Anne Hamilton-Byrne

“Notorious cult leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne, who considered herself the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, has died in a suburban Melbourne nursing home,” reports The Age

“It is understood the 97-year-old co-founder of The Family died last night after suffering from dementia since 2007. Her condition had rendered her unable to face further court action by survivors in the last years of her life,” writes journalist Tom Cowie.

“Hamilton-Byrne founded The Family in the 1960s along with Melbourne University academic Raynor Johnson, who served for 30 years as head of Queen’s College. The apocalyptic cult blended yoga, drug-taking and Eastern mysticism with Christianity.

“It also acquired children through adoption scams and imprisoned them at a house beside Lake Eildon from the early 1970s until 1987. The children were home-schooled, wore identical clothes and had their hair dyed blond,” The Age said.