Port Arthur massacre (Australia) Totally Explained

Everything about Port Arthur Massacre Australia totally explained

The Port Arthur massacre of 28 April 1996 was a killing spree which claimed the lives of 35 people and wounded 37 others mainly at the historic Port Arthur prison colony, a popular tourist site in south-eastern Tasmania, Australia. Martin Bryant, a 28-year-old from New Town, eventually pleaded guilty to the crimes and was given 35 life sentences without possibility of parole. He is now interned in the Wilfred Lopes Centre near Risdon Prison. Resulting in the deaths of 35 people, the Port Arthur massacre remains Australia's deadliest incident of a mass killing spree and is among one of the deadliest such incidents worldwide in recent times.

Background

Martin Bryant inherited a great deal of money from a deceased family friend, Helen Harvey, who left her estate to him. He used part of this money to go on many trips around the world from 1993 onwards. He is known to have visited Singapore, Bangkok, London, Sweden, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Sydney, Tokyo, Poland, and Auckland; some of these locations more than once, and the United Kingdom many times. Bryant also travelled all over Australia, making a vast number of interstate trips. On several occasions he made last-minute flight changes to destinations unknown. Eventually his estate manager was forced to restrict his funds and Bryant stopped travelling frequently.
Bryant also withdrew many thousands of dollars during this period. He used at least some of this money in late 1993 to purchase an AR-10 semi-automatic rifle through a newspaper advertisement in Tasmania. In March 1996, he'd his AR-10 repaired at a gun shop. He made enquiries about AR-15 rifles in other gun shops. He later purchased an AR-15 from Terry Hill, a local gun shop owner. In April 1996, he also purchased cleaning kits for a .30 calibre weapon and 12 gauge shotgun. He purchased a sports bag and told a shop attendant that it would need to be strong enough to carry large amounts of ammunition, measured out with a tape measure. He told his girlfriend, Petra Wilmot, a different story about the purpose of the bag. He also hid the weapons and a large amount of ammunition at his house. His girlfriend was initially employed as a gardener by Bryant, and she never saw any weapons or ammunition in the house.
Bryant's father had tried to purchase a property called Seascape, but David and Noelene Martin bought this property before his father was able to ready his finances, much to the disappointment of the father. It is unknown if this was responsible for the father's depression and subsequent suicide. Bryant offered to buy another property owned by Mr and Mrs Martin at Palmers Lookout Road, but they declined the offer.

28th April 1996

The events of this day were pieced together after investigation by police. The facts were then presented in court on 19 November 1996.

Morning events

Bryant woke up at 6 a.m., when his alarm clock went off. His girlfriend and other family members said he'd never been known to use it since he didn't work and had no other commitments. At 8 a.m., his girlfriend left the house (which was also inherited from Miss Harvey) to visit her parents. Bryant left the house and engaged the alarm, which registered the time as 9:47 a.m. He left a large amount of ammunition in the hallways of the house.
   At around 10:30 a.m., Bryant purchased a cigarette lighter from Midway Point News Agency, paying with a large note without waiting for his change. Initially he entered the shop without money to clarify that the shop did sell lighters, and upon hearing that they did, went back to his car to retrieve the money. He then travelled to Sorell Supermarket and purchased a bottle of tomato sauce, which he paid for with gold and silver denomination coins (between 20 cents and $2). He then travelled to Forcett Village, arriving sometime around 11 a.m. He stopped at the Shell service station and bought a cup of coffee which he paid for with five and ten cent coins. He told the attendant he was going surfing at Roaring Beach, but the attendant had already noticed it was a very calm day. He then drove past Eaglehawk Neck area and stopped at the service station "Convict Bakery" and purchased fifteen dollars of petrol. The attendant saw Bryant staring at the bay and its calm water. Bryant had a surf board on the roof rack of his yellow Volvo and the attendant noted that the surfing conditions that day were poor.
   He then continued down to Port Arthur and stopped at the Seascape guest accommodation site, which was owned by David and Sally Martin. Bryant was seen driving into Seascape down the Arthur Highway around 11:45. Bryant went inside and fired several shots, then gagged Mr Martin and stabbed him. Witnesses testified to different numbers of shots fired at this time. It was claimed in court that it was believed that this was the time that Bryant killed Mr. and Mrs. Martin.
   A couple then arrived at Seascape and Bryant appeared outside. They asked if they could have a look at the accommodation. Bryant told them that they couldn't because his parents were away and his girlfriend was inside. His demeanour was quite rude and the couple felt uncomfortable. They left at about 12:35 p.m. Bryant's car was seen reversed up to the front door. It is assumed he unloaded ammunition.)
   Another car then came towards the toll booth and Bryant shot at it. The driver, Graham Sutherland, was hit with glass. A second bullet hit the driver's door. The car quickly reversed back up the road and left. Bryant then got into the BMW having left behind a number of items in his Volvo, including a shotgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Service station murder and abduction

