Port Arthur VictimsPrint Page 
In April 1996, twenty-eight-year-old Martin Bryant entered the Broad Arrow cafeteria in Port Arthur and after eating lunch, he remarked to a patron, "There are a lot of WASPS, not a lot of Japs." He then picked up his bag and walked toward the entrance, where he took out a military-style semi-automatic rifle. Within 15 seconds, he had slaughtered 12 people and injured several more. After executing others including a mother and her two young children, he drove some miles to a bed-and-breakfast, the Seascape Cottage.
The elderly owners, whom he had known for most of his life, had been murdered on his way to Port Arthur. After a siege which lasted most of the night, Bryant set the building on fire and ran screaming with his clothes alight into the arms of waiting police. The final toll, including a hostage Bryant had taken with him to Seascape from Port Arthur, was 35 dead and 20 wounded--the largest mass murder in Australia`s history. It led to an urgent review of the nation`s gun laws.
Location
| Address: | St John`s Circle, St John the Evangelist Church, Richmond, 7025 |
|---|---|
| State: | TAS |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -42.731647 Long: 147.441079 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Culture |
| Sub-Theme: | Crime |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 28-April-1996 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 28-April-1996 |
Dedication
In memory of our parishioners and those who lost their lives
Port Arthur 28 April 1996
Eternal rest grant them O Lord
