This is Chris. He wrote a book (that has a movie version) called The Family. It is about a cult in Victoria that started in the 60’s and involves stolen kids, brainwashing, torture, acid and a charming psycho named Anne Hamilton-Byrne who claimed to be Jesus.
Yeah nah it’s true.
This woman Anne, grew up in Sale with a paranoid-skitz mother who used to set fire to her daughter’s hair in the middle of the street. Once she hit her 20’s and got her yoga quals, Anne decided she was JC reborn (same), and managed to also convince a Master at Melbourne Uni. Nek minnit she was hanging with the latte drinkers of Toorak who all joined her yoga class. She introduced them to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, showered them with love and promises of eternal life and erryone started believing this glamorous woman was JC too. They handed her heaps of ca$h, properties and then kids – their own, but also other people’s kids who they snatched from hospitals and adoption centres #hideyokidshideyowife.
The cult was called The Family – or the Great White Brotherhood – and gained up to 500 members composing of psychiatrists, doctors, academics, architects, nurses and bored middle-aged housewives who all worshipped Anne. #TeamCult also helped her raise the stolen/abandoned kids on isolated properties in Lake Eildon and the Dandenong Ranges where they were dunked in water, starved, beaten, had their hair dyed to match, force-fed LSD and were made to wear these hideous velour uniforms:
Chris is a seasoned journo (he spent yesterday covering the Essendon plane crash) but this story hooked him. He couldn’t understand how someone had this much influence over people, and do such awful things to innocent children. So over two years he interviewed the:
Children – they were terribly scarred, they had a lot of mental health problems.
Cult – they were not all crazy, they were brainwashed. One still swears he saw her walk on water.
Copper – who called her the most evil person he has ever met in his life.
And he even interviewed Anne.
Wait whaaaaa?? Isn’t cray bish in jail?
No. She avoided jail and was only ever done for fraud. She is a 96 year old millionaire with dementia living in a nursing home. And some of her ‘children’ still visit her.
What did you think when you met her?
It took me two years of talking to one of her followers before he agreed to let me meet her. Because of the build up it was epic. I walked in, sat with her, looked around at the photos of the kids on the wall – and photos of her playing a harp – and I thought ‘Awesome. This is the first chapter of my book done’.
What did you think of her?
I felt honoured to have met her but I also felt repulsed.
She still held a lot of power even though she was ninety-six and demented. She was dressed beautifully, with piercing eyes. Her hairline was on top of her head from so many face lifts. It was so crazy to sense the power she had but also think how could this feeble woman be the same one who held such control over so many people over three continents and three decades.
Did it affect you?
Yes. It reinforced what I believe about the darkness in humans and the strong tendency of people to want to believe in things that are unbelievable – like aliens or Jesus in the Dandenongs.
Ok well you’re wrong about aliens because they are real. But what are your final thoughts on the whole thing?
It’s like a fairytale isn’t it? A wicked witch living in the woods, innocent children that need to be rescued and finally, betrayal. It is a universal story. Betrayal – she betrayed the kids, her cult members, everyone and then finally some of the members betrayed her. I noticed among the pictures on her wall was a really cheap print of the Last Supper. It kind of expressed the story of Anne and the Great White Brotherhood.
Oh and buy the book – a real Sprink would.
This weekend in Melbourne
FIG Individual Apparatus World Cup Series (22-25 Feb) @ Hisense – peeps flock to Hisense Arena to watch the world’s most flexible people give themselves arthritis at this WORLD CUP SERIES
Superbike World Championship @ Phillip Island (24 – 26 Feb) – Super Ted rides around on Postman Pat’s bike, has a cuppa with Astroboy, finds the City of Gold, then goes home to spoon Noddy. #Snuggles.
Melbourne Japanese Summer Festival @ Fed Sq (26 Feb) – Geisha’s kick their kimono’s off, brush their hair over their faces and then crawl through the TV to kill us all to death. TO DEATH
Alfa Romeo Ladies Day at the Polo @ Werribee (25th Feb) – featuring blow waves, Coach bags, champagne, mummy’s credit card, the scent of a good private school and then covered lightly in self-doubt. Powered by MAC foundation. Followed by a yoga qualification.
Tarrawarra Festival @ Yarra Valley (25-26 Feb) – try saying this without moving your lips. It’s actually quite easy.
Otways Odyssey @ Otways (25 Feb) – bike Trojans climb the Otways to read poetry to each other while Helen rolls her eyes looking bored #hearditallbefore
Retro Recall: Rock and Pop in Melbourne @ Melb Town Hall (25 Feb) – First concert? 1993 – Peter Andre and East 17 at Festival Hall, and threw a pair of my sisters undies at Peter’s abs. Fave concert? 2014 – NKOTB and Backstreet Boys at Rod Laver, and threw a pair of my sisters undies at Donnie’s abs.
Blues at the Briars @ Mt Martha (25 Feb) – sad briars, mount Martha
Sustainable Living Festival @ Warrnambool (24-25 Feb) – kombucha and brown linen for #lyf
A Taste of Kyneton @ Kyneton (26 Feb) – I’m listening to Tina Arena right now so all I can think about is baguettes. Brb
Teddy Bears Picnic @ Rippon Lea (26 Feb) – Tiny Teddys spend the day smashing tinnies and getting into fisty cuffs with Kingstons.
Lonsdale Street Greek Festival @ Melbs (25 – 26 Feb) – I met a Greek guy in hospital. Said ‘what are you in for?’. Him: ‘I’m fully sick maaaate’.
Wil Wagner @ Melba Spiegeltent (21 – 23 Feb) – Willy wags his tour at us from under the flaps of the Spiegeltent.
Golf Croquet World Championships @ Cairlea (25 Feb – 5 Mar) – Alice takes on the Great White Shark in this tea party to end all crockery.
Yarra Valley Harvest Picnic @ Yarra Valley (26 Feb) – recovery day for the teddy bears from Rippon Lea
Grampians Music Festival @ The Gramps (24 – 26 Feb) – kangaroos stand atop of Mt Arapiles and punch on with some farmers dog while some local wild flowers rub leaves together to make beautiful wind.
Lake Hume Cycle Challenge @ umm take a guess (26 Feb) – 1000 straws are brought in from China and the town collectively drain the lake to create a natural velodrome for this exciting cycling event.
TextaQueen: Between You and Me @ MPRG (24 Feb – 30 April) – Kween: Come back to bed.. King: No I have to think of a new name for my soldiers.. Kween: K night.. King: Babe you’re a genius.
The Gellibrand River Blues & Blueberry Festival @ Otways Tourist Park (24-26 Feb) – Ribena sponsors this blues festival that sees loving cousins from around the state performing beautiful music together while eating pie. Blueberry pie.
Murray Meander @ Murray (25 Feb- 4 Mar) – a fleet of tinnies, travel the length of the Murray in weekly stages over three years. This is the longest and most coordinated drinking marathon I have ever heard of.
Cinema at the ‘G @ the ‘G (24 – 25 Feb) – something about the big screen over the big green. Ice cream. It rhymes?
Big Pizza Festival @ Foodtruck Park (24 – 26 Feb) – stoners unite to discuss.. IDK. Computer games? I have no idea what