Sitting pretty on three hectares of prime Dandenong Ranges land at Ferny Creek is a brick hall called the Santiniketan Lodge. It was – and still is – the headquarters of Australia's most notorious cult, The Family, led by Anne Hamilton-Byrne.

Now legal dramas over ownership of the infamous property have surfaced. It is worth an estimated $1.5 million; a local real estate agent who asked not to be named said: "It is an amazing piece of land, very unusual. It backs onto the Dandenong Ranges National Park. Most land around there is hilly with a lot of trees but this is flat, open and sunny."

Photograph Simon O'Dwyer. The Age Newspaper. 050415. Photograph Shows. 35 Belgrave-Ferny Creek Rd, Ferny Creek. Property linked to The Family and Anne Hamilton Bryne. NOTE: Cannot see any buildings from the road. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer

Cult members, through an organisation called the Santiniketan Park Association, are using a legal method called "adverse possession" to wrestle exclusive ownership from a small group including Hamilton-Byrne's daughter Natasha Hamilton-Byrne, who lives in Britain.

Do you know more? Email cjohnston@fairfaxmedia.com.au