Dazed cult survivor struggles to answer questions about her horrific life in Australia's notorious 'The Family' where children were injected with LSD and locked away for DECADES
- Anouree Treena-Byrne was born into the notorious Australian cult 'The Family'
- She said she hated leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne and would hide under her bed
- Ms Treena-Byrne said she never understood why she earned up to 500 followers
- She is one of few of the cult's survivors who have spoken about being abused
A woman who was born into Australia's most notorious cult, The Family, has described how she would hide under bed in fear of being beaten.
Anouree Treena-Byrne opened up about the cult's charismatic and 'sociopathic' leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne to The Today Show on Wednesday, describing her as 'horrible' and in no way maternal.
Ms Treena-Byrne, who paused frequently during the interview as she recalled her traumatic childhood, said her grandfather was a 'blood member of The Family' and so therefore she was a part of the cult from birth.
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Anouree Treena-Byrne (pictured), who was born into Australia's most notorious cult, The Family, has described her traumatic childhood under the control of leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne
Ms Treena-Byrne (right) and fellow Family survivor Ben Shenton (left) spoke about growing up in the cult to The Today Show on Wednesday
Hamilton-Byrne (pictured) was under the influence of LSD when she began collecting children in Lake Eildon in central Victoria in the 1970s
Despite never knowing any different, Ms Treena-Byrne said she never took to Hamilton-Byrne and grew to hate her.
'Basically I never liked Anne so I don't really understand why everyone else did, I'm quite puzzled about that. I never wanted to go near her at all,' she said.
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'I would hide under my bed to get away from her.'
Hamilton-Byrne, one of very few female cult leaders, was under the influence of LSD when she began collecting children in Lake Eildon in central Victoria in the 1970s and 1980s in preparation for what she believed was an apocalyptic war.
The now 96-year-old believed it was her duty to gather the children for the new world and amassed up to 500 followers.
Ms Treena-Byrne (pictured right with fellow survivor Ben) said despite not knowing anything different since birth, she hated Hamilton-Byrne and would hide from the female cult leader under her bed to avoid beatings
Hamilton-Byrne convinced herself and up to 500 followers she was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Here she is seen with her cat, Tiffany
The Family children are seen posing for a photo in near identical outfits, date unknown
Hamilton-Byrne (right) and her husband Bill (left) pose with teenager who was brought up in the sect
In total, 28 children spent time at the property - 14 of which were thought to be the biological children of Hamilton-Byrne and her husband Bill.
The children, who had their hair bleached blonde and shaped into the same bob, were allegedly beaten, starved and injected with LSD by Hamilton-Byrne and other cult leaders.
Police dramatically rescued the traumatised children from the sect property in 1987 after three young women managed to escape and alert police, Ms Treena-Byrne's fellow survivor Ben Shenton told The Today Show this week.
'What Anne indoctrinated people with, she took them as vulnerable people and came up with a system which was very abusive. If they disagree they were bullied, intimidated, people were separated from their families,' Mr Shenton said.
'She came up with an ideology that appeared to help people to begin with, but as soon as they disagreed, they were through out of the cult, people were put into mental hospitals.'
Mr Shenton said his mother was an avid believer of Hamilton-Byrne's claims she was the reincarnation of Jesus.
The cult leader is pictured with one of the children raised at Lake Eildon
A young boy is pictured a teddy bear on the sect's property
The first group of children destined for Lake Eildon. In all, 28 spent time there under the strict regime
Children pose for a photo, identically dressed with bleached blonde hair shaped into the same bob
'So when you think of it, if someone believed that and they ask you to do something, it becomes very easy to go down that path, which is tragic,' he said.
A documentary titled The Family will lift the lid on what life was like under the control of Hamilton-Byrne when it is released in Melbourne on February 23.
The producers examine the history of the cult, with testimonies from former associates and the police detectives who laboured for years to unravel the cult's operations.
The documentary will make its Sydney premier in March, with other states to follow.
A new book detailing the legacy of the notorious cult, called The Family, was also recently released.
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