Graham Sutherland, who just had been shot at in his car, reversed back up the road then drove to the service station close by where he tried to inform people what was happening. Bryant then drove up to the service station and cut off a white Toyota Corolla that was attempting to exit onto the highway. Glenn Pears was driving the car with Zoe Hall in the passenger seat. Bryant quickly exited the car with his rifle in hand and tried to pull Miss Hall from the car. Mr Pears got out of the car and approached Bryant. Bryant then pointed the gun at Pears and pushed him backwards, eventually directing him into the now open boot of the BMW. He locked Mr Pears inside the boot.
Bryant then moved back to the passenger side of Mr Pears' car. Miss Hall was said to have climbed over to the driver's seat. Bryant raised his rifle and fired three shots, killing her. However, her body was later seen by a police officer in the passenger seat. Many people around the service station saw this and ran to hide in the nearby bush. The service station attendant told everyone to lie down and he locked the main doors. He grabbed his rifle, but as per Australian law, the ammunition was kept locked in a safe. By the time it was retrieved and the gun loaded, Bryant was back in his car and gone. A police officer arrived several minutes later and then went in the direction of Bryant.

Seascape roadway

As Bryant drove down to Seascape he shot at one red vehicle coming the other way, smashing its front windscreen. Upon arriving at Seascape, he got out of his car. A Frontera 4WD vehicle then approached Seascape along the road. They saw Bryant with his gun but believed him to be rabbit hunting and actually slowed down as they passed him. Bryant fired into the car, the first bullet hit the bonnet and broke the throttle cable. He fired at least two more bullets into the car as it passed, breaking the windows. One bullet hit the driver, Linda White, in the arm. The car was going downhill so it was able to roll down the road out of sight around a corner. The driver then swapped seats with her boyfriend who attempted to drive the car but was unable to, because of the broken throttle cable.
   Another vehicle then drove down the road, carrying four people. It wasn't until they were almost adjacent to Bryant that they realised he was carrying a gun. Bryant shot at the car, smashing the windscreen. Douglas Horner was wounded by shrapnel from the shattered windscreen. The car proceeded ahead where Mrs White and her boyfriend tried to get in, but Mr Horner didn't realise the situation and drove on. When they saw that Mrs White had been shot, they came back and picked them up. Both parties then continued down to a local establishment called the Fox and Hound, where they called police.
   Yet another car drove past and Bryant shot at it, hitting the driver in the hand. The passenger, Simon Williams, was struck by shrapnel. Another approaching vehicle saw this and reversed back up the road. Bryant also fired at this car hitting it but not injuring anyone. Bryant then got back into the BMW and drove down the Seascape driveway to the house.
   Sometime after he stopped, Bryant removed Mr Pears from the boot and handcuffed him to a stair rail within the house. At some point he also set the BMW on fire with fuel, probably using the lighter he purchased earlier in the day. He is believed to have arrived at the house by about 2 p.m.

Police arrival

At 1:30 p.m. the only two police officers in the area had received a radio message to attend Port Arthur and be on the look out for a yellow Volvo. They headed to Port Arthur in different cars, going different routes. On the way they were informed to look for the BMW and eventually they were informed of people at the Fox and Hound who had been shot.
   One police officer then drove down the road past Seascape and past the disabled car of Mrs White. He looked at it for a moment and continued down to the Fox and Hound. He informed his partner about events and they then proceeded back to Seascape. At about 2 p.m. they were back at Seascape and could see the BMW on fire. At some point they were fired upon, and eventually had to hide in a ditch at the side of the road. Bryant fired at them whenever they tried to escape, and they were not able to move from that position for many hours.
   At around 2:10 p.m. Bryant received a call from a woman from the ABC network, she'd been ringing local businesses randomly trying to receive information about what was occurring, and Bryant answered the Seascape phone. Bryant informed her his name was Jamie and when she asked what was happening he replied "Lots of fun". Bryant then informed her that if she phoned him again, he'd shoot Mr Pears.
   At about 3 p.m., shortly after forcing the police officers to take cover in the ditch, Bryant rang the local police station where the girlfriend of one of the police officers answered the phone. Bryant asked who she was and if she knew where her husband was. He also called himself Jamie. He asked if she knew or not if her husband was okay, and when she didn't answer, Bryant then told her he was okay and that he knew where her husband was. At some point, as night fell, one of the police saw a woman running around naked and screaming, but she seemed to eventually run back into the house. It is possible this was Noelene Martin.
   Around 9 p.m. a team from the Special Operations Group of the Tasmania Police had arrived and were eventually able to assist in removing the policemen from the ditch to safety by using the cover of darkness, riot shields and bullet proof jackets. They didn't provide cover fire for fear of hitting hostages. An 18-hour standoff ensued during which time the police talked over the phone to Bryant who called himself 'Jamie'. He made a request for a helicopter. Saying that he wanted to be flown to a plane and then onto Adelaide in South Australia. He said he'd release one hostage, Mr Pears, and only keep Mrs Martin, if the helicopter arrived. It is possible that both Mrs Martin and Mr Pears were still alive at this time.
   Bryant could see the movement of SOG officers and continually demanded their retreat each time they began an approach to the house. Police believed he'd some kind of visual aid device, as he appeared to maintain excellent awareness of the events unfurling around him despite the pitch black of night, however none was ever found. A man was spotted on the roof of an adjacent building at one point, believed to be Bryant. Later in the night, the cordless phone Bryant was using began to run low on batteries. Police tried unsuccessfully to get him to return the phone to the charger, but it went dead and no further communications were established.

