Casefile True Crime - Case 45: Port Arthur

Episode Date: February 11, 2017

On April 28 1996, a lone gunman entered the Broad Arrow Café in Tasmania’s historic Port Arthur site and opened fire. By the end of his shooting spree, 35 lives had been lost and 24 others were injured, including two young children... ---  Researched and co-written by Anna Priestland For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-45-port-arthur

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Music On the 28th of April 1996, Martin John Bryant became known as the worst single mass murderer in Australian history. 21 years later the Port Arthur massacre still stands as the third most deadly shooting by a lone gunman in the world. Known as a loner with the IQ of an 11 year old. A series of events in Martin Bryant's life would go on to trigger a rampage that would change hundreds of people's lives that day. As well as the lives of everyday Australians who looked on in horror. Music

Tasmania is the most southern state of Australia. An island located 240 kilometres, 150 miles to the south of the Australian mainland. Separated by Bass Strait, it is known for its green, dense and untouched landscape. Almost 45% of Tasmania lies in reserves, national parks and world heritage sites. And the state was the founding place of the first environmental party in the world. Mountains, lakes, rugged cliffs and sweeping bays. Tasmania is a lush wilderness with a sense of quiet and calm. A slow and relaxed pace.

Originally named Van Demensland, the state was inhabited in 1803 as a penal settlement of the British Empire. Around 75,000 convicts, most from Great Britain, were sent to Van Demensland before transportations ceased in 1853. Convicts were sent to Van Demensland with the knowledge that with the treacherous Bass Strait to the north, and the wild southern ocean to the south, there would be no escape to a neighbouring land. In 1854, the present constitution of Tasmania was passed and the following year the state of Van Demensland received permission to change its name to Tasmania. Many of the convicts were imprisoned at a penal colony at Port Arthur, which was abandoned as a prison in 1877, with others sentenced to work for free settlers and small landholders who had moved to the region.

Port Arthur's eerie ruins were left to decay in the years that followed. The capital city of Tasmania, Hobart, sits on the southeast coastline. The small town of Port Arthur and the former convict settlement sits on the Tasman Peninsula, 60 kilometres south of Hobart. It is one of Australia's most significant heritage areas and an open-air museum. The Port Arthur historical site welcomes over 250,000 visitors per year. Port Arthur was placed onto the World Heritage Register on 31 July 2010. Martin Bryant was born on 7 May 1967 at the Queen Alexandria Hospital in Hobart, Tasmania. The first born to Maurice and Carlene Bryant, he was later followed by a sister, Lindy.

Carlene remembers a stress-free pregnancy and a quick and easy birth. She had worked up until a few weeks before the birth at the local chocolate factory. Life was calm and pleasant. The first year passed with relative ease. They had a seemingly happy and content baby. But as Martin developed, he started to reject even his mother's cuddles or any physical affection. Carlene started to find it difficult to bond and she found this harder to deal with as Martin grew older. As soon as he could walk, Martin was escaping from the house and running away. His escaping got so bad that Carlene resorted to putting him on a harness and a lead on the front veranda of their home with a pile of toys.

Although people complained to her about this, Carlene took comfort in the fact that she knew Martin was safe. Martin was extremely slow to start talking and Carlene didn't feel she was able to nurture Martin the way she would like. She would find him destroying toys and was confused by his behaviour. Maurice tried endlessly to help Martin to be a normal kid, being as hands-on as he could. By the time Martin turned three, they knew something wasn't quite right. Instead of creating a normal routine, primary school made things even worse. He was teased, he behaved erratically and began to drive others away with his odd behaviour. Martin would often creep up and scare other kids on their way home from school.

He was assessed on a number of occasions by psychologists and psychiatrists who noted behavioural problems and learning difficulties. He was noted to be aggressive, destructive and very difficult with other children. He was thought to be hyperactive and was placed on medication. As he got older, Martin was caught cutting trees down at a neighbour's place and he often stole things from other kids. He started to suffer severe bullying and in turn became violent himself, earning him a suspension from the local Newtown Primary School in 1977. It was around this time, just before entering high school, his latest assessment would note he had started torturing animals. By 1980, he was transferred to a special education unit at Newtown High School where things continued on a downhill spiral.

During high school, he became a recluse. He was mostly friendless and had trouble socialising and relating to his peers. One of his only schoolmates, Greg, ended his friendship the day Martin stuck the spike of a spear gun into the top of Greg's hand. When Martin turned 14, Maurice gave him an air rifle. Instead of it giving him something to do and help him focus, they gave him an appetite for guns that would last the next 15 years. He started hiding along the creek and firing at passers-by or firing out onto the bay. Martin would shoot birds out of trees and shoot them again and again if they hadn't died instantly. In early May 1983, the day before his 16th birthday, Martin left school.

By February the following year, his parents had him clinically assessed again, this time in the hope he would receive a pension. Dr. Eric Cunningham-Dax was a well-respected psychiatrist who had helped establish community mental health awareness services in Tasmania, as well as a research unit. It wasn't long before he could see that Martin had a problem. Martin was not able to concentrate on what Dr. Dax was saying and interrupted him to talk about the age of the house and the fireplace in the room. Martin also still had troubles with his speech. Dr. Dax predicted that Martin would be unemployable as he would upset and annoy people to the extent he would always be in trouble, so he would have to be put on a disability pension. His notes read, cannot read or write, does a bit of gardening and watches TV. Only his parents' efforts that prevent further deterioration could be schizophrenic and parents face a bleak future with him.

Martin never saw a psychiatrist again, although he did see a GP for anxiety and sleeping problems. He was prescribed tranquilizers in January 1993 and again later that year in August. He took these tablets on three or four occasions per week. Despite the findings of Dr. Dax, Martin did go on to get gardening and handyman work. By early 1987, Martin had a small lawnmowing business, which is when he met Helen Harvey. Martin was 19 years old and Helen was then a 54-year-old heiress to a substantial share in the Taddlesall's lottery fortune. Her grandfather, David Harvey, had been general manager to George Adams, creator of the Taddlesall's gambling empire. Helen worked an office job with Tasmanian railways for a few years, but at the age of 28 she retired to live with her mother, Hilva, in an neglected Newtown mansion on Clear Street.

She was an eccentric woman, some would call slightly odd, but harmless. Heavy set, missing a couple of teeth, with a whiff of body odor, she usually wore ageing clothes desperate for a wash. She had 14 dogs and over 40 cats living at the house. Helen employed Martin to do the lawns and help with some handyman work around the house. By the mid-80s, Helen and her mother, Hilva, were known to be virtual recluses. In June 1990, someone reported Helen to the health authorities. When the authorities arrived, they found the house in a putrid state and both Helen and her mother in need of urgent hospital treatment. Hilva never came home from hospital, she died a few weeks later after being transferred to a nursing home.

It was revealed that Hilva had been moved downstairs into the kitchen. It was here that she was forced to sleep upright in a chair. When she arrived at the hospital, they found she had an undiagnosed broken hip, which had gone untreated for almost two years. Helen was ordered to clean up the property and she was no longer allowed to keep animals there. Maurice Bryant took long service leave to help Martin with the cleanup of Helen's home. Soon after, Helen asked Martin to move into the Clear Street property with her, which he did. They started spending a lot of money together. They spent everyday shopping and lunching at restaurants around town.

