Crossing the Great Divide

The memoirs and paintings that Rod Moss has produced during the last 35 years are unique in their dramatisation of the lives of his trusting Aboriginal family and have been critically acclaimed nationally and internationally. In his third memoir we follow the nurturing of the curiosity and openness that has fastened him to the luminous power of Central Australia and its First Peoples. From the foothills of Victoria's Dandenong Ranges and his city-based art education, we are taken to the Mallee where he first embraces the climate most conducive to his wellbeing. He returns to the city and is invited to participate in Melbourne's dynamic experimental small school movement. A year is spent in the USA studying the  teachings of Armenian philosopher George Gurdjieff in a rural community ‘Shenandoah’ farm setting. Travel widens Moss’ perceptions and continues to pique his curiosity. A trip to a Pilbra Indigenous community opens the door on the Aboriginal world that he will spend the rest of his life coming to terms with.


In Crossing the Great Divide, Rod Moss shows the reader through his formative years in 1950s and 1960s Victoria, and through young adulthood in the 1970s. He weaves his experiences together with sensitivity and a painterly eye.