A prominent indigenous arts figure who coined the term “welcome to country” has died at 66 after a battle with cancer.
Rhoda Roberts, an activist, TV presenter, journalist and creative director, was diagnosed with the rare type of ovarian cancer in 2025, and on Saturday her family announced she had died in hospital.
“Rhoda will be deeply missed by all whose hearts she touched, she was an incredible person in so many ways. Words fail to capture the true love, depth, intelligence and warmth that was our beloved Rhoda. She dedicated her life to culture, country and people from all walks of life,” her family wrote.
Ms Roberts was the first “elder-in-residence” at taxpayer-funded multicultural broadcaster SBS, the inaugural head of “indigenous programming” at the Sydney Opera House, and the creative director of the indigenous component of the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
In the 1980s Ms Roberts introduced the term “welcome to country” to describe the now-common humiliation ritual that was first performed in 1973 at an alternative lifestyle festival, and then again by actor Ernie Dingo in 1976.
Ms Roberts previously said the now-ubiquitous modern day performances were developed by members of the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust in the 1980s, and also revealed that she “really didn’t expect it to grow”.
“We thought, ‘Well, why don’t we start reintroducing that protocol that we do in our communities, but for the arts sector’ because they are very open and flexible and great critical thinkers,” she told the ABC last year.
“And so we were thinking, ‘What would we call it?’ And so, welcome to country I coined.”
“Welcome to countries” have since become common at sporting and political events, and a poll last year found seven out of 10 Australians want them stopped completely.
The largest-ever poll on the topic was conducted after a group of nationalist activists allegedly booed during a performance on Anzac Day at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance. They were charged by police in September and remain before the courts.
Header image: Rhoda Roberts (supplied).
