Doomsday cult Agape Ministries’ Kuitpo Colony compound up for sale
The sprawling compound where an infamous Adelaide doomsday cult once holed up for the end of the world is back on the market – and now it’s even bigger.
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More than a decade after it first grabbed headlines, a building compound in Kuitpo Colony is in the spotlight once again.
The property on Blackfellows Creek Rd was formerly owned by the controversial doomsday cult Agape Ministries, led by wanted fugitive Rocco Leo.
It is now being offered for sale as part of a new, larger landholding about 60km south of Adelaide.
The 15.3ha of land, which houses several buildings including a stage hall, dorms and a bunker, has been amalgamated with another property, bringing it to a total of 42ha.
She was confident the history of the property would not put off buyers.
“The original concept of this development has been substantially increased to 42ha in total,” she said. “It offers a major income-earning opportunity.
“It now features 12 self-contained homes that have recently been re-leased for 12 months, as well as two farmhouses. The extensive building complex is vacant, while dorm one and two have been updated.”
Mr Leo, who now resides in Fiji, allegedly duped parishioners out of millions of dollars by “convincing them that the Earth’s population would be impregnated with microchips containing their personal information”.
He allegedly said those who refused the chips would be “gassed or beheaded in government-run concentration camps”.
It was in 2010 that police raided the property, seizing batons, fuses, detonators, detonator cords and about 20,000 rounds of high-powered ammunition. An arrest warrant was taken out against Mr Leo in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in 2011, but it could not be executed in Fiji because there was no extradition treaty in place.
Looking to move on from its murky past, the property is now being advertised as ideal for “serene country-style living.”
It is not the first time that the compound has been put up for sale.
In July 2014, it was sent to auction at the order of the District Court to liquidate the cult’s assets.
“It’s all in the past now and everything is clear under the new title,” Ms Cross said.
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