Capture and prosecution

Bryant was captured the following morning when he presumably started a fire in the guest house. Bryant taunted police to 'come and get him', but the police, believing the hostage was already dead, decided that the fire would eventually bring him out. A large amount of ammunition had also ignited and was exploding sporadically as the house burned. He eventually ran out of the house with his clothes on fire and quickly removed his burning clothes. He was arrested by the police, and taken to hospital for treatment.
   It was found that Mr Pears had been shot dead during or before the standoff and had died before the fire. The remains of the Martins were also found. It was also determined they'd been shot, and in the case of Mrs Martin suffered blunt force trauma. They both died before the fire and witness accounts, as presented to the Supreme Court of Tasmania, of gunfire place the time of death of David and Sally Martin as being at approximately noon on 28 April. One weapon was found burnt in the house, and the other on the roof of the adjacent building, where police believed they'd seen Bryant the night before. Both weapons had suffered from massive chamber blast pressure, possibly from the heat of the house fire.
   In his police interview Bryant admitted to having car jacked the BMW, but claimed it only had three occupants and denied shooting any person. He also claimed he didn't take the BMW from the vicinity of the toll booth and that his hostage was taken from the BMW. He said that he thought the man he took hostage must have died in the boot when the car exploded. He didn't distinguish between the car fire and the later house fire. He also denied visiting Port Arthur on that day, despite identification by several people, including the toll attendant. Such discrepancies indicate that Bryant was either lying during the police interview, or was mentally incapable of recalling events accurately. Bryant also claimed that the guns found by police were not his, but admitted to owning the shotgun that was found with his passport back in his own car near the toll booth.
   Initially Bryant pleaded not guilty to the 35 murders, laughing hysterically as the judge read out the charges against him. He later changed his plea to guilty once the prosecution began presenting evidence. Bryant didn't provide a confession. He was found guilty of all charges and is now serving 35 sentences of life imprisonment (for the 35 murders) plus 1,035 years in Hobart's Risdon Prison (as cumulative penalty for various charges including attempted murders and grievous bodily harm for shooting at, and injuring, numerous people). His prison papers indicate that he's never to be released. He is serving his term without possibility of parole. This is very rare in Australia; where the majority of murder sentences allow for the possibility of parole after a long prison term. Martin Bryant remains Australia's worst killing spree murderer and the incident is one of the worst cases worldwide of a mass killing spree in modern times.

