Rhoda Roberts AO is one of the most influential Australians there is.
Rhoda is a Bundjalung woman, a nurse, journalist, broadcaster, actor, producer, writer, art advisor, and artistic director. And she's also responsible for a lot of major cultural moments in Australia, from the Awakening Ceremony during the opening of the Sydney Olympics in 2000 to coining the phrase Welcome to Country.
Amid Rhoda's incredible activism, she's also been through a lot. From systemic racism to a horrific family tragedy that saw her twin sister murdered, Rhoda has experienced countless heartbreak.
On this week's episode of No Filter, Rhoda spoke with the podcast's guest host Narelda Jacobs, and it's a powerful conversation you don't want to miss.
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Rhoda Roberts' childhood.
Rhoda was born in 1960 in Northern New South Wales.
The daughter of politically active parents, she grew up in Lismore with brothers Philip and Mark, and twin sister, Lois.
In her very early teens in 1972, Rhoda watched her father Frank Roberts Jnr be introduced by Gough Whitlam at the Tent Embassy on the grounds of Old Parliament House in Canberra, to talk about land rights.
It marked a major moment not only for Indigenous rights across the country, but also for Rhoda and her family.
"I grew up with a fairly strong political lens, in that my dad was part of the Tent Embassy. His biggest thing to us was always to volunteer and give back but he always said to my sister and I, 'the reason you are here, my Bundjalung princesses, is because you are of service to your people'," she shared on No Filter.
Listen to No Filter, Rhoda Roberts: "Now is the time to awaken those sleeping spirits". Post continues after audio.
Reflecting on the positive influence of her father, Rhoda said it was those foundational moments of teaching that led her to where she is today.
"I'm really just the facilitator: I'm surrounded by enormous talent, and the enormous trust of people who trust me with their stories and how I will interpret them in this 21st Century. I think 'listening' in itself has been a great education that my father gave to me."
The barriers Rhoda Roberts has faced.
Growing up in country Northern NSW, Rhoda wasn't allowed into some places simply because of the colour of her skin. The act of simply going to a nightclub or bar, and being turned away by a bouncer: not because of intoxication, but because you are Black.
"We called them the 'colour bars': places in town you couldn't go. But I think the strength I got from those experiences was a strength to question or to walk away. And to look at another way of how do we engage these people that have this fear and terror of us, or just absolute devaluing of who we are," Rhoda noted.
Coming from such a strong and passionate family, Rhoda was brought up with the belief that anything is possible. So when she was denied access to the Lismore Base Hospital as a trainee nurse, Rhoda let the experience fuel her determination.
"The matron told me to go home, assuring me I would never finish my registered nurse training, because 'like all the others', I would end up pregnant. It gave me the strength to go, 'I'll prove you wrong'. And I did."
As both Rhoda and Narelda shared, the impact of continual micro aggressions can be huge.
"Some don't realise how debilitating it can be for our people to constantly hear that we don't have a work ethic, that we're lazy or drunk or we're not pretty. But it is changing, because we're starting to see the visibility, that we are as proud of this nation, as anyone who resides here," Rhoda noted.
Rhoda Roberts on the murder of her twin sister, Lois.
In July 1998, 38-year-old Lois Roberts was murdered.
She was spotted standing on the side of the road in Nimbin, Northern NSW, a spot known as hitchhiker's corner.
In a regular week, Lois would hitchhike between her home in Lismore and Nimbin several times, the trip 20 minutes in total. After experiencing a serious car crash at the age of 21, Lois had been left with brain damage, which some say affected her ability to sense danger.
So on that fateful day in 1998, a witness saw Lois get into a white car and sadly she was never seen alive again.
Investigators believe she was held captive and kept alive for around 10 days, during which time she was tortured and sexually abused before being killed.
Then months later in 1999, a bushwalker came across human remains. After forensic testing, it was confirmed it was Lois.
In the present, Rhoda says she feels hope for the future.
"I want more Australians to go, 'Oh my God, we are host to the oldest living culture on the planet. No one else has what we have.' I also believe there is an awakening: a third pandemic if you will: there was the smallpox, the Spanish flu and now COVID. With that, people reflect on what they have and the narrative can shift."
Rhoda concluded on No Filter: "The world is changing. And often you're asked, 'what can we do?' Value our culture, come and experience it with us because it's yours as well: if you're born on this country it too was your dreaming. So have that experience."
You can now listen to Narelda Jacob's chat with Rhoda Roberts on No Filter, available here.
Feature Image: Instagram/ @parrtjimaaustralia.