Within three years, Helen had bought 30 cars. It took three months to clean up Clear Street. Skip in after skip in was piled with rubbish, furniture and clothing that had to be thrown away. Helen was Martin's only friend. They were inseparable, but always denied any form of sexual relationship. In 1991, Helen and Martin moved to a 29 hectare, 72 acre farm called Torresville in Copping. The Clear Street property was kept empty. Neighbours at the new property in Copping recalled that Martin always carried an air gun

and often fired it at tourists as they stopped to buy apples at a stall on the highway. Late at night, he would roam through the surrounding properties firing the gun at dogs when they barked at him. People avoided Martin at all costs, despite his attempts to befriend them. Martin usually wore white overalls, a red cardigan and a cravat during this time. Helen had mentioned that Martin was not an easy passenger in the car. He often grabbed the steering wheel for her as she drove. This was why she tended to drive at a slow pace, never wanting to exceed 60 kilometres per hour, 37 miles, even on country roads.

Martin had not got his own driver's licence because he feared he would fail. Twice, Helen had run off the road while trying to fend Martin off, once running up against an embankment and the other time into a drain. To Martin, it was not a death wish, but a sudden childlike impulse, one he could neither control nor suppress. On the 20th of October 1992, Helen and Martin were travelling in her car when Helen veered to the wrong side of the road, hitting another car head-on, killing her instantly.

Martin was inside the vehicle at the time and was hospitalised for seven months. He had severe neck and back injuries. He was briefly investigated by police for any possible role he played in the accident, but he was eventually cleared of suspicion. Martin was named the sole beneficiary of Helen's will and came into possession of assets totalling more than $650,000. Helen even asked in her will that Martin be buried beside her when he died. Concerned he wouldn't know how to control his newfound fortune,

Carlene Bryant applied for and was granted, alongside Maurice, a guardianship order placing Martin's assets under the management of public trustees. The order was based on evidence of Martin's diminished intellectual capacity. Martin's long recovery from his injuries meant that he returned home to his parents for some time. Maurice looked after the copping farm until it was time to decide what to do with it. Martin spent thousands of dollars on scuba diving gear, fishing rods and a small inflatable boat. He would go abalone diving at Port Arthur once or twice a week, but he grew tired of this hobby and started creating a surfer image.

He grew his hair and would cruise surf spots near Hobart, but he would only sit on the sand. He never went into the water. Martin was reassessed through his pension. It was a requirement of social services that he be reviewed. In that review, the following note was made. Martin's father protects him from any occasion which might upset him as he continually threatens violence. Martin tells me he would like to go around shooting people. It would be unsafe to allow Martin out of his parents' control.

Maurice Bryant was a devoted and patient father and husband who had dedicated over 20 years to helping Martin through his life. During that time, Maurice became depressed and on more than one occasion mentioned suicide to his wife. He visited his doctor twice in six months asking for help. The constant anxiety and encroaching sadness and depression was on top of him. Maurice was prescribed antidepressants. The year before Helen's death, Maurice had followed a will with the public trustee's office. In it, he recognized that his son would find life extremely difficult to manage in the event of his passing. He left the family home in Newtown to Carlene, or in the event of her death,

that's division between the two children, Martin and Lindy. Because Martin would require extra resources, Maurice left him the proceeds of his superannuation fund worth more than $250,000. Three weeks later, Helen herself updated her own will, naming Martin as the sole trustee. Maurice knew there was no chance of Martin managing the fortune he had inherited without some help. He obtained a court order under the Mental Health Act and had Martin's finances managed independently. Like he had always done, he was making sure Martin's future was looked after. It was decided that the millions of dollars Martin was to receive over his lifetime

would be doled out in a controlled way to ensure it lasted for life. After Helen Harvey's death, Martin's sense of loss was immense. Helen was the only true friend Martin had ever known. His behavior became increasingly antagonistic as he struggled to form new friendships. He started pestering kids as young as nine to join in their games, but he only succeeded in scaring them off. In mid-1993, Maurice put his and Carlene's joint bank accounts solely in his wife's name and signed all of the bills for household utilities over to her. On Friday the 13th of August, 1993, Maurice Bryant drove to the Copping Farm for the weekend.

Carlene didn't question the time her husband wanted to spend alone, but became anxious when he telephoned about 7.30 that evening. He sounded particularly quiet and withdrawn. Carlene said, Over all the years when any of us would travel, we would always telephone to say we had arrived safely. On Friday evening, Maurice telephoned and said very little other than I love you. At the time I was surprised as he had not said that before when calling, and so I assumed he had had a few drinks.

Maurice made another call that night to his daughter Lindy who was in Queensland. He told her he loved her. He didn't call Martin. The next morning a man came to the front door of the Copping Farmhouse to answer an advertisement for a horse float. No one answered, but pinned to the door was a note in Maurice's handwriting. Called the police. Officer Phil Pike was first on the scene and later, recruits from the police academy were called in to assist in the search and rescue of 60 year old Maurice Bryant.

A firearm was found to be missing from the house. They searched up the hill in light scrub towards the back of the property and back around to the farmhouse. They noticed a man with long blonde hair watching intently from the fence. He was staring at the female recruits and kept hanging around. It was Martin, the son of the man they were looking for. It became unnerving when Martin attempted to ask female officers out on a date while they were trying to find his father. It took two days to find Maurice's body. They located him in one of the four dams on the property.

He was facedown in almost three metres of water. His body weighed down with a diving belt around his neck and across his body. There was a strip of anti-anxiety medication in his pocket with 18 of the 30 tablets gone. Constable Gary Whittle took Martin to formally identify his father, a requirement under the Coroner's Act. He stood there for several moments looking down at his father before nodding to Constable Whittle. As Martin walked away, he was seen to be almost laughing. He was completely disconnected from the death of his father. Martin engaged with people on the property with jokes, laughing loudly while ignoring the activity down near the dam.

Martin was briefly suspected of murdering his father due to the emotional detachment and actual enjoyment of searching for his body, but it was determined that Maurice had committed suicide. Martin sold the copping farm and moved back into Clare Street. He lived alone, often threatening neighbours that he would shoot them if they trespassed on his property. He also kept a strange schedule of sleeping all day and wandering around outside at night. After his father died, Martin became even more erratic and displayed more unusual behaviour. He started wearing a grey linen suit, cravat, lizard skin shoes and a Panama hat while carrying a briefcase during the day, telling anyone who would listen that he had a well-paying career.

He also wore an electric blue suit with flared trousers and a ruffled shirt to restaurants that he frequented. Between 1993 and 1996, he started travelling. Martin visited Europe six times, the US and Southeast Asia three times, as well as New Zealand and Japan. He also travelled extensively throughout Australia. He complained about nearly every destination and often came straight home, not staying for the trip as he had planned. On his first trip to Singapore, he lasted just three days before returning home. People tended to avoid him. He would later say that the best part of his international trips was the long plane journey. The attraction of the long plane journey was that he could speak to the people next to him,

who presumably being strapped to their seats had no choice but to at least appear friendly. He loved describing some of what he regarded as the more successful interactions with fellow travellers. On one of his trips overseas, he met a young woman who he talked to for most of the long flight back from London. When they arrived home, the woman heard Martin phone his mother to say he had met the woman he would marry. In late 1995, Martin began to feel ignored and that people were against him. He became suicidal and decided he had had enough. Although he had previously been little more than a social drinker, his alcohol consumption had increased by early 1996. Some days, he would drink half a bottle of Zambuca and a bottle of Bailey's Irish cream, supplemented with wine and sweet alcoholic drinks.

