Rhoda Roberts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rhoda Roberts
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Rhoda Ann Roberts
8 July 1959 Canterbury, New South Wales, Australia
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| Died | 21 March 2026 (aged 66) |
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| Years active | 1986–2025 |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Partner(s) | Steven Field |
| Children | 3 |
Rhoda Ann Roberts was an amazing Australian woman who worked as a director, arts leader, TV presenter, and actress. She was a respected Aboriginal elder, often called "Aunty Rhoda." She played a huge role in sharing Indigenous culture and stories with Australia and the world. From 2012 to 2021, she led Indigenous programming at the famous Sydney Opera House.
Rhoda Roberts helped start the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust in 1987. She also wrote, produced, and presented TV shows. She founded the Festival of the Dreaming in 1997, which celebrated Indigenous arts. She was also a cultural advisor for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, helping to showcase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures to a global audience.
Contents
Who Was Rhoda Roberts?
Her Early Life and Family
Rhoda Ann Roberts was born in Sydney, Australia, on July 8, 1959. She was a Bundjalung woman from the Widjabul/Wiyebal clan on her father's side. Her family's special animal, or totem, was the lizard. She had a twin sister, Lois, and two brothers, Phillip and Mark. Her parents also helped raise several cousins.
Rhoda's family had a strong history of standing up for Aboriginal rights. Her grandfather, Frank Roberts, was a pastor and worked with the Aborigines Progressive Association. He even ran an Aboriginal settlement called Cubawee near Lismore.
Her parents were also very active in fighting for fairness. Her father, Frank Roberts Jnr, grew up on an Aboriginal reserve. He later studied in the U.S. and met Martin Luther King Jr., seeing the start of the American civil rights movement. He joined the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra in 1972 to talk about Indigenous land rights. He also helped campaign for the "yes" vote in the important 1967 referendum. Rhoda's mother, Muriel, was white and well-educated. Both her parents loved the arts.
Rhoda's Path to Success
When Rhoda and her twin were young, her family moved to Lismore. There, they sometimes faced unfair treatment because of their mixed heritage. Rhoda went to Lismore Heights Primary and Richmond River High. She finished Year 10, which was a big achievement for an Aboriginal student at that time. Many Aboriginal students were discouraged from continuing school.
Rhoda first wanted to be a journalist, but her mother worried she might face discrimination. So, she trained as a nurse's aide and later became a qualified nurse in Sydney in 1979. After working in Australia, she traveled to London to train in emergency nursing. She also volunteered and worked as a nurse in other countries, like India. When she returned to Sydney, she decided to follow her passion and studied performing arts for three years.
Rhoda Roberts' Incredible Career
Starting the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust
Rhoda Roberts was a key person in creating the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust in 1987. This group helped Aboriginal playwrights and performers share their stories. Rhoda had the idea to start Welcomes to Country before big events, a tradition now followed by many arts groups.
A Pioneer in Television and Radio
In 1989, she became the first Indigenous person to present a prime-time TV show, First In Line on SBS Television. She also presented the current affairs program Vox Populi in 1990. She wrote, produced, and directed documentaries for SBS too.
For many years, Rhoda worked at Vibe Australia, an Indigenous media agency. She produced and hosted the national radio program Deadly Sounds. She also worked for Network 10 and Radio National.
Leading Cultural Events and Festivals
Rhoda played a big part in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. In 1995, she became the Indigenous Cultural Advisor. She was the artistic director for "The Festival of the Dreaming" in 1997. In 2000, she led the "Awakening" segment of the Olympics opening ceremony, showcasing Indigenous culture to the world.
From 2008 to 2011, she was the creative director for the Sydney New Year's Eve celebrations, which she considered a great achievement.
In 1998, she started the Dreaming Festival, an Indigenous arts festival. It ran in Sydney and later became part of the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland. She was its artistic director until 2009.
Her Work at the Sydney Opera House
Rhoda became the head of Indigenous programming at the Sydney Opera House in 2012, a role created just for her. She held this important position until March 2021. While there, she started Homeground in 2014, a free outdoor festival celebrating Indigenous music, dance, and culture. She also hosted Deadly Voices from the House, a national program with talks and podcasts. She oversaw projects like "Songlines" and "Badu Gili," which lit up the Opera House sails with stunning Indigenous artwork.
