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Mourning a Matriarch

Today, our hearts are heavy. We have lost a giant. A woman who didn’t just walk in the world, she shaped it. A woman who carried culture, story, truth and power wherever she went.
There are some people in this life who don’t just influence you, they anchor you.
She made space where there was none. She spoke truth when it wasn’t welcome. She carried our stories with such fierce integrity and grace.
And she did it all while lifting others.
I will never forget the way she held me in rooms I was still learning to walk into.
The quiet words. The strong guidance.
The unspoken understanding between Blak women doing the work… carrying community, carrying expectation, carrying legacy.
Rhoda didn’t just mentor you, she backed you.
And when she backed you, you stood taller.
Her impact is woven through so many of us. Through our stages, our stories, our movements, our communities.
She showed us what it means to lead with culture at the centre.
To never dilute who we are. To stand firm in identity, even when the world tries to shift you.
Today I’m thinking about all the spaces she filled with presence, all the people she nurtured.
All the doors she opened that will never close again because she walked through them first.
But more than anything, I’m thinking about her spirit. Her laughter. Her sharpness. Her warmth.
We didn’t just lose a leader today. We lost a Matriarch.
And for those of us who were lucky enough to be held in her circle, we carry her now.
I carry you, Rhoda. In my voice. In my work. In every space I step into.
Rest easy, beautiful woman. Your legacy is not behind you, it’s walking beside us. Always.
“… love ya darling.”
Naomi Moran, NSW Treaty Commissioner and former chief executive of the Koori Mail.

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Stephen Page who led Bangarra for thirty years and current Artistic Director and Co-CEO, Frances Rings. Photo: Daniel Boud.

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