He later told a psychologist that during this time he felt as though he would be better off dead. After moving back into the Clare Street mansion, Martin had allowed it to become neglected yet again. In early 1996, he placed an ad in the Mercury newspaper in Hobart for a gardener's position at Clare Street. He no longer did the gardening and ironically the job he once did for Helen would soon be filled by someone who would also become attached to Martin. A young woman named Petra answered the ad and she was employed. Soon after, Petra was no longer doing the gardening but she started going out with Martin and often stayed over at his house. On the 15th of April 1996, Petra went to Hobart with Martin to go shopping. Martin was looking for a bag so they went to the sports section of Maya department store.

Martin purchased a prince sports bag having first measured it with a tape measure he had brought from home. He told Petra he was going to use the bag for tight sheet but in a conversation with the shop assistant, Martin said the bag had to have strong handles as it would be used to carry a lot of ammunition. Martin had been doing some odd jobs here and there at a bed and breakfast called Seascape near Port Arthur. He was in a bad mood because they had told him a few days earlier that they didn't require his services anymore. Martin didn't like the couple he worked for there anyway and they had argued on numerous occasions about land Martin believed should have belonged to his father. Martin's parents had unsuccessfully tried to buy Seascape before Maurice took his own life and Martin believed the process had really affected his father. Martin patched up his differences with the couple when he started working for them but when he was laid off he became angry at them again.

On the 25th of April 1996, Anzac Day, Martin travelled to the town of Richmond with Petra. He had just purchased a new camera and wanted to try it out. On that day he spoke to a shopkeeper and asked her how busy it was in Richmond on Sundays. He spoke to her about tourists and made racist comments about Japanese tourists and wasps which is something he spoke about all the time. White Anglo Saxon Protestants. On Saturday night, the 27th of April 1996, Petra and Martin went for dinner at Carlene Bryant's house. Martin and Petra hadn't left each other's side for weeks. Martin drank more alcohol than usual at dinner.

He became very talkative and a little aggressive but in a somewhat jokingly manner. After leaving his mother's home, they travelled to a local nightclub and then returned to the Clare Street property where Martin set his alarm clock for 6am Sunday morning. This was the first time Petra or anyone who knew Martin had ever seen or heard of him setting an alarm. Petra had never seen Martin rise that early. He had no job and no commitments. At 6am Sunday the 28th of April 1996, Martin woke to the sound of his alarm. Petra got up with him. They showered together and sat down to a breakfast of cereal, honey on toast and a cup of tea. Petra left the house at 8am and went to visit her parents. Martin didn't mention where he was going that day. Martin fixed his surfboard to the roof of his yellow Volvo. He didn't possess a driver's licence although this didn't stop him driving.

He often put the surfboard on his car although he never surfed, he wanted people to think he did. He walked back into the house and picked up the Prince Sportsbag which he had already packed earlier. He put it in the boot of the Volvo along with a few other things. At 9.47am he set his house alarm and left his Clare Street home. As he pulled out of the driveway he headed towards the Southern Tasman Peninsula. Just over half an hour later he arrived at the Midway Point news agency. The store sits along a small strip of shops and a petrol station on a peak of winding inlets just north of Hobart Airport. At 10.30am Martin went in and bought a cigarette lighter.

The owner, Angelo, recognised Martin. He hadn't seen him for quite a while but about 18 months prior Martin went into his news agency almost daily. On this occasion Martin didn't say hello or even acknowledge Angelo. He overpaid for the lighter leaving the change and to left the store abruptly. When Martin crossed the bridge over to Sorrell he stopped in at the supermarket and entered carrying the large sports bag from his boot. The supermarket owner watched him closely. Coming in with such a large bag was unusual. Martin walked to the counter and placed a bottle of tomato sauce at the register. He pulled out a large amount of small coins from his pocket, paid for the sauce and went back to his car placing the bag back into the boot. He arrived at the small town of Fawcett a little further southeast around 11.30am.

He stopped at the Shell service station and ordered a coffee from the attendant, Gary. Martin told Gary he had been there a few days before and had enjoyed his coffee but please this time boil the kettle for less time. Martin told Gary he was going surfing at Roaring Beach. Gary noticed the surfboard on the roof of the Volvo. He knew the conditions weren't good for surfing that day but he didn't say anything. Martin counted out a pile of 5 and 10 cent pieces and put them on the counter. A few people noticed the yellow Volvo with the surfboard along the road to Tirana where he stopped for the fourth time that morning. This time he stopped at the petrol station which was also a bakery and purchased $15 worth of petrol. Martin then kept driving south along the peninsula towards the Port Arthur historical site.

About 5 kilometres before he got there he turned into the Seascape Cottages where he had been fired from his job only a week earlier by the owners David and Nolene Martin. Martin Bryant pulled into the seascape just before 12 midday. The guest house had a busy night the night before but all the guests had moved on and David and Nolene were inside cleaning and tidying. Martin drove up the driveway, backed his Volvo up to the front door, got out and left his driver's side door open. He went to the boot of his car and then walked inside. Around 20 minutes later Martin walked outside Seascape and locked the door with a set of keys. At that exact moment Maureen and John Mason pulled up in a car. They had spent the morning at Port Arthur and had noticed the seascape cottages on their way.

They decided to stop in on their way back to Hobart Airport. They wanted to check out the guest house as a possible place to stay on their next trip to Tasmania. They pulled up the driveway and got out of their car. Neither of them took particular notice of the Volvo but saw it parked close to the guest house. Martin appeared from the front of the house. They noted he was casually dressed with wavy blonde hair past his shoulders. He appeared highly agitated and this immediately alarmed Maureen and John. Martin was making jerking movements with his hands and couldn't stay still.

John said to him, I wonder if we could have a look at one of the apartments. To which Martin replied, No. My mother and father are out for 10 minutes. I can't show you around because I've got my girlfriend inside. The couple immediately felt that Martin was speaking as if something was wrong. They didn't think his speech was natural. He seemed rude and uneasy. Maureen urged John to get out of there. They left with a very uneasy feeling, especially when looking back they saw Martin staring at them. It was 12.35pm.

After Maureen and John left, Martin got back in his car. He drove back out onto the Arthur Highway and stopped when he saw two people whose vehicle was overheated. They chatted briefly. They asked Martin if he was going surfing, to which he replied, No. I'm going to the Isle of the Dead to get rid of some wasps. Martin then suggested that they meet up later at the Port Arthur Cafe, saying, You can shout me a cup of coffee. As Martin approached the Port Arthur tourist site, he drove to the southern side to Palmer's Lookout Road. He stopped at the Lana's Place.

He had known Roger Lana and his wife since he was a little boy. Martin spoke with Roger and asked him about his health. In return, Roger asked about Martin's health, to which he replied, I don't drink much anymore and I don't smoke. I'm down here surfing. Martin also mentioned he was looking for some cattle to buy. Roger said he had some cattle to sell, but Martin told him he wasn't interested in looking at them right away. He then said to Roger, I wouldn't mind buying the Martin's place. Seescape.

Martin asked Roger if his wife was home. When Roger said she was, Martin asked if he could go up the house to see her. Roger allowed him to, but said he would go with him. Martin quickly changed his mind. Roger wasn't surprised by this change of mind. Sometime after the death of Maurice Bryant, Martin had come across Roger's wife in Newtown. He had made a nuisance of himself, and after that encounter he had rung her on a number of occasions. The cause had become such a nuisance that they reported it to the police.

