Rhoda Ann Roberts was an Indigenous Australian theatre and arts director, television presenter, actress and arts executive. A highly respected Aboriginal Elder, and lovingly known as Aunty Rhoda, she was co-founder of the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust in 1987, and was a producer at the indigenous media agency, Vibe Australia, producing and writing for, and acting as producer, from 1992 until 2014. Rhoda presented the SBS program, First In Line in 1989, becoming the first Indigenous presenter on prime-time television. She was also the presenter of Vox Populi for SBS and wrote, produced and directed several documentaries for them.
In 1998 Rhoda founded the indigenous arts festival Dreaming Festival, which ran until 2004.
She was appointed Indigenous Cultural Advisor for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney andoversaw the indigenous segment, Awakening. She was a presenter on the indigenous cultural program Awaye! for Radio National from 2005 until 2007. From 2008 until 2011 she was the creative director for the Sydney New Year's Eve celebrations and in 2012 she co-hosted the inaugural broadcast of National Indigenous Television from Uluru with Stan Grant.
In 2012 she wrote and directed Yarrambah the Musical for Opera Australia and was appointed Head of Indigenous Programming at the Sydney Opera House in 2012, a position which was created for her and one that she held until 2021. Also in 2021 she was also involved in the formation of the World Indigenous Art Orchestra.
Rhoda's theatrical credits include appearing in works for the Belvoir Street Theatre, directing for the Brisbane Festival, Northern Rivers Performing Arts, the Darwin Festival and other theatre companies. Her production, Natives Go Wild was staged at the Sydney Opera House in 2019.
Rhoda sat on the boards of many organisations including the NSW Anti-DiscriminationBoard, the NSW Australia Day Council, Welcome to Country, Actors Equity, the Yothu Yindi Foundation, the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association, Indigenous Tourism Australia, Australia International Cultural Council, the Sydney Opera House Trust, Darling Harbour Authority and Playwriting Australia.
In 2025 she performed the play The First Aboriginal Olympian at the Sydney Opera House, despite having been recently diagnosed with a rare form of terminal ovarian cancer. This would be Rhoda's final performance. An event was held at the Sydney Opera House in late 2025 to celebrate her life and pay tribute to her outstanding life achievements and she continued to work at NORPA and NIDA until her final days.
Rhoda died on 21 March 2026 at the age of 66. Over 1,000 people attended her funeral which was held on Bundjalung country in Northern New South Wales on 31 March.
In 1997 she received the Sidney Myer Facilitator's Award, in 1998 she was given the Deadly Award for Broadcasting, and in 2016 she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours for "distinguished services to the performing arts through a range of leadership and advocacy roles in the development, promotion and presentation of contemporary indigenous culture. In 2017 she received the Centenary Sue Nattrass Award at the Helpmann Awards and in 2019 she was given the Ros Bower Award from the Australia Council.
Her portrait, photographed by Penny Tweedie in 2000, is held at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.
Rhoda Roberts is credited with coining the term, "Welcome to Country" in the 1980s and her legacy continues today in the festivals she created. At the conclusion of an interview she did in 2025, she shared a mantra which was passed down to her by her father:
"You know who you are. We've been here for thousands of years. How extraordinary that is. So always be generous and kind."
Rhoda was a proud Bundjalung woman of the Widjabul/Wiyebal clan on her father's side. Her totem was the lizard.
