The Seaside Sect

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

A New Zealand-born man who moved to Australia in the 1970s and started a sect, telling his eventual 9 wives and 60-plus children that he was Jesus Christ, was put behind bars for 7 years in Victoria in 2000. In spite of the fairly sensational nature of his lifestyle and crimes, his name is not well-known here, and his polygamous group gained the most media attention when a recent Bachelor Australia contestant was outed by the press for her childhood involvement.

This episode we’re talking about a cult that didn’t officially have a name, but was unofficially referred to as The Seaside Sect.

EPISODE LINKS

• Abuser kept secret through cult of fear — by Naomi Larkin, NZ Herald, 12 August 2000
• Meet Sam and James, the Unsuspecting Villains of Netflix's 'Instant Hotel' — by Pippa Raga, Distractify, 11 January 2019
• Stayz accommodation listing for 'Sands North Byron – Private Oasis'
• Cult head, 71, molested girls, trial told — AAP, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 2000
• 'Harem' deserts convicted guru — AAP, The Age, 4 August 2000
• 'Guru' jailed for child molestation — News24, 11 August 2000
• Polygamist guru faces new child sex charges — by Katie Lapthorne, The Courier Mail, 8 March 2003
• Ian Francis LOWE Death Notice — New Zealand Herald, 14 April 2012
• The Bachelor Cult Bombshell — Alison Petrovsky, A Current Affair, 8 August 2016
• Polygamist Kiwi cult leader who fathered The Bachelor's Keira Maguire exposed — Stuff, 10 August 2016
• Aussie Bachelor star Keira Maguire reveals Kiwi father was cult leader jailed for sexual abuse — NZ Herald, 9 August 2016
• The Bachelor Australia: Keira Maguire cries on The Project for cult siblings — by Aja Styles, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 August 2016
• ‘I didn’t know who my mum was until I was five’: Bachelor’s Keira Maguire breaks down over cult past — by James Weir, News Corp, 11 August 2016
• A shocking look inside Bachelor star Keira's upbringing and exactly how her father shared nine wives. — by Belinda Jepsen, Mamamia, 9 August 2016
• The Bachelor Australia 2016: Keira Maguire's mother defended polygamist cult to A Current Affair — by Aja Styles, The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 August 2016
• The Bachelor's Keira Maguire distances herself from paedophile father and cult past — by Amy Croffey, The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 August 2016
• 'I didn't even know what a mum was': Celeb on Byron cult — by Cathryn McLauchlan, The Northern Star, 20 February 2017
• The Bachelor's Keira Grew Up In A Cult Led By Her Paedophile Dad — by Cayla Dengate, HuffPost Australia, 11 August 2016
• 'Any man can satisfy five women a night': Chilling boast of paedophile at head of polygamous cult where The Bachelor's Keira Maguire was raised — by Jenny Awford, Daily Mail Australia, 9 August 2016
• Bachelorette's Byron Bay "polygamy cult" connection — The Northern Star, 9 August 2016