So when Roger offered to accompany Martin to see his wife, he expected him to say no. Martin's demeanour was cool and calm as he got back in his car and drove away. At 1.10pm, almost three and a half hours after he left his home on Clear Street, Martin pulled up towards the toll booth of the Port Arthur historical site. When he approached the toll, Martin paid his $13 entrance fee, but he complained and seemed miffed. He drove down Jetty Road towards the car park near the Broad Arrow Cafe. He came across the site's security manager, Ian Kingston, who was directing people in the car park, as well as directing buses down to the bus base in the lower car park near the water's edge.

Martin approached him in his Volvo and said he wanted to park down with the buses at the water. Ian directed him away, saying it was reserved for buses and camper vans. He suggested Martin park in the area under the oak trees. Ian noticed a large sports bag on the back seat of Martin's car. Martin became argumentative, saying he wanted to get on the 130 ferry. He then sped off towards the information centre. The ferry is a short tour included with the ticket to Port Arthur. From the ferry, you can see the old penal colony graveyard sitting on an island referred to as the Isle of the Dead.

But Martin didn't make it to the ferry. Ian watched as he drove down to the bus car park, parking his Volvo a few spaces down from a row of buses. Martin sat in his car for about 30 seconds before getting out. He mucked around in the boot for a couple of minutes before walking to the back seat and picking up the large sports bag which he put over his shoulder. He then walked towards the Broad Arrow Cafe. Ian let it go and got back on with his job. It was 1.25pm. Broad Arrow Cafe was a large colonial style building which also housed a neighbouring gift shop.

It faced the main part of the historical ruins at Port Arthur. There was a large veranda area out the front with outdoor tables and umbrellas. Tourists were spread across the vast site visiting the different parts of the old penal colony. In the centre facing the cafe, the prison sat behind a huge manicured lawn. People were strolling the grounds of the majestic church still with most of its walls intact, as well as the jetty, the guard tower, the watchman's quarters and the governor's residence. Lunch was in full swing in the Broad Arrow Cafe. There were upwards of 60 customers either sitting down to eat or waiting to be served.

Others were browsing the adjoining souvenir and gift shop. Just on 1.30pm, Martin walked in the front door. He ordered his food and bought two juices. He walked out another door to sit on the tables on the veranda. As he did so, he requested a woman who was entering with a party of 10 to hold the door for him. Someone commented on the enormous size of his meal, to which he replied he was hungry because he had been surfing all day. He sat down on the edge of the second last table on the veranda. He put down his tray and placed the large and heavy sports bag on the ground by his side. He mentioned loudly that there was a lot of wasps about and complained about the parking.

He also mentioned that there weren't many Japanese tourists out that day. People ignored him. Martin ate his food quickly. When he finished, he suddenly stood up, almost knocking his tray on the ground. He reached down and picked up his sports bag. He placed it over his shoulder, picked up his tray and walked back inside the cafe. He went through the main doorway this time and again asked someone to hold the door open for him. Martin walked into the inside dining area.

He passed the groups of diners and placed his bag on an unoccupied table in the northwestern corner of the cafe. He unzipped his bag and took out an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle fitted with a 30-shot magazine. Within approximately four seconds, Martin fired five shots. Three people had been killed, a couple and another woman sitting amongst the large group with a back to Martin. It happened so quickly she did not have a chance to drop to the ground in hiding. Shots continued to fire in immediate succession. Martin targeted people directly but at straight bullets also hit others. Martin turned and commenced firing the weapon at people further down the cafe in the western corner.

A man jumped to the counter and hid while observing the carnage. Another man sitting alone instinctively stood up shouting, No, no, not here. He was immediately shot. By now, people outside the cafe were approaching to see what was going on. As they approached, they saw someone slump against the window on the inside. He was the seventh victim. Victims eight and nine fell seconds later with the shrapnel injuring a number of other people.

People leaped on top of others to shelter friends, family and also to shelter complete strangers. Human instinct took over and no one had time to think. Martin continued walking through the cafe shooting at people. The shots were heard from as far as the ruins on the other side of the site. Some thought a reenactment was taking place, an innocent reenactment of the history of Port Arfa. But it wasn't long before most people realized this was no reenactment and the lives were in danger. Few people had an opportunity to react, let alone escape. Inside the gift shop, people were cowering and hiding as best they could.

The exit door to the veranda was locked and unable to be opened. As Martin moved towards the gift shop, a man who was still sitting at a table and likely in a state of shock stood up. He would later describe his reaction as confused. He thought he may have been able to make it to the safety of the nearby fireplace. But as he moved, Martin shot him twice, seriously wounding him. But he survived. Two gift shop workers were shot dead at the counter while others hid behind displays and some behind a curtain. Martin then shot and killed a man and woman before turning his back and re-entering the cafe once again.

He appeared to have been distracted by some noise and movement in the cafe. Many people pretended they were dead as they lay underneath tables and on the floor. Ballistics experts would later conclude that the shooting may have only been going for 30 seconds at this point. A man heard a break in the gunfire and said, he's gone, so he started to move. This happened as Martin was re-entering the cafe. As the man stood up, he was shot twice and killed. He was heard shouting no before being shot. Once again, Martin returned to the gift shop and walked over to where a group of five people were huddled together near the locked exit door.

He shot and killed three of them. In less than two minutes, Martin had left 29 spent shells on the floor of the cafe and gift shop. 20 people were dead and 12 were injured. Cafe staff ran from the serving area into the kitchen area. Kitchen staff were told what was happening and four of them managed to escape out the back. Three of them hiding behind trees and shrubs while the fourth ran towards the information centre to warn others and to get help. People sitting on buses watched as Martin exited the cafe. He stood on the balcony and fired his gun towards the ruins on the other side of the bay.

He also fired near the sports ground and the buses and towards the visitor information centre. People were running and scattering everywhere. Martin was now firing indiscriminately at no particular target. He walked towards the front of the buses whilst the number of people were moving quickly between them, headed towards the water's edge. One of the bus drivers was moving along the outer side of the bus when he was shot and killed. As Martin moved towards a group sheltering behind a bus, he shot at them, killing one woman, injuring another and also injuring the woman from the kitchen who had run to warn them. She would later undergo six operations. Martin turned around and fired at another group fleeing towards the jetty, injuring two more people.

He then walked to the boot of his Volvo and changed weapons. He took out of the boot a semi-automatic 308 self-loading rifle, a military-style weapon. Martin fired it across the water towards the ruins and then back towards the cafe. He walked to the driver's door of his Volvo and for some reason sat momentarily behind the steering wheel before getting out and walking back towards the buses. Again, Martin fired out over the field towards the ruins at the back of the site. A woman saw some gravel fly up from the pathway a foot or two in front of her. She was one of the ones who thought this was still a re-enactment. She marveled at how ingenious it was that a small explosive device could be implanted in the path, making such a realistic effect.

At this moment, Martin walked up to two people sheltering behind a tree. He shot at them but missed, hitting the tree instead. Walking back towards the buses again, Martin saw a woman he had shot and wounded earlier. She was lying injured on the ground. With one shot, he killed her. Shots were fired into the windows of the first bus but luckily no one was on board. Martin then walked onto the bus next to this one. Two women sat motionless next to each other as Martin boarded.

