From the 1960s, Santiniketan Lodge was one of the three main meeting places where adult members of the Australian sect known as ‘The Family’ would meditate and listen to leader, Anne Hamilton-Byrne give discourses.

I’m officially four months into my PhD journey and thought I'd share some of my updates, initial concerns, and what I've learnt over the past few months!

About a month ago, my doctoral research led me to sects and new religious movements. I was fortunate to have sourced a selection of a dozen tapes that held the teachings of a notorious sect leader. What was on these tapes? I wondered. What things could be revealed to push my research in the right direction or another direction completely?