The Witch of Kingâs Cross
What anxieties about sexuality shaped the cultural landscape of 1950s Australia? How did Rosaleen Norton embody these anxieties? What were the major responses to Norton as a result of her embodiment of anxieties about sexuality?
Rosaleen Norton was a dynamic and dividing trance occult artist who lived out most of her life in the obscure area that was Kingâs Cross in the 1950s. In a time where Christian conservatism was embodied by the vast majority of females in Australia, Norton did not just choose, but rather felt it divined that she was to live differently. Post war Australia, as a society held many anxieties relating to sexuality and anything deemed to be obscene or perverse. Anxiety can be defined as a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. This feeling is an intrinsic human emotion, societies are comprised of humans and therefore, entire societies can hold collected anxieties regarding certain people or behaviours within that society. In respect to an unease about the uncertain, it was anything other than modest heterosexuality that made Australia nervous or uneasy in the mid 20th century. Sexuality itself is a term which refers to peopleâs sex, their sexual feelings towards others, their feelings about themselves as sexual beings, their sexual orientation and behaviour. Kingâs Cross had emerged as a no manâs land, every manâs land, a red light district forging the way and providing refuge for an assortment of vagrants and bohemians[1] , and those on the fringe of society in regard to sexuality. Norton was an avid practitioner of sex magic, or Magia Sexualis. The practice, âopens some critical insights into the shifting attitudes towards sexuality, gender, religious authority and social liberation over the last two hundred years.â[2] It was here Rosaleen created her now acclaimed works of art and faced public persecution and police prosecution in response to her creations.
A New Zealand native, Norton moved with her family to Australia. She knew she was a witch from an early age, in her own words, âwhen I was seven.â[3] She was a self-identified animal liberationist and this was a guiding principle in her life.  Norton held the staunch belief that Pan, the Greek half-goat God, represented the forces of nature. She placed emphasis on this through occult style worship, for this behaviour she came to be known as Panâs daughter. For her behaviour throughout the years in which she resided at her flat at Brougham Street, she was known as the Witch of Kingâs Cross. To those who also lived in the Cross, she was known simply as Roie. Correlations can be drawn between the persecution of Norton and the perception of Lilith; Norton too was deemed a malevolent female entity responsible for leading men astray. This is a repeated narrative in relation to independent females often associated with perverse sexuality and itâs not something we have managed to eradicate as a society. She was repeatedly painted negatively in the media, âthe notorious, Pan-worshipping Witch of Kingâs Cross⊠a person known to the police through two prosecutions for obscenity.[4] One need only to examine the prosecution and persecution of American Amanda Knox, through the first decade of this century, to notice the repeated and common themes. Unlike Norton, her participation in occult sex was only ever accused and alleged however if one compares headlines pertaining to both Norton and Knox, over half a century apart, they could easily be interchangeable.
Port World War two Australia was a predominately Christian society focused on economic strength through social order founded on family values. Print media was a moral watchdog The stark juxtaposition of the obscenity of her artwork in 1950s Australia is apparent through the measured response of the police, media and public. It is somewhat difficult, yet so important for the modern mind to understand exactly why Nortonâs lifestyle was deemed scandalous. It is important for us to examine and reflect upon our society as it develops. In 1950âs Australia the role of the woman was clearly defined through Christian values and morays. There was an emphasis placed on domesticity and the cellular family. Norton deliberately defied these norms every single day she breathed, she viewed herself as having fluid sexuality; a vessel for sexual expression and creativity for both herself and others.
In her own lifetime, she was deemed disruptive and therefore undervalued in terms of artistic skill and education. She drew influence from not only her immediate drug fuelled surroundings, but also varying and equally contrasting and complimentary sources, notably Carl Jung. Norton appreciated and perhaps embodied Jungâs theory of individuation; the joining of male and female forces for the ultimate being. Nortonâs dynamic perception of self is represented through the repeated appearance of her own image incorporated in her artwork. Her artwork was created as means of self-expression and occupation, she was well identified in her local area and sometimes even painted on the street.
179 Brougham Street enabled her to exercise both public and private sexual expression because of its very nature, it was for intimate enactments of sex per se and sex rites, for a select and anonymous entourage. The world in which Norton inhabited could be deemed both a blessing and a curse, essentially it facilitated both her rise and demise socially. In a sense it was a shelter or haven for creativity and free expression however the high risk nature of the lifestyle, the binges and transients became her undoing. Her lifestyle, while exclusive and elusive was frequented with drug fueled comings and goings.
