The founder and matriarch behind one of Australia’s most notorious cults, The Family, has died this week. It’s reported that 98-year-old Anne Hamilton-Byrne passed away after suffering from dementia, after being diagnosed in 2007.
The Family attracted followers by promoting a culture which mixed yoga, drug-taking, eastern mysticism and tenants of Christianity. The cult was also behind illegal adoption of of children, who were then imprisoned, brainwashed and abused at a location near Lake Eildon, where the children were also home-schooled, forced to wear identical clothing and have their hair dyed blonde.
At the age of 14, children adopted by the cult were dosed with LSD as part of an initiation practice. It’s believed The Family ran adoption scams from the 1970s well in to the late 1980s.
Despite the high-profile illegal operation, Hamilton-Byrne was never charged with child abuse or illegal adoption. Police and prosecutors failed to present charges of kidnapping, administering drugs and assault with Hamilton-Byrne only ever charged with cases of fraud, resulting in fines.
From 2007 onwards, Hamilton-Byrne dementia diagnoses, rendering her unfit to face further charges associated with The Family.
Per SMH, former Victoria Police detective Lex de Man expressed regret at the fact Hamilton-Byrne was never brought to justice. “I shed not one tear today” he explained, “Today for me brings to an end the life of one of Victoria’s most evil people.”
Originating in Melbourne in the 1960s, The Family was founded by Hamilton-Byrne and Raynor Johnson, a Melbourne University academic and head of Queen’s School for three decades.
The Family came to an end in 1987 following a police raid of their facilities, removing all the children. Police were aided with the help of Hamilton-Byrne adopted daughter, Sarah, who was expelled from the cult for rebellious behaviour.