Reaction

Australians reacted to the event with widespread shock and horror, and the political effects were significant and long-lasting. Both federal and state governments, some of which (notably Tasmania itself and Queensland) were opposed to firearm control, quickly took action to restrict the availability of firearms. It should be noted that the Tasmanian state government initially attempted to ignore this directive, but was subsequently threatened with a number of penalties from the federal government. Though this resulted in stirring controversy, most Government opposition to the new laws was silenced by mounting public opinion in the wake of the shootings. Under federal government co-ordination all states and territories of Australia banned and heavily restricted the legal ownership and use of self-loading rifles, self-loading shotguns and pump-action shotguns, together with a considerable tightening of other gun laws. Family members of victims, notably Walter Mikac (who lost his wife and two children), spoke out in favour of the changes. See gun politics in Australia for more information.
   Much discussion has occurred as to the level of Bryant's mental health. It is generally accepted that he's a subnormal IQ (estimated at 66, and in the lowest 2% of his age group) and at the time of the offences was in receipt of a Disability Support Pension on the basis of being mentally handicapped. Despite reports to the contrary, Bryant had never been diagnosed with schizophrenia, nor any major depressive disorder. Reports that he was schizophrenic were based on his mother's misinterpretation of psychiatric advice. Media reports also detailed his odd behaviour as a child. However, he was able to drive a car and obtain a gun, despite lacking a gun licence. This was a matter which, in the public debate that followed, was widely regarded as a telling demonstration of the inadequacy of the nation's gun laws. Bryant was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome by a psychiatrist appointed by the Crown (prosecution), Dr Sale.
   Bryant was assessed as fit to stand trial as a mentally competent adult. There were no indications that he could be regarded as criminally insane at the time of the offences; as he clearly knew what he was doing. See the M'Naghten Rules.
   After Bryant's imprisonment, several other prisoners boasted of their intention to murder him in jail. For his own safety, Bryant was held in near-solitary confinement in a specially built cell from his sentencing in November 1996 until July 1997. His motivation for the massacre remains a closely-guarded secret,

Aftermath and analysis

The Port Arthur tourist site reopened a few weeks later, and since then a new restaurant has been built. The former Broad Arrow Cafe has been converted into a "place for quiet reflection", and the surrounding grounds converted into a memorial garden. The staff of Port Arthur don't like to talk about the event and prefer to concentrate on the site's rich cultural history.
   The massacre at Port Arthur created a kinship with the Scottish town of Dunblane, which had suffered a similar event, the Dunblane massacre, only weeks previously. The two communities exchanged items to place at their respective memorials.
   Professor Paul Mullen, a forensic psychiatrist with extensive involvement following the string of massacres in Australia and New Zealand, attributes both the Port Arthur Massacre and some of the earlier massacres to the copycat effect. In this theory the saturation media coverage provides both instruction and perverse incentives for dysfunctional individuals to imitate previous crimes. In Tasmania, a coroner found that a report on the current affairs programme A Current Affair, a few months earlier had guided one suicide, and may have helped create the expectation of a massacre. The coverage of the Dunblane massacre, in particular the attention on the perpetrator, is thought to have provided the trigger for Bryant to act.
   The murder of Nanette Mikac and her daughters Alannah and Madeline inspired Dr Phil West, another Australian father of two young girls to establish a foundation in honour of the murdered girls. Dr West had two girls similar in age to the murdered children. When watching a news item a few days after the massacre, Phil West was moved by some drawings done by Alannah Mikac which were flashed on the TV screen. He looked at his own children's drawings and painting around the walls and on the fridge and at that moment dreamed of a Foundation to honour the murdered girls. Dr West contacted Walter Mikac to ask for his support. Together the two men worked to establish the Foundation which was launched by the Prime Minister on the first anniversary of the massacre. The Foundation supports child victims of violent crime and sudden loss and is called the Alannah & Madeline Foundation. The Foundation also runs a national anti-bullying program known as 'Buddy Bear'. In his book "To Have and to Hold", Walter writes about the launch of the Foundation: "When it's my turn to address the crowd, I tell them that the idea for the Foundation came from another Melbourne father, Phil West, who just like me had two daughters...To me this illustrated how an ordinary person can make a difference and it's an ability that's in every one of us..."

Artistic Response

In 2007 Tasmanian playwright Tom Holloway dealt with the massacre in his play Beyond the Neck. Tasmanian composer Matthew Dewey also deals with these issues in his first symphony.

Alternative Theories

At least two conspiracy theories about the massacre have been promoted.
   The most prominent advocate of conspiracy theories was Joe Vialls, who asserted that Bryant was framed by one or more people who were actually the shooters. A range of theories were posed by some opponents of gun control, suggesting that the gun control lobby staged the massacre in order to gain public support for gun control laws. For example, the militia organisation Australian Freedom Scouts argued that Bryant didn't have the requisite weapons proficiency to carry out the massacre. One theory compared the massacre with the assassination of President of the United States John F. Kennedy.
   These alternative theories have generally been dismissed as without foundation by the mainstream media and the authorities. The Government of Tasmania, the Tasmania Police, the prosecutor Damian Bugg and Bryant's own defence lawyer John Avery have all dismissed the suggestion that Bryant wasn't acting alone, saying that the evidence simply doesn't support any of the conclusions reached by the theorists.
   In 2001, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson caused controversy when she claimed that the Commonwealth had ruled out "a full investigation" when "a lot of people are asking questions" about Port Arthur. The Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia rejected all conspiracy theories surrounding the massacre, stating that the claims were "ludicrous," and urged One Nation to change their position or risk being seen as influenced by extreme elements within the community.

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