He shot and killed one of them. A man who had gone to the aid of his dying wife was shot but managed to get up and run for shelter onto the bus next to the one Martin was on. Martin saw him enter the bus and calmly walked on after him. The man attempted to hide behind some seats but when he looked up, there was a rifle pointed at him. Before he pulled the trigger, Martin said, no one gets away from me. The man ducked instinctively and the bullet missed his head and struck him in the neck. He felt immediately paralyzed but miraculously regained movement in his legs and was able to walk off the bus about ten minutes later. He made it back to his wife, only for her to die in his arms.

An American tourist videoed this encounter. When Martin saw him filming, he shot at him but missed, striking a nearby car instead. Survivors described Martin's demeanour as calm, unrushed and as not showing any signs of emotion. The first call was made to triple zero at 1.32pm. Wendy Skir, who was working as a tour guide, placed the call from the information centre. Within minutes, numerous other calls were made, giving more details about what was happening at Port Arthur. With 24 dead and 18 injured behind him, Martin Bryant walked back to his car. He calmly opened the driver's door and got in.

He started the engine and began beeping the horn and waving, firing at his window over the site towards the ruins. He drove along Jetty Road towards the toll booth. A red Commodore and a gold BMW had entered through the toll booth entrance and were driving down the road to the car park. They were warned by an elderly man on the way not to go any further as someone was firing shots. The driver of the Commodore reversed a small way before doing a U-turn. The gold BMW performed a similar manoeuvre but had come to block the entrance, so the red Commodore pulled over and the two occupants got out and started running. They were picked up by another couple and driven to the Port Arthur service station just north of the entrance.

The gold BMW had a local woman and three visiting friends inside. They stopped at the toll booth and all watched down the road as the yellow Volvo approached them. As Martin was driving up the hill, he saw a young mother and her two daughters walking up the road. Martin opened his door and slowed down, stopping next to them. The mother moved towards the car. She and another lady with her thought it was someone offering them help to escape. But someone else recognised Martin as the gunman and yelled out, it's him. Martin casually climbed out of his car and pointed his gun.

With his hand on her shoulder, he instantly shot and killed the mother and one of her daughters. The second daughter attempted to run away. The side of the road was lined with trees and she ran to hide behind one in the hopes Martin wouldn't see her. But he had been behind her the whole time. With two shots, she too lost her life. Martin fired at some people hiding in a bush but missed. Others further up the road began running. They told drivers of cars coming down the road to go back and many ran on foot down a dirt side road and hid in the bush.

As casually as he had exited the car, he again got back in and drove towards the toll booth, which was meant by the same person he had paid his $13 entrance fee to earlier. Martin pulled up just past the toll booth, approximately level with or slightly behind the gold BMW. As Martin shot the toll booth attendant, the gold BMW, still with four occupants inside, tried to exit onto the main road. The woman in the front passenger seat of the BMW was motioning to another vehicle approaching to go back. At the same time, Martin walked to the rear of his Volvo and removed the 308 self-loading rifle. He shot a rear passenger in the BMW. The female driver of the BMW got out and walked towards Martin.

She too was fatally shot. Martin turned his attention to the two remaining occupants of the BMW, shooting them and dragging them from the car. Onlookers watched in horror as he went back to his Volvo and transferred ammunition, a set of handcuffs, the AR-15 and one container of petrol into the BMW. Martin drove out the exit of Port Arthur, leaving behind his yellow Volvo with the surfboard still attached to the roof racks. Inside the Volvo, he left behind a 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun that was fitted with a magazine containing nine cartridges. A gun he would later state he was scared to shoot. Martin also left behind two magazines for the 308 rifle, one empty and one containing 17 life rounds.

A magazine for the Kult AR-15 rifle containing 12 life rounds and a cardboard box containing 439 308 calibre cartridges. There was a 25 litre gasoline container containing 20 litres of petrol and a second 10 litre drum containing 7 litres of petrol, plus three packets of little Lucifer fire starters. As Martin drove off, another car approached along the road and he shot at it, spraying the driver with glass. A second bullet hit the driver's door as the man escaped speeding off down the road. Martin drove towards a nearby service station and with a screeching halt, he cut off a white Toyota Corolla. Witnesses, including the man who had just been shot at, watched as Martin waving a gun around and yelling, tried to pull the female passenger from the car as she screamed.

The male driver got out to approach Martin, who pointed his gun directly at him and forced him into the boot of the BMW. The man was pleading with Martin not to shoot. The young woman, too scared to move, sat trapped in her Corolla, trying to crawl over to the driver's seat in a scrambling panic. With just a few slow and steady steps, Martin calmly walked to the front of the car and shot her through the windscreen, killing her instantly. It was at this point the service station attendant had everyone inside lie down as he locked the main doors. He grabbed his rifle, but by the time he could retrieve some ammunition, Martin was back in the BMW and gone. A kilometre down the road, Martin shot at a red Ford Falcon driving towards him, smashing the windscreen. He then made a sharp turn, leading back down the road towards the seascape cottage.

Martin saw a four-wheel drive approaching and he pulled over and got out of his car. The female driver of the four-wheel drive and the passenger, her boyfriend, saw Martin carrying a gun. Their first thought was that he was shooting rabbits, but then both watched in horror as he lifted his gun and pointed it at them. The woman felt the wind of the first round as it passed her cheek and shattered the driver's window next to her head. Martin then corrected his aim and the second round hit her in the arm. The third round of bullets hit the bonnet and immediately stopped the engine, while other bullets smashed the windows. Luckily the car was heading down a hill and they were able to roll down and around a corner. A further two cars were shot at and people injured.

Martin then hurried back to the BMW and sped off down the driveway of the seascape cottage towards the guest house. It was 2pm, Martin stopped on the seascape property beside a tall hedge. He dragged his hostage from the boot and forced him inside, unlocking the front door with the keys he had stolen earlier. He handcuffed his new hostage to a stair rail. He then walked back outside, collected his ammunition and then set the BMW alight using the container of petrol. After receiving the first triple zero call at 1.32pm, officers Paul Highland and Gary Whittle were dispatched. The call was that a lone gunman was wreaking terror at the Port Arthur historical site. It was not initially clear what was happening, but there were possibly deaths and definitely injuries.

Highland and Whittle were the only two police officers stationed in the peninsula area that afternoon. At the time they got the call, they were 30km, 19 miles away, responding to a call out to Saltwater River. Someone had reported white powder found in jars, which would later turn out to be washing powder. It would take them over 20 minutes at high speed to get to the Port Arthur area. A conference was scheduled to be held in the north of the state in the days following and police resources were not on hand in the area as they would normally be. Highland and Whittle were told to stay on the lookout for a yellow Volvo. The officers drove in different police vehicles and headed off on two different routes, giving them a better chance of seeing the car. It is not common police practice for officers to separate, especially when a man with a gun is on the loose.

But with no other backup close by, the officers knew it was necessary. Constable Whittle took the most direct route to Port Arthur, with Constable Highland taking the longer route via Tirana, in an attempt to cut off any escape by the gunman. Radio broadcasts kept updating as new calls were made to 000. Constable Highland stopped at the shot at four wheel drive on the road near the Seascape Cottage. Constable Whittle headed towards the Port Arthur General Store. Then they teamed back up and set off for the Seascape Cottage. The officers arrived after 2pm. They saw a BMW on fire, with black heavy smoke billowing from the vehicle.

