British conductor and composer of international renown seeks daring, unconventional writer and artist for ritual indulgences in the dark corners of Sydney.
1 Eugene Goossens, c. 1954 Max Dupain OBE. © Max Dupain/Copyright Agency, 2024. 2 Rosaleen Norton, Witch of Kings Cross, 1970-1971 Rennie Ellis. © Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive
www.RennieEllis.com.au.
Known as ‘the Witch of Kings Cross’, notorious bohemian Rosaleen Norton came to the attention of the esteemed conductor Eugene Goossens in 1952, through her published work The Art of Rosaleen Norton. What followed was an intense secret relationship that revolved around the occult, and included magical sex rites that were a central aspect of Norton’s pantheistic practices. Their relationship ended with the arrest of Goossens in 1956, on his return from receiving his knighthood; tipped off by journalists, authorities searched his belongings and found a large quantity of obscene material, including over 1000 ‘indecent’ photographs. The pair’s association came to light through the discovery of intimate letters written by Goossens to Norton. Pleading guilty to charges of scandalous conduct, Goossens left Australia in disgrace just a few weeks later, never to return.
