The Witch of Kings Cross

Biography of Rosaleen Norton, Australia's first witch. Includes several pictures.

Rosaleen Norton was Australia's first witch, and in the 1950s she was known across the country as 'the Witch of Kings Cross'. A colourful, bohemian figure from Sydney's red-light district, 'Roie' could be recognised by her dark, flashing eyes, her mysterious arched eyebrows and her devilish smile but there was a lot more to her than is generally realised...

A natural trance artist, she experimented with self-hypnosis and as a result of her visionary explorations she portrayed a wide range of supernatural beings in her paintings and drawings. However her 'pagan' art plunged her into continuous controversy.

Widely criticised for engaging in bizarre sexual practices with her lover, Gavin Greenlees, she was later associated with the scandal which eventually engulfed musical conductor Sir Eugene Goossens. Rosaleen Norton was very much a renegade from mainstream society. Yet she was also an independent thinker and an important forerunner of women's spirituality and the contemporary Witchcraft movement.

This biography - the only detailed account of her life and magical beliefs - provides an evaluation of her magical practices and her art, and presents a substantial amount of previously unpublished material.