LIFE BEHIND THE WIRE

A gripping True Story about one of the Blonde Haired Kids raised in Australia’s most notorious cult; ‘The Family’.

The true life story of Ben Shenton

Formerly Benjamin Saul Hamilton-Byrne

14 YEARS BEHIND THE WIRE

Ben Shenton

Formerly Benjamin Saul Hamilton-Byrne
‘Rescuing the Family’ was birthed from a thirty-year journey Ben’s life has taken since being rescued at 15 by the police on August 14 1987 from Australia’s most notorious cult called ‘The Family’.  Its followers believed the leaders claim that she was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.  Ben grew up believing this woman, Anne Hamilton-Byrne, was his mother.

The Family was originally written about in a book ‘Unseen, Unknown and Unheard’ published in 1995 by Sarah Moore formerly known as Sarah Hamilton-Byrne.  A ninety-eight-minute documentary called ‘The Family’ and a book of the same name, released in February 2017, has further dealt with the history, ideology and ongoing impact of The Family.

Over the years, Ben has told his story throughout Asia Pacific and been interviewed by radio and print media from Australia and places as far away as Chile and Britain.

Through ‘Rescuing the Family’ Ben seeks to share lessons he’s learnt on how to successfully build a family by navigating through the dangerous ideologies and widely espoused methods on bringing up children that negatively impact families and therefore societies.
Find out more

As Seen on