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Warning: this story contains the name and images of an Indigenous person who has died.
Rhoda Roberts, the esteemed Indigenous arts leader who coined the term “Welcome to Country”, has died. She was 66.
The Widjabul Wieybal woman of the Bundjalung nation worked as a producer, director, writer, broadcaster, performer and executive, winning several awards.
Born in Lismore in northern NSW, Roberts worked early in her career as journalist with SBS. In a tribute, the broadcaster said she had “made history in 1989 as co-host of First in Line with Michael Johnson, becoming the first Indigenous presenters on prime-time Australian television”.
In the 1980s, she introduced the term “Welcome to Country”, giving modern significance to the traditional ceremony used to govern movement through Aboriginal lands.
“It was a time to reactivate what we had always done as protocol,” she later said. “Inviting the local custodian at an event to welcome us and honour the ancestors and pay respect to the lands that we’re visiting is really important.”
Roberts served as creative director of the Indigenous segment of the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony in 2000. Later she became the first head of First Nations programming at the Sydney Opera House, where last year she performed a show about her cousin Frank Roberts, a boxer who became Australia’s first Olympian in 1964.
Roberts was named an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2016 for distinguished service to the performing arts, leadership, advocacy and promoting contemporary Indigenous culture.
Her family confirmed on Saturday afternoon “our beautiful Rhoda Roberts has returned to the Dreaming” after a seven-month fight with ovarian cancer.
“Words fail to capture the true love, depth, intelligence and warmth that was our beloved Rhoda,” her family said in a message on Instagram.
“She dedicated her life to culture, country and people from all walks of life. She never judged and never discriminated, she always wanted to help uplift people’s lives and provide love and care.
“She faced so much trauma in her life, but continued fighting and never gave up.”
In a statement, SBS confirmed media were permitted to the name and image of Roberts, who had served as the broadcaster’s first elder-in-residence.
“Rhoda was a true trailblazer and a leader of so many firsts in our industry, playing a transformative role in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation across Australia’s cultural landscape,” acting managing director Jane Palfreyman said.
SBS First Nations director Tanya Denning-Orman said: “Rhoda, our fiercely proud Bundjalung woman, reminded us of the shoulders we stand on and the importance of the work we do.”
Minister for Home Affairs and the Arts, Tony Burke, said she would always be respected, revered and loved. “There are generations of artists who credit Rhoda as the catalyst for their careers,” Burke posted on X.
Roberts is survived by her partner Stephen and her three children.
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