![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/9e9cf451ce654b97fe61bf18706cb75d0b4a13ed.png\")
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Updated March 21, 2026 \u2014 7:35pm,first published 6:29pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Warning: this story contains the name and images of an Indigenous person who has died.<\/p>\n Rhoda Roberts, the esteemed Indigenous arts leader who coined the term \u201cWelcome to Country\u201d, has died. She was 66.<\/p>\n The Widjabul Wieybal woman of the Bundjalung nation worked as a producer, director, writer, broadcaster, performer and executive, winning several awards.<\/p>\n Raised in Lismore in northern NSW, Roberts worked early in her career as journalist with SBS. In a tribute, the broadcaster said she had \u201cmade history in 1989 as co-host of First in Line with Michael Johnson, becoming the first Indigenous presenters on prime-time Australian television\u201d.<\/p>\n In the 1980s, she introduced the term \u201cWelcome to Country\u201d, giving modern significance to the traditional ceremony used to govern movement through Aboriginal lands.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a time to reactivate what we had always done as protocol,\u201d she later said. \u201cInviting the local custodian at an event to welcome us and honour the ancestors and pay respect to the lands that we\u2019re visiting is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s first Aboriginal Olympian in 1964.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Her family confirmed on Saturday afternoon \u201cour beautiful Rhoda Roberts has returned to the Dreaming\u201d after a seven-month fight with ovarian cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cWords fail to capture the true love, depth, intelligence and warmth that was our beloved Rhoda,\u201d her family said in a message on Instagram.<\/p>\n \u201cShe 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\u2019s lives and provide love and care.<\/p>\n \u201cShe faced so much trauma in her life, but continued fighting and never gave up.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, SBS confirmed media were permitted to use the name and image of Roberts, who had served as the broadcaster\u2019s first elder-in-residence.<\/p>\n \u201cRhoda 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\u2019s cultural landscape,\u201d acting managing director Jane Palfreyman said.<\/p>\n SBS First Nations director Tanya Denning-Orman said: \u201cRhoda, our fiercely proud Bundjalung woman, reminded us of the shoulders we stand on and the importance of the work we do.\u201d<\/p>\n Minister for Home Affairs and the Arts, Tony Burke, said she would always be respected, revered and loved. \u201cThere are generations of artists who credit Rhoda as the catalyst for their careers,\u201d Burke posted on X.<\/p>\n Roberts is survived by her partner Stephen and her three children.<\/p>\n Get the day\u2019s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n CORRECTION<\/p>\n An earlier version of this article stated Roberts was born in Lismore.\u00a0<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Rhoda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3731cf7a987bc0b635dd51806865110fd49c3015.jpeg\")
Rhoda Roberts has died aged 66. Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n![\"Rhoda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1de32ccaa30de8e358d4de08b693c6e0df671fc5.jpeg\")
Rhoda and her father, Frank Roberts Jnr on the day of the Long March Indigenous protests, January 26, 1988. Courtesy of Rhoda Roberts<\/p>\n