Post World War Two Australia had very clearly defined roles for women. The suburban dream centered on the womenâs role in the home as full-time wives and mothers; but its achievement depended on their contribution as domestic and wage labourers[5]. In every capacity of her personality, lifestyle choices, all the way down to appearance, Norton rejected the social norms specified for women. In the only surviving footage of Norton, from a 1964 documentary entitled, âThe Glittering Mile.â She is interviewed briefly and in speaking of children, she says, âOh God no, I couldnât stand it, Iâd go mad.â[6] Â There was a âsexualisationâ of everyday life through the invocation of sexual desire that could not be fulfilled. This explains how at the personal level people found consumerism so attractive and meaningful. Commodities themselves took on an erotic significance, since they offered to fulfil the ideals of masculinity and feminity[7]. Norton rejected not only the roles of sexuality for women in her time but also the general notion of the suburban dream. She lived with little in terms of material possessions and chose to place emphasis and value on creativity, notoriety and social and sexual life. Her lifestyle bordered on vagrancy, certainly not concerned with domesticity or obtaining wealth and security.
Norton had two significant and intertwined relationships with fellow creatives, Gavin Greenlees (1930-1983) and Sir Eugene Goosens (1893 â 1962). Greenlees was a poet from Victoria who had been published in Pertinent and won awards by the ABC.
Sir Eugene Goosens was an acclaimed British conductor and composer. Norton and Greenlees formed an ongoing, significant, intense and dependent relationship. They engaged in sex magic, created and exhibited art together and formed the basis for the threesome that inevitably would be each-others undoing.
In 1949 Greenlees assisted Norton in her first public and major exhibition at the Rowden White Library. Her drawings, Witchesâ Sabbath, Lucifer, Triumph and Individuation were seized and removed from display under the Police Offences Act of 1928, alleging that (the drawings) were decadent and obscene artworks and were likely to arouse  unhealthy sexual appetites in those who saw them[8]. She was charged with obscenity and her artwork banned from display, âI deem that all three pictures emphasise matters of sex unduly and as tending to corrupt the morals of unsophisticated members of the general public, and, in consequence, they are obscene.â In her own calculated response, Norton stated, âobscenity, like beauty, in in the eye of the beholder.â[9] The concept that only sophisticated and civilized members of society were able to view art of an obscene and sexual nature stems back to the exhibitions of sexual art preserved and excavated from Pompeii, and the Secret Museum. This is reflective of how despite the progression of society and humanity in some areas, other attitudes are retained and regurgitated to the detriment of progress.
In 1952, in conjunction with Wally Glover, Greenlees and Norton published in collaboration; The Art of Rosaleen Norton with Poems by Gavin Greenlees. It was regarded in the same manner as the controversial exhibit three years prior. This text has become important to the history of censorship; as its production, sale and distribution were outright banned within Australia. Glover was charged with producing an obscene publication, he was found guilty and fined 5 pounds for the offence. The aforementioned text is also what attracted Sir Eugene Goosens to the Witch of Kingâs Cross.
In 1955 her residence was raided, a crime reporter for The Sun, Jo Morris Senior stole letters from Goosens and this triggered surveillance which would lead to an investigation of Goosens. Inevitably he was âfound outâ and charged on March 9, 1965 at Mascot airport under Section 233 of the Customâs Act with importing inhibited goods. Goosens plead guilty in absentia and Greenlees and Norton were never charged.
Throughout her lifetime there was a perception that she was not only deviant, but also instructive and manipulative in her sexual relationships, her coven behaviour. The notion that she sought out, and corrupted the prestigious Goosens is ludicrous and debunked through their personal correspondence, in the form of letters. While groundbreaking and independent, a leader within her local community and field, she was in no right the director in regard to the mĂ©nage a trois, rather the facilitator. Goosenâs interest in occult activity and Magia Sexualis was already clearly established, specifically his collection of art and writing pertaining to the topic, with his influence drawn from Aleister Crowley. Norton, Greenlees and Goosens formed a group based on shared interests and together they engaged in sex magic practice in order to enhance their artistic abilities.
