In the summer of 1993, while other teenagers were making plans for the six-week school holidays, 14-year-old Stefanie Hinrichs sat alone in her bedroom wanting to die. For months her cries for help had gone unnoticed in her deeply religious community where her unravelling depression had been blamed on Satan for trying to tempt her from the ‘true’ path The Lord had chosen for her.
Disturbingly, the ‘true path’ involved marrying her paunchy, middle-aged brother-in-law, William Kamm, the bizarre and charismatic leader of a controversial doomsday cult whose disciples were prepping for the end of the world at his fortified compound on the NSW south coast.
For two years, Stefanie’s German family had lived a life of piety and prayer in the reclusive Roman Catholic Order of St Charbel outside Nowra, where Kamm – also known as ‘Little Pebble’ – was revered as a God.
From his “promised land” in Cambewarra, the self-proclaimed prophet had seduced a global following of half a million with his sensational claims that he spoke to God through the Holy Mother, who appeared to him in miraculous monthly apparitions.
Among the many divine directions Mary delivered was the revelation that Kamm, 44, had been chosen to save his flock from the end of the world and lead them into a ‘new era’ in paradise. But in 1993, Kamm’s messages had taken a more sinister turn when he claimed he’d been told to choose 84 “mystical spouses” to bring forth a new race for his new “Garden of Eden”.
Bu hikaye The Australian Women's Weekly dergisinin March 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Australian Women's Weekly dergisinin March 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
