Dusty Roads

From a conversation with Dusty in September 2002
I was born in Collie, Western Australia, in 1963. My parents are Bill Roads, a Native American Indian, and Glenys Quartermaine, a Noongar who was also born at Collie. Bill & Glenys have been married for 51 yrs. I have three brothers; Dean, Jamie and Glen.
I moved from Collie to Gosnells for four years where I became a ward of the state at twelve years of age. Instead of going to a foster home, I was considered too old so I was sent to Riverbank Maximum Security Boys facility in Guilford; it had razor wire around and it wasn’t a nice place. I had undiagnosed ADD which was not known about but explains my behaviour. It is interesting that both my sons have ADD now.
I was released when I was 17 years of age when I met my first wife. We had two boys 14 months apart. My wife and boys worked with me in shearing sheds. My wife worked as the shearer’s cook.
From the roaming life of shearing in the outback of Western Australia I worked in Bassendean in a foundry as a furnace man to support my wife and family. The furnace exploded – someone had mixed metal and oil together. I was badly injured, sustaining brain damage. This unfortunate accident resulted in further institution for 17 years. This is when I found my inner dreaming space. The fine lines and dots in my paintings were developed to focus on the dreaming to take away the pain and to take my mind off what was going on in the world.
I was released when I was 35 years old in 1999. I had Dusty Roads Working Gallery in Fremantle, which was initially very successful, but further pain and unhappiness made me decide to travel throughout Australia, to visit many tribes in many different regions. I paid for my keep in these communities by painting which they preferred rather than being paid money for my paintings.
Tired of travelling, I came to Tasmania. I had an addiction problem for a couple of months. I was helped to overcome this through the Bridge Program and for the first time in my life I have a good relationship, a house and things I never had before – the first time in my life my dream has become a reality and I am free to paint and let go of all the ghosts and live life pretty simply.