The back half had not yet caught a light. It was obvious the fire had not long started. Constable Highland decided to drive further north up the road to stop any traffic from coming down. As he did so, he caught a brief glimpse of a figure running past one of the cottages towards the entrance of the main residence. Constable Highland stopped his vehicle across the roadway, about 400 metres north of Seascape, and remained in this position for some time. Constable Whittle, meanwhile, had positioned his vehicle at an angle across the highway outside the Seascape entrance to block northbound traffic. After hearing a loud explosion coming from the direction of the burning BMW, Constable Whittle took cover at the rear of his police vehicle. About 2.10pm, Martin received a call from a reporter from the ABC television station,

who was randomly ringing local businesses trying to receive information about what was occurring. Martin answered the phone and told her his name was Jamie. The reporter asked him if he knew what was happening, to which he replied, Lots of fun. Martin then told her that if she phoned him again, he would shoot his hostage. At 3.08pm and again at 3.25pm, a girlfriend of Constable Highland received two telephone calls. Highland was by now hiding in a ditch outside Seascape. The calls were from Martin Bryant, who was again calling himself Jamie.

Martin asked Highland's girlfriend if she knew where her husband was, and if she knew whether or not her husband was okay. When she didn't answer, Martin said that he knew where her husband was and used Constable Highland's name. Martin knew exactly who the officers waiting outside were. Remember, Constable Whittle was the officer who was with Martin when he identified his father's body. Sergeant Andrew Fogarty from the Special Operations Group arrived shortly afterwards, together with Constable Pat Allen from the Traffic Operations Group. Constable Pat Allen reversed his police vehicle from the direction of Port Arthur towards Constable Whittle's vehicle. As he did so, Constable Whittle heard three very loud shots from the direction of Seascape.

Bullets passed over Constable Allen's vehicle, hitting bush or shrubbery to his right. Constable Whittle was then joined by Constable Allen, and they both also took cover in a ditch off the side of the road. During their time in the ditch, a large number of shots were fired in their general direction from several different weapons. Every time they moved, Martin would fire at them. As well as his own firearms, Martin now had access to a considerable number of firearms owned by members of the Martin family inside Seascape. Specialist teams were put into place. Assistant Commissioner Lupo Prins initiated the Sackpav National Anti-Terrorist Plan that had been endorsed the previous year, November 1995. A police major incident room was set up at police headquarters, with Lupo Prins being the commander.

A police forward command post was set up at Tarana, where Superintendent Bennett was the forward commander. The hostage situation required police negotiators, and by 2.25pm, a team was formed under Sergeant Terry McCarthy. At 3.30pm, the first negotiator's phone call is placed to the landline inside Seascape Cottages. Martin answered and continued to refer to himself as Jamie. By 4.30pm, the phone company had established a secure telephone line permitting a member of the negotiation team to communicate directly by telephone with Bryant. From that time until about 9.30pm, the police hostage negotiator made contact with Martin on several separate occasions. During these calls, Martin maintained that the hostages were alive, claiming that he'd cooked them something to eat, made cups of tea, and given them orange juice. Hello, how are you? How are you?

I'm fine. How's things going in there, mate? Fine, couldn't be better, just like on a Hawaiian holiday. Hawaiian holiday? Yes, that's correct, sir. I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean by that. I don't know, myself, no. I'm making up some sandwiches.

People have got salivants and bacon in their knees. I'm going to fry up bacon and eggs for them. Is it? Hey, I've got a goat because his kettle's squealing downstairs and I'll make him cup of tea now for the hostages. During the phone calls, Martin made comments about things he knew from the hostage he had taken in the boot of his car, leading investigators to assume he had some dialogue with the hostage. Martin demanded to be provided with a helicopter to take him to Hobart Airport, where he then wanted to be flown to Adelaide. He threatened to kill his hostages if these demands were not met.

He said that when the helicopter arrived, he intended to take one hostage with him and release the others. Around 9pm, police special operations group members arrived from Victoria to assist the Tasmanian special operations group. As shots were still being fired, they couldn't approach the house or open fire themselves for fear of hurting one of the three hostages. They didn't know for sure if they were still alive, but they had to assume they were. The special operations group were able to get officers Whittle and Allen out of their ditch under the cover of darkness, wearing riot shields and bullet resistant jackets. At 11.35pm, a request was made for the coroner to attend. Police felt the outcome was looking brave.

During the seascape siege, Martin could see the movements of the special operations group officers. He continually demanded their retreat each time they began to approach the house. He appeared to have excellent awareness of the events around him. A man was spotted on the roof of an adjacent building at one point, which is assumed had to be Martin. Later in the night, the cordless phone Martin 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 there were no further communications. The siege continued throughout the night and apart from a lull between the hours of 4am and 6am on the 29th of April, Martin continued to discharge firearms in various directions from the upper floor of the residence.

Several different weapons were used and in excess of 150 shots were fired. At no stage did any of the special operations group police return fire because of the risk to the hostages. At 8am on the 29th of April, 18 hours after Martin arrived at Seascape Cottage, the house was set ablaze. The upstairs portion of the house was on fire and there were flames coming partly down the lower level. The fire was spreading slowly, but Martin was still firing shots so police couldn't approach. 30 minutes after the fire started, Martin Bryant walked out of the cottage. His clothes on fire. He taunted police to come and get him. He was tackled to the ground and the fire was extinguished.

He was escorted by heavily armed special operations officers to a nearby ambulance and taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital. Survivors of the shooting were being treated in the same hospital. Martin was quickly ushered into a section segregated from survivors. After putting out the fire which had destroyed much of the large main cottage, three bodies were discovered in the rubble. David and Nolene Martin were found to have been killed before the rampage at Port Arthur started. The third body was the hostage Martin had taken on the highway. It is still unknown exactly when he died, but he was the 35th person Martin Bryant killed that day. The 223 AR-15 semi-automatic rifle that Martin had used to murder most of his victims was recovered from the wreckage of the Seascape Cottage.

The other rifle was discovered on the balcony roof of the small cottage to the south of the burnt out main residence. In the days that followed police conducted an extensive search of Martin's house in Clare Street, Newtown. In the hallway of the residence lying open were two plastic gun cases. They also found two gun cleaning kits, a third canvas gun case and a 223 caliber automatic self loading rifle. Also recovered from Martin's house was a large quantity of 38 caliber and 223 caliber ammunition. In an upstairs bedroom and in one of the lower front rooms, secreted in the bottom of two separate pianos, were two leather ammunition belts containing two 308 caliber cartridges and 30 223 caliber cartridges, together with several boxes of ammunition and two magazines.

In total, 1491 308 caliber and 246 223 caliber live rounds of ammunition were seized from Martin Bryant's home. On the evening of Monday the 29th of April, Detective Inspector John Warren unsuccessfully attempted to interview Martin in his room at the Royal Hobart Hospital. At that time, Martin was sedated. Detective Inspector Warren returned the following morning. Martin's response to the allegations was that he didn't know anything and he had been a long way from Port Arthur surfing. He said, I've been unjustly accused. Martin declined to participate in a video recorded interview and Inspector Warren then formally arrested him for the murder of one of the victims, Kate Elizabeth Scott. On Monday the 6th of May 1996, the Port Arthur Task Force was established under the overall command of Superintendent Jack Johnson, with Detective Inspectors Warren and Payne maintaining control of the ongoing investigation.

