Rhoda Roberts held Country. Now Country will hold her forever

In consideration of Indigenous cultural protocols, SBS/NITV has gained permission to use and reproduce Rhoda's name, voice and image. We are doing so in line with her wishes. We also continue to consult with her family and community.

We can only begin to grasp the vastness of her journey, a life spent criss-crossing this country, from its cities and towns to its farthest regions, remote communities and outstations.

Through every chapter of her work, from her early days with SBS’ First In Line to her tireless cultural leadership, Rhoda was carried to all parts of this continent.

And she loved Country. Deeply.

Not just for its breathtaking beauty, but for what lay beneath it, its pulse, its spirit, its living heartbeat.

She didn’t just visit places. she listened to them. She felt them.

She embraced the stories of Country, absorbing language, song and meaning, holding them with care.

Wherever she went, our Old People saw her. They recognised something in her.

They welcomed her. They trusted her.

They placed in her hands Cultural knowledge, and with it, responsibility, a responsibility she carried with humility, with reverence, and with respect.

They shared their Country with her. Their dreaming stories. Their songs. Their art.

They wanted those stories carried beyond the horizon, to the nation, to the world and Rhoda understood what that truly meant.

Like so many, I had the privilege of travelling this country with her, and some of the most powerful moments were the quietest ones.

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Sitting by a fire, a cup of tea warming her hands, she was in her element.

That’s when she would hold court, not with ego, but with presence.

She would speak of the spirits of Country, of its Songlines, of how our Old People didn’t just belong to the land, they sang it, they called it, they kept it alive.

And in those same places, she would also speak the hard truths.

Of massacre. Of loss. Of a brutal and unrelenting past.

She never turned away from that pain because she knew it, too, was part of Country.

And it needed to be remembered.

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Rhoda Roberts AO: The cultural warrior who changed the nation

Tonight, with Forever Held in Country, NITV proudly launches a seven-day reflection in honour of Rhoda Roberts AO.

Forever Held in Country is a slow TV program that pays tribute to Rhoda’s enduring connection to Country.

Guided by the four winds, the journey travels across the continent, beginning on her beloved Bundjalung Country. (The Bundjalung nation occupies land from north-east NSW to south-east Queensland.)

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.

Forever Held in Country Tuesday 31 March at 8:25pm on NITV and SBS on Demand.