The Family
An Australian sect that illegally took 14 children and severely abused them for several years
1964 - present
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Founder Anne Hamilton-Byrne's children
In the 1960-70s, a hospital that relied on LSD to treat patients was being used to recruit patients into The Family, an Australian religious group led by Anne Hamilton-Byrne, who thought she was a god. Hamilton-Byrne later conducted unconventional and illegal adoptions of 14 children, who she prepared for an upcoming apocalypse. Under her care, these children were severely beaten, starved, and involuntarily drugged until authorities raided the community in 1987. After being the subject of multiple police investigations, she was fined only $5,000.
Religion: New Age
Founder: Anne Hamilton-Byrne
Founded: 1964
Location: Australia
Also called: Santiniketan Park Association; Great White Brotherhood
Illegally adopted children, and likely kidnapped children as well (source)
Forged documents to change the identity of children (source)
Authorities raided the community in 1987 and took all the children away (source)
Children were required to take LSD (source p. 97)
One of the children sued the leader in 2007 for "cruel and inhuman treatment," including beatings, being locked in a freezing storage shed overnight, forced medicine, and insufficient food (source)
One scholar summarized the children's abuse: "The children’s life in a fenced off compound which denied them virtually all access to the outside world, was one of continuous severe beatings, cold showers, being locked in cupboards, starved and humiliated. They were threatened with bull ants, held upside down over open septic tanks, publicly stripped and thrashed, their food was laced with minor and major tranquillisers, their heads were held under water to the point where they’d believe they were drowning and physical violence extended to the point where one child sustained a fractured skull and life-long epilepsy" (source p. 96)
Members were preparing for an upcoming apocalypse (source)
Children were denied virtually all access to the outside world (source p. 96)
The children said they wanted to leave the cult when presented with the opportunity but were punished for disloyalty (source)
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Founder Anne Hamilton-Byrne was believed to have been worth over $100 million, which she collected from the cult members (source)
Hamilton-Byrne, who some followers believed was Jesus Christ, was glamorous and charismatic — and, many allege, very dangerous. From her base in a quiet suburb, she recruited wealthy professionals to join her cult, including doctors, lawyers, nurses, architects, and scientists. She acquired children and raised them as her own, bleaching their hair blonde to make them look like siblings, and her group became surrounded by rumors of LSD use, child abuse, and strange spiritual rituals.
In 1987, police swooped on The Family’s lakeside compound and rescued children who claimed they were part of Anne’s future master race. The children recounted terrible stories of near starvation, emotional manipulation, and physical abuse. But Anne could not be found, sparking an international police hunt. Could they bring Anne to justice?
How did such a notorious group come to flourish? How did Anne maintain a hold over her followers? Drawing on revelatory new research, including police files, diary entries, and interviews with survivors, The Family tells the strange and shocking story of one of the most bizarre cults in modern history.
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