She also worked on other big cultural events, including the 2003 Rugby World Cup, Vivid Sydney, the Garma Festival, the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup opening ceremony, and the Parrtjima Festival in Alice Springs.
Theatre and Acting Roles
Rhoda Roberts also had a successful career in theatre and acting. In 1988, she performed in Akwanso, Fly South. She co-starred in the groundbreaking play Radiance in 1993, which helped bring more Indigenous plays to stages. She also performed in her own one-woman shows, Please Explain and Bible Boxing Love.
She directed the opera Miracle in Brisbane in 2009 and created BodymARKS in 2010. In 2012, she wrote and directed Yarrabah the Musical for Opera Australia. Her production Natives Go Wild was staged at the Sydney Opera House in 2019.
In August 2024, Rhoda presented a new play called My Cousin Frank. It told the story of her cousin, Frank Roberts, who was the first Aboriginal Australian boxer to compete in the Olympics Games in Tokyo in 1964. The play shared her family's journey and history.
Rhoda also appeared in films like Until the End of the World and TV shows such as Home and Away, A Country Practice, and Blue Heelers.
Rhoda Roberts' Community Impact
Supporting Indigenous Arts and Culture
Rhoda Roberts was involved in many other important activities. From 1979 to 1982, she taught windsurfing.
In 2010, she was a consultant for the Garma Festival. After the musician Ruby Hunter passed away, Rhoda directed tribute concerts called Nukkan Ya Ruby. She was also an ambassador for the Archie Roach Foundation.
She helped organize the Clancestry Festival at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Around 2014, she started Dance Rites, a competition for Indigenous dancers.
Rhoda was the creative director of Rhoda Roberts Gallery & Events and the festival director of the Boomerang Festival at Byron Bay. She also advised organizations like Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA) and Opera Australia. In 2022, she was a First Nations consultant for NIDA and curator of the Parrtjima festival.
In September 2024, she was appointed to First Nations Arts, a new part of the Australia Council that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts. She also worked with museums and First Nations groups around the world and wrote a novel called Tullymorgan.
Rhoda served on many important boards, including the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board and the Sydney Opera House Trust.
Awards and Tributes to Rhoda Roberts
Special Awards and Honours
Rhoda Roberts received many awards for her amazing work:
- 1997: Sidney Myer Facilitator's Award
- 1998: Deadly Award for Broadcasting
- 2016: She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). This is a high honour for her great service to the performing arts and for promoting Indigenous culture.
- 2017: Centenary Sue Nattrass Awards from Live Performance Australia
- 2019: Ros Bower Award from the Australia Council
Remembering Rhoda Roberts' Legacy
A photograph of Rhoda Roberts, taken around 2000, is kept in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.
Actress Deborah Mailman praised Rhoda, calling her a powerful role model. She admired Rhoda's ability to create opportunities for Indigenous people at the Sydney Opera House and to share First Nations stories with everyone.
In September 2021, Rhoda became the first elder-in-residence at SBS Television. In this role, she guided and advised on Indigenous content. She held this position until her passing. She was also appointed First Nations Consultant at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2021.
Rhoda was a highly respected Aboriginal elder, and by the 2020s, she was lovingly called "Auntie."
Rhoda Roberts' Family Life
A Difficult Family Time
Rhoda Roberts had three children. She raised her twin sister Lois's biological daughter from birth.
Her twin sister, Lois, was in a serious car accident around 1980. In July 1998, Lois went missing. Her body was found six months later. The crime remains unsolved, and this was a very difficult time for Rhoda and her family. A documentary film, A Sister's Love, was made about this event.
Her Own Family and Relationships
In 1993, Rhoda married actor Bill Hunter. They lived together and raised Emily. They did not divorce before Bill's death in 2011.
Later, her partner was Steven Field, a landscape designer. They had two children together. They were building a home in Bundjalung country.
Rhoda also had a cousin named Frank, who was a champion boxer. Her family was known as "the fighting family of Lismore" because of several boxers in the family.
Her Passing
Rhoda Roberts was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer in late 2025. She passed away on March 21, 2026, at the age of 66.