On the 4th of July 1996, after obtaining the permission of Martin's then defence lawyer, Mr Gunson, Inspectors Warren and Payne conducted an interview with Martin at Rizden Prison. During the course of this interview, Martin admitted ownership of the Colt AR-15 rifle. He further admitted to kidnapping a male person and ordering him at gunpoint into the boot of the BMW and then driving the BMW to seascape. However, at all times throughout the interview, Martin denied that he had ever entered the Port Arthur historic site on the 28th of April and denied shooting anyone. His account of the kidnapping on the highway and the stealing of the BMW were contradictory to witness accounts. Police, paramedics and forensic experts would later break down when they were asked to describe the scene inside the cafe. Witnesses to the shooting found it difficult to find the words to describe what happened.

The Port Arthur massacre, excluding the time at seascape, had lasted about 30 minutes. In total, 35 were dead, 23 injured, many seriously injured. Nothing could prepare surgeons and nurses at Hobart Hospital for what was to come or what they would see. Gunshot wounds had left gaping holes where bullets had gone straight through. Whole parts of bodies were missing. Blood loss had been enormous. Coincidentally, on that Sunday morning, 25 specialist doctors based all over Australia from the Royal Australian College of Surgeons had attended a training course in Hobart. And their last lecture was on terrorist attacks and gunshot wounds. They stayed on to help take care of the wounded victims.

In an effort to explain what had happened, police escorted hundreds of reporters onto the Port Arthur site, as well as close by at the seascape. Yellow paint markings over the car park and cafe area signified where the dead and injured had fallen. After this, more than 700 reporters from 17 nations attended. That was a media frenzy, a quote from reporter Colin James in an article for the Adelaide Advertiser. Nothing could get anyone ready for the grief and anguish of those who lost somebody or the sense of sadness hanging in the crisp Tasmanian air like a heavy cloud. Australians have found it impossible to grasp that such a wanton slaughter could happen in a place of such breathtaking beauty and serenity like Tasmania. Martin Bryant lay in bed in the Royal Hobart Hospital. He was separated from his survivors, some of whom were still fighting for their lives. Six days after the massacre, Tasmanian police officer Phil Pike, who was the first officer on the scene in the search for Maurice Bryant years earlier, described guarding Martin.

The following is taken from notes he hand wrote during that time. I commenced my shift at 6am with two other members from the prosecution section and another from the radio room. Bryant was asleep in the end ward with all external doors secured. Hospital security, assisted by police, staffed the locked entry doors. Untrained for this type of situation, they were very nervous. The prison officers sat at the entrance to Bryant's room. A large room with normally four beds now only housed this alleged killer. As Bryant had been formally charged and detained, he was in the custody of the Justice Department, not Tasmania police.

Looking around the corner, my first view was of a huddled figure under brown sheets. His head a massive burnt hair. In the darkness, I couldn't tell if he was asleep or awake and watching us. The room smelled of burnt skin, which I could thankfully only faintly detect due to having a limited sense of smell. Our briefing said Bryant previously had made threats towards the nursing staff, making shooting motions with his hands. The lights of the room came on as the relief shift for the prison staff arrived, pulling back the sheets to check his handcuffs. His severely burnt body was covered with a netted bandage commonly used for burn victims. Looking at Bryant lying in the bed, I wondered how I could protect him if anyone forced their way into the ward to harm him. We had received unvalidated reports of people flying from the mainland to try and kill him.

Suspects had allegedly made a reconnaissance of the area, two making application for security positions at the hospital. I made up my mind to protect the prison officers and nursing staff, but not Bryant. If anyone came through the door with firearms, they could have him. Perhaps this decision wouldn't have been sound judgment, but with 26 hours sleep over five days, I was sleep deprived like many others. I saw his behaviour change from being completely childlike to that of an evil killer many times over the day, with one incident in particular involving me. As I chatted with one of the prison officers who lived in my hometown, I was aware Bryant was watching me intently. Looking towards him, Bryant slowly closed his eyes as if he was falling asleep. When I looked away, he fixed me with a stare I described as pure evil.

This was the killer, the person I knew was capable of having carried out those murders. It was at this point there was no doubt in my mind he had committed this crime. After going through the past few days and remembering his victims, I pulled my stool towards him. As he opened his eyes and again fixed me with that evil stare, I tapped my fingers on the outside of my holster saying, if you get out of those handcuffs mutton, this is for you, as I fight back unlike your other victims. After this engagement, he no longer held any eye contact with me. I heard Bryant describe his love of action movies, especially those with Steven Seagal, which linked in with my observations inside his house on the morning of 29 April.

When asked about certain people, I heard Bryant say, I hated the Martins. I did it because they were the worst people in my life. As I now know, the owners of Seascape were killed first in the chain of events on April 28. Bandage changing was hard as the badly injured Bryant was in pain. After one session of nursing staff changing the bandages, Bryant said in his childlike voice, thank you for looking after me and treating me so kindly. The nurse fled the room in tears, personally struggling to show compassion to this spree killer. His voice was often regressed to quiet and childlike.

When he wanted something, it was always, please could I have something to eat? Please, I need to go to the toilet. Bryant was always childlike with the ability to instantly switch into the killer with a look of pure evil. Knowing him before, having worked at the scene, observed inside his house and now at the hospital, it is my belief Bryant saw himself as an action hero of some nature. For me, there remains no logic in the madness and evil which took place at Port Arthur. Prior to facing court, Martin was examined by court appointed psychiatrist Ian Sayle, who diagnosed Bryant with Asperger's syndrome.

Psychiatrist Paul Mullen hired at the request of Martin's legal counsel also examined him. He found that Martin was socially and intellectually impaired, but did not display signs of schizophrenia or a mood disorder. Mullen disagreed with Sayle's analysis of Bryant. Sayle believed that Bryant showed a combination of conduct disorder and a tension deficit hyperactivity disorder, whereas Mullen concluded, though Mr Bryant was clearly a distressed and disturbed young man, he was not mentally ill. A psychiatric report was conducted by Martin's defense,

intended to clarify to the court why an insanity plea was not considered appropriate and to at least outline some of the factors which contributed to the actions of Martin. It was conducted in hospital on the 4th of May 1996 and lasted three and a half hours. The report stated Martin was anxious, but gradually relaxed as the interview progressed. He was receiving medication for pain, but this did not produce any disorientation or obvious disorganization in his state of mind. He initially denied memories of the offenses, but subsequently gave a fuller account. He presented initially as a normal man, coherent, but with limited vocabulary.

It was only when they attempted to test his comprehension skills and numeracy that the extent of his intellectual limitation became clear. Martin's intelligence was tested on a number of occasions. The extensive testing revealed a full-scale IQ of 66, making him intellectually in the lowest 1-2% of the population. Although a measure of intelligence is of less practicable significance than functional capacities, and it was clear that Martin had functioning capabilities. He functioned in the community, lived independently, albeit with the assistance

and financial constraints provided by a guardian. He managed to not only to function in his everyday and routine environment, but also managed to cope with trips into state and overseas. He was described as having a fascination with weapons. With his money came access to weapons with enormous potential for destruction. The court would hear that while interviewed, Martin would refer to the massacre as the accident. He claimed to have no memory of the shootings or the events leading up to it. He would state he only remembered driving the BMW at higher speed.

