26-08-2012, 03:08 PM
Creating the family tree
1961 ANNE Hamilton meets Dr Raynor Johnson, Master of Queen's College at the University of Melbourne and renowned authority on mysticism.
1964 Dr Johnson buys land at Ferny Creek, where the cult builds Santiniketan Lodge, which becomes its headquarters.1961 (continued) Together they found The Family, a religion based on a blend of Eastern mysticism and Christianity.
1965 Hamilton-Byrne marries South African naval officer Michael Riley. The marriage does not last.
1960s The Family begins recruiting cult members from patients at the Newhaven private psychiatric hospital in Kew. The recruits are given heavy doses of LSD.
1968 Hamilton-Byrne begins adopting children with her "husband" Bill Byrne. Both change their surname to Hamilton-Byrne, but do not marry until the mid-1970s.
1970s She buys Broom Farm in Kent, England, and another house in the Catskills, New York.
1983 Australian Federal Police visit the cult's property at Eildon, looking for but not finding missing girl, Kim Halm.
1986 Newhaven hospital closes. The property is later the subject of a lawsuit between Anne Hamilton-Byrne and the descendants of a deceased cult member. She wins.
1987 Australian Federal Police raid the Eildon property, removing six children.
1988 Seven female cult members are jailed for defrauding social security of almost $200,000.
1989 Victoria Police establish Operation Forest to investigate The Family.
1990 Former cult solicitor Peter Kibby confesses to forging birth records on Anne Hamilton-Byrne's orders. Former "aunty" Patricia MacFarlane also gives details to police of her role in the adoption scams.
1993 Anne and Bill Hamilton-Byrne are arrested by the FBI in the Catskills Mountains, New York, after police traced calls made to Australia.
1994 Anne and Bill Hamilton-Byrne are extradited to Melbourne. They plead guilty to perjury through documents and are fined $5000.
2001 Bill Hamilton-Byrne dies. Anne Hamilton-Byrne attends his funeral in her only public appearance since she was convicted in 1994.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/creatin...2cb362dabc
- From:Sunday Herald Sun
- August 16, 2009 12:00AM
1961 ANNE Hamilton meets Dr Raynor Johnson, Master of Queen's College at the University of Melbourne and renowned authority on mysticism.
1964 Dr Johnson buys land at Ferny Creek, where the cult builds Santiniketan Lodge, which becomes its headquarters.1961 (continued) Together they found The Family, a religion based on a blend of Eastern mysticism and Christianity.
1965 Hamilton-Byrne marries South African naval officer Michael Riley. The marriage does not last.
1960s The Family begins recruiting cult members from patients at the Newhaven private psychiatric hospital in Kew. The recruits are given heavy doses of LSD.
1968 Hamilton-Byrne begins adopting children with her "husband" Bill Byrne. Both change their surname to Hamilton-Byrne, but do not marry until the mid-1970s.
1970s She buys Broom Farm in Kent, England, and another house in the Catskills, New York.
1983 Australian Federal Police visit the cult's property at Eildon, looking for but not finding missing girl, Kim Halm.
1986 Newhaven hospital closes. The property is later the subject of a lawsuit between Anne Hamilton-Byrne and the descendants of a deceased cult member. She wins.
1987 Australian Federal Police raid the Eildon property, removing six children.
1988 Seven female cult members are jailed for defrauding social security of almost $200,000.
1989 Victoria Police establish Operation Forest to investigate The Family.
1990 Former cult solicitor Peter Kibby confesses to forging birth records on Anne Hamilton-Byrne's orders. Former "aunty" Patricia MacFarlane also gives details to police of her role in the adoption scams.
1993 Anne and Bill Hamilton-Byrne are arrested by the FBI in the Catskills Mountains, New York, after police traced calls made to Australia.
1994 Anne and Bill Hamilton-Byrne are extradited to Melbourne. They plead guilty to perjury through documents and are fined $5000.
2001 Bill Hamilton-Byrne dies. Anne Hamilton-Byrne attends his funeral in her only public appearance since she was convicted in 1994.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/creatin...2cb362dabc
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.