The most scandalous aspect of Norton is not at all her content, but rather context. The way in which she spoke about sexuality, took ownership of sexuality and shared her experience was demonized in the past. It should not and perhaps wouldnât be regarded as inappropriate in a modern context. When interviewed by L. J. Murphy, she spoke of her sexual preference, âI enjoy very much beating men with a strap and then having intercourse. I think all in all my most complete pleasure is through the active role I can play.â If one was to read that quote in a contemporary context, a magazine or online article, it wouldnât be regarded as scandalous, perhaps only provocative. As society has evolved, so too has sexuality and means of communications, the many platforms in which we express ourselves have assisted in breaking down barriers regarding sexual behaviour.
To satisfy the requirements of a scandal, a public response must be measured. In regard to the ongoing scandal that was the life of Norton, specifically the exhibition of her art and affair with Goosens, the public certainly responded. She was the embodiment of sexual anxieties held by Australians. It may well be that witchcraft beliefs create anxiety⊠and that this anxiety is periodically discharged both in gossip and accusations. This anxiety and its discharge may involve suppressed aggression arising from relations in the consumption unit, and also the anxiety created by the hazards of life in a harsh environment. The environment Norton placed herself in was harsh, so to was the response from the media to her lifestyle, and her art which it so reflected.
To suggest that had Norton been male, she would have completely escaped persecution is naĂŻve and incomplete. It is undeniable that a combination of factors; including her gender, the context in which she lived and her defiance to conform, as well as the persistence of detective Burt Trevenar, are responsible for the media fueled, negatively geared public response. In her own and supposed last words, she said of herself, âI came bravely into this world and Iâll leave it the same.â Norton challenged sexual anxieties in relation to the role of the woman, promiscuity and bisexuality, and she did so in both a private and public capacity. Her influence on the modern practice of magic and female sexuality is undoubtable. A recent theatre production was staged in Kingâs Cross, entitled The Glittering Mile was recently held at a reformed Sydney brothel, Nevada, and featured the life of Roie the Witch. There is also a feature length documentary currently in production, slated to be released in 2017. The reflection of Rosaleen Nortonâs life through contemporary arts and media is indicative of the influence she held on Sydney, on artists, on women, on sex. She was captivating in her lifetime and acclaim for her art has only increased since her death. An influential female artist, she is certainly remembered for the anxieties she challenged, and it is important to remember her in this capacity. Her contributions to arts, her ultimately clear self-perception and denial of gender roles have added to the ongoing narrative that is womenâs liberation in Australia, a movement that should no longer make anybody anxious.
 ·     David Lowe, The Glittering Mile, (1964)
·     Game, Ann and Rosemary Pringle, âSexuality and the Suburban Dreamâ (Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology 15.2 1979) 4-15.
·     Hugh Urban, Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism (University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 2006)
·     Joanne Pearson, Inappropriate Sexuality? Sex Magic, S/M and Wicca (or, âWhipping Harry Potterâs Arse), (Theology & Sexuality 11.2, 2005): 31-42.
·     Marguerite Johnson, The Witching Hour: Sex Magic in 1950s Australia (Journal for the Academic Study of Magic 5, 2009): 234-287.
·     M. Gluckman, Psychological, Sociological and Anthropological Explanations of Witchcraft and Gossip: A Clarification. Articles on Witchcraft, Magic and Demonology. (1992) glitt
·      Neville Drury, The Witch of Kings Cross: The Life and  Magic of Rosaleen Norton (Alexandria, NSW: Kingsclear Books, 2002).
·      Neville Drury, Rosaleen Nortonâs Contribution to the  Western Esoteric Tradition
·      Rosaleen Norton, I Was Born a Witch (Australasian Post,  Sydney, 2 January 1957)
·      Rosaleen Norton, The Art of  Rosaleen Norton (Walter Glover, Sydney, 1952)
·      Television documentary on the Kings Cross district in  Sydney titled The Glittering Mile, Channel 9, Sydney, 1964.âš
 [1] Nevill Drury, The Witch of Kings Cross: The Life and Magic of Rosaleen Norton (Alexandria, NSW: Kingsclear Books, 2002).
[2] Hugh Urban, Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism (University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 2006) x.
[3] Rosaleen Norton, I Was Born a Witch (Australasian Post, Sydney, 2 January 1957) 4
[4]Rosaleen Norton, I Was Born a Witch, 4.
[5] Game, Ann and Rosemary Pringle, Sexuality and the Suburban Dream (Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology 15.2 1979) 4-15.
[6] Television documentary on the Kings Cross district in Sydney titled The Glittering Mile, Channel 9, Sydney, 1964.âš
[7] Game, Ann and Rosemary Pringle, Sexuality and the Suburban Dream.
[8] Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 4 August 1949.
