Port Arthur massacre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the 1894 massacre in Lüshunkou, see Port Arthur massacre (1894).

The Port Arthur massacre of 28 April 1996 was a killing spree which claimed 35 lives and 37 wounded 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 crime[1] and was given a life sentence without possibility of parole in Risdon Prison.

[edit] Timeline of events

On the morning of April 28 1996 Bryant first went to the Seascape guesthouse north of Port Arthur and murdered the elderly couple who owned it. It is believed that Bryant's late father had earlier made several offers to purchase this guesthouse. After Bryant's father committed suicide, Martin Bryant seemed to believe that this refusal had caused his father to become depressed.

After leaving the guesthouse, Bryant drove to another property and enquired after the owner, a Mrs. Larner. She had also earlier declined to sell her farm to Bryant's father. Mrs. Larner was not available when Bryant called. He then travelled to the nearby Port Arthur historic site where he paid for entry, and parked his car near the Broad Arrow Café where he purchased a meal. He ate on a deck area outside the café. Bryant spoke to some people nearby, saying — among other things — "there are a lot of WASPS [here]... not a lot of Japs," or words to that effect.<ref> Michael Gawenda, 1996, "In cold blood (Part One)", The Age. Downloaded 14/09/06.</ref> This has led to speculation that racism may have been among Bryant's motivations in the lead-up to the massacre.

At around 1:30 p.m., Bryant re-entered the Broad Arrow Cafe and removed an AR15 5.56 mm rifle from his bag and commenced firing. Bryant rapidly fired 29 rounds, killing 22 people, 19 from shots to the head. Bryant then moved to the car park and fired at random people, killing several. He shot and killed the driver of one of the several tour buses parked side by side in the car park and three passengers, as well as several others who were taking cover in and around the buses. At some point Bryant swapped his AR15 for a FN "SLR" 7.62 mm rifle from the boot of his car, where he also had a magazine-fed shotgun. Bryant eventually drove his Volvo out of the carpark towards the park entrance. Along the way he left the car and, at close range murdered Nanette Mikac and her two small children Alannah, 6, and Madeline, 3, who were trying to escape.

Bryant then went to the tollbooth at the entrance to the historic site, held up the driver of a BMW at gunpoint, murdered the four occupants and drove the car towards the Seascape guesthouse. At a petrol station along the way he saw a Toyota with two occupants, a man and a woman. Bryant forced the man at gunpoint into the boot of the BMW, then shot the woman dead. He then drove the BMW on to the guesthouse, arriving a few minutes before 2:00 p.m.

Here he shot at several passing vehicles, injuring two more people. Bryant then released the man from the boot of the BMW, handcuffed him to a railing inside the guesthouse, and set the BMW on fire. Within two hours, two policemen approached the guesthouse but were pinned down in a roadside ditch for several hours. Six hours later a team from the Tasmanian Police Special Operations Group had arrived, and an 18-hour standoff ensued.

[edit] Capture and prosecution

Bryant was captured the following morning when he set fire to the guesthouse and ran outside, his clothes on fire. It was found that the man who had been his hostage had been shot dead during or before the standoff.

Bryant initially pleaded not guilty to the 35 murders but after the prosecution began presenting evidence, changed his plea to guilty. He is now serving a sentence of life imprisonment in Hobart's Risdon Prison without possibility of parole. In Australian terms his prison papers are marked "Never to be Released". This is very rare in Australia; the majority of Australian murder sentences allow the possibility of parole after a long prison term.

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. 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 has a sub-normal IQ (estimated at 66, and in the lowest 2% of his age group: [2]) and at the time of the offences was in receipt of a Disability Support Pension on the basis of being mentally handicapped. Bryant had never been diagnosed with schizophrenia, nor any major depressive disorder[3]. Reports that Bryant 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 (ref: [4]) and also able to 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, but this diagnosis was disputed by Professor Mullen, a forensic psychiatrist working with Bryant's defence team[5].

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 (of his own free will). 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[6], known only to his lawyer, who is bound not to reveal confidences without his client's consent. Martin Bryant is only allowed to listen to music on a radio outside his cell, and is denied access to any news reports of his massacre. Photographers allowed in to take pictures of him in his prison cell were forced to destroy the film in his presence when the Governor found out. Interviewers lie to him that they are not talking about him.[7]

[edit] 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 massacre at Port Arthur created a kinship with the Scottish town of Dunblane, which had suffered a similar event 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. <ref>Mullen, Paul quoted in Hannon K 1997, “Copycats to Blame for Massacres Says Expert”, Courier Mail, 4/3/1997</ref>. In this theory the saturation media coverage provides both instruction and perverse incentives for dysfunctional individuals to imitate previous crimes. In Tasmania, a current affairs report <ref>Hansen, Jane 1995. “Tassie Guns”, A Current Affair 2 Oct 1995, featuring Roland Browne and Rebecca Peters of the Coalition for Gun Control. Nine Network broadcast. </ref> a few months earlier was found by a coroner <ref>Lovibond J. 1996. ‘Hobart gun death related to TV show’, Hobart Mercury, 21/05/1996, Ed: 1, Pg: 2, 511 words. Newstext</ref> to have guided one suicide, and may have helped create the expectation of a massacre <ref>Allen C 2006. |Ideas Kill: Science Sheds New Light on Port Arthur Massacre </ref>. The coverage of the Dunblane massacre, in particular the attention on the perpetrator, is thought to have provided the trigger for Bryant to act.[8]

[edit] Alternative theories

At least two conspiracy theories about the massacre have been promoted. The theories suggest that Bryant was not the shooter, or that the Government of Australia ordered secret agents to conduct the massacre.

The most prominent advocate of these conspiracy theories was the late Joe Vialls, who asserted that Bryant was framed by one or more people who were actually the shooters.[9] 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 did not have the requisite weapons proficiency to carry out the massacre.[10] One theory compared the massacre with the assassination of President of the United States John F. Kennedy.[11]

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 was not acting alone, saying that the evidence simply does not support any of the conclusions reached by the theorists.[12]

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.[13] The Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia has also refuted all conspiracy theories surrounding the massacre, stating that like most mainstream Australians, they regarded the claims as "ludicrous". They urged One Nation to change their position or risk being seen as influenced by extreme elements within the community.[14].

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of disasters in Australia by death toll
• Infamous Australian mass murders

[edit] External links

• Crime Library description
• Defence psychiatrist's analysis, November 1996
• Port Arthur News Archive
• Port Arthur Conspiracy Claims
• [15]

Categories: 1996 in Australia | History of Tasmania | Spree shootings | Murder in Australia | Gun politics