In 1987, the world learnt the disturbing story of Australian cult, The Family.
On a remote lakeside compound on the outskirts of Melbourne, lived 28 children, raised in virtual isolation, away from the rest of the world.
Groomed and abused, the kids were part of an experiment to create a "master race" that could save the world from Armageddon.
Led by a glamorous and charismatic yoga teacher, Anne Hamilton-Byrne, convinced her cult followers, that she was Jesus Christ in the female form.
As a mastermind behind an insidious cult, she preached a combination of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and apocalyptic prophecy.
To date, Anne is one of the world's most famous cult leaders and her horrific crimes inspired the 2019 novel In The Clearing by J.P. Pomare — a fictionalised account of what life was like in The Family.
Pomare's story is now being memorialised on Disney+ in the upcoming Australian drama, The Clearing.
Watch the trailer for The Clearing on Disney+. Post continues after video.
Anne and her husband Bill Hamilton-Byrne were both charismatic and beguiling. What began as yoga lessons for wealthy housewives quickly morphed into a cult, which would eventually be called The Family.
Founded in 1963, the children were collected through a range of adoption scams, birthed by cult members or donated by single mothers who had been manipulated to hand over their newborns. Once given to the sect, Anne would raise them as her own at their 'Kai Lama' property in Lake Eildon.
The kids were made to wear identical outfits, their hair bleached blonde and were often routinely beaten, dunked into cold water and treated poorly by the adult cult members as they were the only paternal figures they knew.
The kids were home-schooled at the compound and lived a heavily regimented life, controlled by a group of 'Aunties' that were under the supervision of Anne. The cults followers consisted of wealthy professionals, as well as 'normal' people, including psychiatrists, doctors, lawyers, architects, nurses and scientists.
The children, despite being 'loved' and adored by Anne, were routinely medicated, according to one of the former cult kids, Anouree.
"We were given all kinds of other drugs. Drugs to control and calm us down," she told news.com.au following the years of abuse. They were also dosed with LSD."
Cult members and children were forced to take drugs as part of ritual "clearings", while being isolated in a darkened room and often without their consent or knowledge.
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In 1987 the cult came undone, as three children escaped, alerting nearby police. The response was immediate, however, Anne was only ever fined $5000 for falsifying birth documents. Unfortunately, she was never charged with anything.
In 2019 The Family gave the ABC documentary The Cult of The Family an update on their lives.
Leeanne Creese was the oldest child at the compound, she lived there for 16 years, eventually escaping with two girls also held captive, later rescuing her siblings. Leeanne is now is a mother of two children and works as a Contracts Administrator.
Adam Lancaster (previously known as Roland Whitaker) was the adopted son of two prominent figures in The Family. After leaving the cult, Adam decided to reconnect with his biological family.
Anouree, three years old at the time, was handed over to Anne and Bill. Anouree later discovered that Bill was actually her biological grandfather, rather than her father, which she was told and believed for majority of her life. She studied film at Melbourne's RMIT and taught English in Japan. As of 2019, she moved and has been living in Scotland.
As for Anne, she died at 98-years-old from dementia in June of 2019.
Former Victoria Police detective Lex De Man led the investigations into the cult and told The Guardian she "can rot."
"The normal reaction when you receive news of the death of someone is one of sadness," he said. "It’s quite the contrary for me today. Today was a great day in that she is now dead. She can rot.
"The lives that she affected and her evil deeds, I shed no tear. Not one drop."
He added, "She left a trail of broken lives, ruined people and the one good thing I’ve seen is that the former children who were victims of some horrible things have moved on with their lives and they’re good people.
“I think of them today and what they went through.”
The Clearing is an eight-part series and will star Miranda Otto as cult leader Adrienne and Teresa Palmer as Freya.
Freya is a former cult member attempting to raise her son in a western society after leaving captivity, until her former life has other plans.
Guy Pearce, Mark Coles Smith and Tom Budge have been confirmed for major roles in the series.
The Clearing will be directed by Jeffrey Walker (Lambs of God) and Gracie Otto.
Australian Star Original series The Clearing is streaming May 24 on Disney+.
Feature Image: ABC.
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