Episode 1

Fifty years ago, an Australian self-styled preacher decided to create his own heaven on earth in a remote part of New Zealand. Recruiting members from all over the world, he built a community based on literal interpretations of the Bible, with a set of strictly assigned gender roles.

This episode looks into the beginnings of the Gloriavale community and how it evolved from its socialist Christian beginnings to the extreme position it now occupies – a place where men hold all the power and women are expected to bear as many children as they can.