Leafy headquarters of The Family cult up for sale in Melbourne, boasting ‘endless possibilities'
At an asking price of up to $1.65 million, the listing for the property in Melbourne's south-east boasts almost eight acres of land, exotic European trees, and 'so many possibilities' – but there's an unspoken catch.
At one time, the property in Ferny Creek was the headquarters of notorious cult The Family, complete with a throne for its chief tormentor, kidnapper, and abuser, Anne Hamilton-Byrne.
The listing for 31-35 Belgrave-Ferny Creek Road includes two lots: one vacant and covering about an acre of land, and the second, lot 35, home to a large hall. It was previously The Family's headquarters, known as the 'Santiniketan Lodge'.
It is the first time the property has been offered for sale since the cult acquired it in the 1960s. Hamilton-Byrne bequeathed the property to a Tibetan cultural centre.
'Currently owned by the Tibetan Cultural Society, we have a large community hall circa 1970s offering so many possibilities,' Fletchers' real estate property listing reads.
'The structure is big enough to hold around 100 people in the great hall while also comprising two separate rooms and two bathrooms. It has suffered damage to some windows, but structurally is fine.'
The listing describes a gated entrance and tree-lined driveway that leads to a pasture 'studded with exotic European trees'. Lot 35's price guide is listed as between $1.5 million and $1.65 million.
'Birches, beeches and Elms. It's flat, it's sunny, it's got the right mix of colour and the large car park is a bonus. Power and water available,' the listing reads. 'The community hall building would be ideal as a communal space for an organisation that needs a place to gather or visit for a retreat.'
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A 30-year-old woman was killed on Saturday, Kharkiv's military governor, Oleh Syniehubov, wrote on Telegram. In the evening, a 62-year-old man also died in hospital from his injuries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said more than 40 people were injured in the attack. "This makes no military sense. It is pure terrorism," he wrote on social media platform X. Russia dropped four glide bombs on the city centre, damaging two buildings belonging to a children's railway, train carriages and two houses, Syniehubov said. He said the area was a popular place for families to spend time on the weekend. On Saturday morning, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported three deaths in Russian airstrikes on the city, which also hit residential buildings. He said the strikes injured 21 people, including a baby and a 14-year-old girl. According to Ukrainian sources, 53 drones, four glide bombs and a missile struck various locations in the earlier attack. 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