NITV to broadcast farewell to Rhoda Roberts AO with special coverage and week-long tribute
27 March, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) will provide special live coverage of the funeral of proud Widjabul Wieybal First Nations Cultural trailblazer, Rhoda Roberts AO, to be held on Tuesday 31 March at St Carthage's Cathedral in Lismore, her beloved Bundjalung Country.
At the request of Rhoda's family, NITV will broadcast the funeral service from 12:15pm AEDT on Tuesday, available on NITV, SBS On Demand and on NITV Facebook and YouTube. The broadcast will be presented by NITV's Head of News and Current Affairs, Natalie Ahmat, and SBS and NITV's National Indigenous Affairs Editor, John Paul Janke. NITV's coverage reflects the family's wishes to make this moment of farewell accessible to the many people and communities she was connected to, worked with, and touched through her life and work.
Later that evening, NITV will commence a week of special programming, paying tribute to Rhoda's immense contribution across culture, theatre, arts, dance, media, journalism and public life in Australia, including as the inaugural SBS Elder in Residence.
Rhoda Roberts AO: A Lasting Legacy is a curated collection of programs airing nightly from Tuesday 31 March to Monday 6 April. The collection honours the breadth of Rhoda's work as one of Australia's most influential leaders in the arts and creative sector, and recognises her pioneering role in strengthening First Nations representation. It offers Australians an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate her remarkable achievements and enduring cultural impact, following her passing on Saturday 21 March, aged 66.
Each evening, SBS Director, First Nations, Tanya Denning-Orman, will provide a special introduction, offering insight into Rhoda's impact across the many areas she shaped, and why each program holds significance in telling her story.
On Tuesday, we come together to farewell Rhoda, guided by her family, her community and her spirit, Denning-Orman said. We are honoured to share this moment with people across the country and around the world, for all those who walked with her, learned from her, and who want to come together to say goodbye, in keeping with the wishes of Rhoda and her family.
We are also marking her extraordinary legacy with a dedicated week of programming a time for cultural remembrance, storytelling and collective reflection. From her powerful orations as SBS's inaugural Elder in Residence to her one-woman show My Cousin Frank, and her deep love of music, dance and storytelling, Rhoda carried culture into every space with strength, pride and purpose. This collection is a tribute to her passion, fierce advocacy and enduring commitment to creating pathways for the next generation, and all she has left for us to carry on.
As Rhoda returns to the Dreaming, we honour a life that lives on in the stories we tell and the work we carry forward in her name, Denning-Orman said.
NITV's seven-day collection of programming, Rhoda Roberts AO: A Lasting Legacy, includes:
Forever Held in Country
Tuesday 31 March at 8:25pm on NITV and SBS on Demand
This slow TV program pays tribute to Bundjalung Widjabul Wieybal woman, Rhoda Roberts AO, tracing her enduring connection to Country. Guided by the four winds, the journey travels across the continent, beginning on Bundjalung Country. Rhoda's cultural leadership helped establish Welcome to Country as an integral part of Australia's national life - not as a symbolic act, but as a step toward meaningful recognition and lasting change for First Nations peoples.
2024 SBS Elder In Residence Oration with Stan Grant
Wednesday 1 April at 8:25pm on NITV and SBS On Demand
Appointed as SBS's inaugural Elder in Residence in 2021, Rhoda Roberts AO delivered three SBS Elder in Residence Orations. In this powerful conversation with Wiradjuri man and renowned journalist Stan Grant, Rhoda reflects on the 2024 NAIDOC Week theme, Keep the Fire Burning, Blak Loud and Proud'. Known for her groundbreaking work in the arts, this program honours her leadership and impact in journalism revealing the strength of her voice and the legacy she leaves for all Australians.
My Cousin Frank
Thursday 2 April at 8:30pm on NITV and SBS On Demand
NITV is proud to premiere the one-woman stage show, My Cousin Frank, on national television. Written and performed by Rhoda, My Cousin Frank tells the true story of her cousin, Francis Frank Roberts, Australia's first Aboriginal Olympian. This powerful performance was recorded at the Sydney Opera House in December last year, following sold out performances in other cities, directed by Kirk Page and produced by Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NOPRA). It traces Frank's journey to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics as a boxer, his fight for justice as a non-citizen in his own country, and his resilience in the face of colonial adversity. My Cousin Frank provides insight into the Roberts family, and into the story of Cubawee, the Aboriginal reserve where Frank grew up, outside of Lismore.
Radiance
Friday 3 April at 9:00pm on NITV and SBS on Demand
In 1993, alongside Lydia Miller, Rhoda Roberts commissioned Louis Nowra's Radiance and starred in its acclaimed Belvoir St Theatre production. It became a defining work of the Blak Theatre Movement. The screen adaptation, directed by Rachel Perkins and starring Deborah Mailman, follows three sisters who reunite after their mother's death, confronting family tensions and shared histories. It marked a breakthrough moment, with Mailman becoming the first Aboriginal woman to win an AFI Award.
2012 From the Heart of the Nation Concert
Saturday 4 April at 8:35pm on NITV and SBS On Demand
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NITV to broadcast farewell to Rhoda Roberts AO with special coverage and week-long tribute 
