Anne Hamilton-Byrne
(1921–2019)
The New Religious Movement called “The Family” was founded by Anne Hamilton-Byrne in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia. Hamilton-Byrne taught that she was Jesus Christ and proclaimed her first follower, Dr. Raynor Johnson, to be John the Baptist. The Family combined Christian, Hindu, and New Age ideas with the use of psychedelic drugs, and an eschatological focus on the emergence of a new society after the destruction of the present era. The Family first came to media prominence in 1987 as a result of police investigations, and more recent memoirs and documentaries have also generated media interest around Hamilton-Byrne and her movement.
Anne Hamilton-Byrne (False Prophet)
2022, Embroidery, thread, found fabric, plastic bead craft mini pearls, hot glue, rhinestone, fabric from E. Whipple, fake white gilded frame, 8 x 12 inches
Would you believe?
The research
Book/Website
A three-part investigation into the rise and fallout of Australia’s most notorious cult.
Series
Article
Chris Johnston
November 2016
Abigail Haworth