TV and Radio journalist Rhoda Roberts has died, following a period of illness after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year.
Rhoda Roberts’ connection to media began early, as a volunteer at Radio Redfern, an Aboriginal community radio initiative in Sydney, on the program In the Mix.
She later joined SBS as a young journalist, making history in 1989 as co-host of First in Line with Michael Johnson, becoming the first Indigenous presenters on prime-time Australian television, and later hosting Vox Populi. She was a cofounder of the Deadley Awards and a leader in thne indigenous arts sector.
Roberts played a key role in major SBS milestones, including leading coverage of NITV’s launch as a free-to-air channel as part of SBS in 2012, and becoming SBS’s inaugural Elder in Residence in 2021.
An award-winning producer, artistic director, journalist, broadcaster, actor, curator and advisor, Rhoda’s career was characterised by landmark achievements across Australia’s cultural institutions and on the international stage. Her work included co-founding Australia’s first national Aboriginal theatre company, the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust, and serving as Creative Director of Awakening for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
She held many senior creative leadership roles, including Creative Director of Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, inaugural Head of First Nations Programming at the Sydney Opera House, co-founder and Artistic Director of the Dreaming Festival, co-founder of The Deadlys, and Creative Director of the Parrtjima Festival in Alice Springs.
Among her accolades, in 2016 Roberts was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the performing arts and for advancing contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
SBS Acting Managing Director, Jane Palfreyman said: “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. At SBS, her impact is deeply felt, most recently as our inaugural Elder in Residence, where she embedded culture into the fabric of our organisation.”
Read the SBS tribute here.