Rhoda Roberts, the Bundjalung woman who became one of the most influential cultural figures in contemporary Australia – spanning theatre, broadcasting, festivals and national ceremony – has died aged 66, leaving a legacy that reshaped the visibility and authority of First Nations voices across the country’s cultural life.

Roberts grew up between Sydney and Lismore, on Bundjalung Country. Her family history was steeped in activism: her grandfather, Frank Roberts, was involved in the Aborigines Progressive Association, while her father, Frank Roberts Jnr, campaigned for land rights and was active in the movement leading to the 1967 Australian referendum. Raised amid both political struggle and strong cultural identity, she would later draw on this inheritance to forge a career that fused art with advocacy.

Rhoda Roberts (1959-2026)

Her early ambitions of journalism were thwarted by racism, and she initially trained as a nurse, working in Australia and overseas, including London and India. But on returning to Sydney, she pivoted to the performing arts – a decision that would reverberate across decades of Australian cultural life.

In 1987, Roberts co-founded the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust, helping to galvanise a new era of Indigenous theatre-making....