was a co-founder of the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust in 1987. She became the first Indigenous Australian presenter on television in 1989, appearing on the SBS Television show First In Line; she later wrote for, produced, and presented work on television. She was a producer at the Indigenous media agency Vibe Australia from 1992 until 2014. During this time, was a co-founder of the Deadly Awards; founded the Festival of the Dreaming in 1997; and was cultural advisor for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. From 2008 until 2011, she was creative director for the Sydney New Year's Eve celebrations. She also acted in, wrote, and directed numerous stage productions, including a starring role in Belvoir's 1993 production of Louis Nowra's play Radiance. Her final performance, in December 2025, was in her own play, My Cousin Frank, about her cousin, boxer Frank Roberts, who was the first Aboriginal Australian to participate in the Olympics Games.

Early life and education Rhoda Ann Roberts was born in Canterbury Hospital in Sydney and her totem was the lizard. and two brothers (Phillip and Mark); her parents also raised several cousins with them.

Her paternal grandfather, Frank Roberts, a pastor with the Church of Christ, was active in the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA), and ran an Aboriginal settlement called Cubawee at Tuncester, near Lismore, which was bulldozed in 1964. He was educated at the segregated school on the Aboriginal reserve on Cabbage Tree Island. (The Sydney Morning Herald article by Candice Baker in 2019 confuses father with grandfather in the link to the ADB in the first paragraph.)

Roberts initially wanted to study journalism, but was discouraged by her mother, who feared that nobody would employ her because of her race. ) and others, with Justine Saunders as adviser. The ANTT arose out of the First National Black Playwrights Conference and Workshop in Canberra, in 1987, becoming formally incorporated in 1988.

From 1992 until 2014, Roberts was a producer at the Indigenous media agency Vibe Australia, where she produced and was broadcaster on its Deadly Sounds national weekly radio program From 2005 until 2007 she was a presenter on the Indigenous culture program Awaye! on RN. Roberts was appointed head of Indigenous programming there in 2012, During her tenure there, in 2014 she established Homeground, an annual free outdoor festival featuring Indigenous music, dance, and culture. She worked on several film and TV projects, including documentary films about Tom E. Lewis (Balang) for SBS,

Stage productions In 1988, Roberts performed in Akwanso, Fly South, which went on tour, She co-starred with Rachael Maza and Lydia Miller in Belvoir's 1993 production of Louis Nowra's play Radiance.

In October 2019, Roberts's production Natives Go wild was staged at the Sydney Opera House. Directed by Kirk Page, Roberts narrated the story of "a family's journey from the tumultuous era of dispersal and silence to navigating a world controlled by government policy". The show included the story of Cubawee, the self-managed reserve established by her grandfather. My Cousin Frank was a lead-in to a planned production in 2025, called The First Aboriginal Olympian, and Roberts hoped to unite the community of Lismore in their pride in being the home of this significant man and family history. Despite having been diagnosed with terminal cancer, she performed the play at Sydney Opera House in December 2025, which was her last performance. was launched on 11 February 2022, hosted by the Menzies Australia Institute in London. Roberts appears in an interview on the website, which looks at progress made in Indigenous media since the original film, recorded in March 2018. She was an ambassador for the Archie Roach Foundation. From 2012 until 2014 she was guest curator of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre's Clancestry Festival.

In 2021 she became First Nations consultant for the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). In this role she recruited their First Nations team, and established structures in the organisation to ensure ongoing teaching of First Nations knowledge.

Recognition Awards and honours 1997: Sidney Myer Facilitator's Award 2017: Centenary Sue Nattrass Awards, presented at the 18th Helpmann Awards by Live Performance Australia 2026: Lifetime Achievement Award (posthumous) at the 2026 National NAIDOC Week Awards, for "elevating First Nations voices through storytelling, performance, creative direction and cultural leadership".

Other recognition British photographer Penny Tweedie's image of Roberts, taken around 2000, is held by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

She was a highly respected Aboriginal elder, by the 2020s being afforded the title "Aunty". was extended, and she held the position until her death in March 2026.

Personal life Roberts's twin sister Lois, a hairdresser, was involved in a car accident around 1980, aged 20, and received severe brain damage. Lois left a daughter, Emily. in late 2025. An event to celebrate her life and pay tribute to Roberts was held in December 2025 at the Sydney Opera House at the last performance of My Cousin Frank, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and many prominent arts leaders. She continued her work at NORPA and NIDA until her last few days. A funeral was held for her on Bundjalung country in northern New South Wales on 31 March, with over 1,000 people in attendance. A smoking ceremony was held before the service, and Troy Cassar-Daley and Casey Donovan performed songs in the church. Djakapurra Munyarryun sang a song in his Yolngu language, and there was ceremonial dancing, including by the Jannawi Women's Dance Group. The service was streamed live and subsequently made available on various platforms. A series of tribute programs titled Rhoda Roberts AO: A Lasting Legacy aired on NITV and SBS On Demand from 31 March to 6 April. Her legacy continues in the festivals she created and transformed, her impact on theatre and media,

A tribute to Roberts was published on the Prime Minister's website, with quotes honouring her by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for the Arts Tony Burke, and Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians, for whom she "was a confidant and mentor" as a journalist in the 1990s. Burke and shadow Arts Minister Angie Bell paid tribute to her in Parliament.

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