But he would go on to recall some of the events in a later interview. He confirmed that he had been planning the massacre at Port Arthur for a few weeks prior, including the attack on the Martins. Martin Bryant stated in one of his interviews, It was set in my mind, it was just set that Sunday. I wasn't worried about losing my property or never seeing my girlfriend again. It was just in my mind to go down and kill the Martins and kill a lot of people. Martin Bryant was judged fit to stand trial,

and his trial was scheduled to begin on the 7th of November 1996. He initially pleaded not guilty, but was persuaded by his court appointed lawyer, John Avery, and at the prosecution to plead guilty to all charges. Side note, Martin's lawyer John Avery was later jailed for four years. He stole over half a million dollars from clients and his law firm. At Martin's sentencing hearing, the court heard he behaved deceptively to those close to him, regarding his possession and use of firearms. He hid the firearms and ammunition around his house, out of view from others.

The court heard his acts of preparation included buying a sports bag to conceal one of his weapons. He also took with him handcuffs, rope, and a hunting knife, three semi-automatic weapons, and a significant quantity of ammunition. He followed through a series of actions, which culminated in a hostage and siege, which had an air of pre-pleaning. He clearly intended to embark upon violence and murderous conduct. It was found with the money he had inherited. He researched and purchased the Colt AR-15 semi-automatic weapon for $5,000.

He also legally purchased his other firearms. Just months prior to the massacre, Martin visited the Port Arthur historic site on a number of occasions. These visits to Port Arthur suggest the shooting was premeditated. On the 13th of March, 96, weeks before the Port Arthur shooting, a 43-year-old suspected pedophile, Thomas Hamilton, living in the Scottish town of Dunblane, opened fire at the Dunblane Primary School, killing 16 children and one teacher before committing suicide. Media coverage of this event is presumed to have been the trigger for Martin Bryant to act. Apart from a stack of old newspapers, gun magazines were the only literature found inside Martin's house.

The local news agent said he would often browse through the latest issues of gun magazines. Inquiries with local gun shop owners revealed Martin asked a gunsmith to check and service several high-powered semi-automatic weapons prior to the shooting. Why he wanted the weapons serviced is now horrifyingly clear, but exactly what made him snap is not. At sentencing psychiatrist Paul Mullen, who was appointed by Martin's defence, said the following, Martin Bryant currently does not have the signs and the symptoms of a mental illness. He is, however, by virtue of his personality and intellectual limitations, both of reduced coping ability and of increased psychological vulnerability.

Firstly, it is abundantly clear that at the time of the commission of these crimes and at the present day, the accused is not criminally insane. Secondly, although it has been thought in his early years that perhaps he suffers schizophrenia, it can conclusively be claimed that there is no evidence to support the notion that this man has a schizophrenic illness. Thirdly, it appears that the accused does not fit into any neat pigeonhole of particular mental illness. Fourthly, he clearly is intellectually disabled. And without the support of his father and Ms Harvey and with the access to funds, he regrettably found himself able, with ferocious consequence, to carry out this mass destruction.

Finally, Your Honor, it would be quite apparent the accused revels in the notoriety he's achieved, but in his simple way, he accepts the enormity of his actions, and as a result, has instructed me to comment on penalty. Martin Bryant was sentenced by Supreme Court Judge William Cox to 35 life sentences for the murders, plus 1,035 years for other crimes committed. Judge Cox ordered that Martin should remain in prison for the rest of his life. The coroner deemed an inquest unnecessary on the basis that the primary facts of the various deaths are already known. This was supported by the Attorney General. Martin Bryant was the first killer in Australia to be sentenced without the possibility of parole.

For the first eight months of his imprisonment, he was held in a purpose-built special suicide prevention cell in almost complete solitary confinement. He then remained in protective custody for his own safety, as other inmates whispered plans to kill him. On the 13th of November 2006, Bryant was moved into Hobart's Wilfrid Loeb Centre, a secure mental health unit run by the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services. The 35-bed unit for inmates with serious mental illness is staffed with doctors, nurses and other support workers. Inmates are not locked down and can come and go from their cells. Exterior security at the facility is provided by a three-wall perimeter patrolled by private contract guards. Martin attempted suicide on the 25th of March 2007 by slashing his wrist with a razor blade.

Two days later, he cut his throat with another razor blade. He would attempt suicide eight times in total. Martin is now housed in the maximum-security RISDM prison near Hobart. The Port Arthur massacre prompted a severe crackdown on firearms in Australia. Due to the weapons used during the massacre and the fact that Martin Bryant was able to purchase them easily and legally, the Australian government established new laws that heavily restricted the availability of firearms. Legal ownership and use of self-loading rifles, self-loading shotguns and pump-action shotguns were either banned or heavily restricted. The Australian government introduced the National Firearms Agreement, legislation that outlawed automatic and semi-automatic rifles as well as pump-action shotguns.

The nationwide gun buyback scheme and gun amnesty saw more than 640,000 weapons turned into authorities. Prime Minister John Howard faced political and public resistance to the laws. After just three months as the country's leader, Howard wore a bulletproof vest as he addressed a hostile 3,000-strong crowd opposed to the gun reforms. Howard told NBC News years later, The laws had widespread public support but faced fierce opposition from some rural supporters because they believed they were unfairly paying a price for the misdeeds of others. Howard persisted with introducing the laws and went on to win that election and lead Australia for more than a decade. He considers the gun reforms as a key part of his legacy. Gun-related homicides decreased 7.5% per year following the reforms, while firearm-related suicides also fell.

Although there have been calls to revisit the laws, most Australians haven't looked back and still support the laws to this day. Howard told NBC America on the 20-year anniversary of the massacre that he acknowledges major cultural and historical differences, which make it difficult to draw comparisons between the gun cultures in the US and Australia. A number of conspiracy theories have arisen after the Port Arthur massacre. Many have cited Australian politicians making predictions that only a massacre involving dozens of fatalities would spark massive gun control legislation. I'm not getting into them in detail, there are websites out there if you're that way inclined. But quickly, one of the main points brought up is the accuracy of Martin's shooting in the broad-arrow cafe and the gift shop. 32 people shot with 29 bullets in under 90 seconds, and most of those killed suffered headshots.

They also claim the shooter was firing from his hip, which makes accuracy even more difficult, and they claim the shooter was right-handed. Martin Bryant is left-handed. The 35 people murdered by Martin Bryant were David Martin, 72, Nolene Martin, 69, Mo Yee In, 48, Su Lang Chung, 32, Kate Scott, 21, Anthony Nightingale, 48, Kevin Sharp, 68, Raymond Sharp, 67, Walter Bennett, 66, Andrew Mills, 49, Tony Kiston, 51, Sarah Loudon, 15, Mervyn Howard, 55, Mary Howard, 57, Elizabeth Howard, 26, Nicole Burgess, 17, Dennis Lever, 53, Gwen Minda, 67, Jason Winter, 29, Ronald Jerry, 71, Peter Nash, 32, Pauline Masters, 49, Royce Thompson, 59, Winifred Applin, 58, Jeanette Quinn, 50, Elva Gaylard, 48, Robert Salisman, 58, Helene Salisman, 50, Russell Pollard, 72, Mary Rose Nixon, 60, Zoe Hall, 28, Glenn Pierce, 35, Nanette Mikake, 36, Madeleine Mikake, 3, Alana Mikake, 6. Walter Mikake lost his wife and two young daughters on the road leading up to the toll booth. He said, I truly believe the power of love and creation will always triumph over the power of destruction and revenge.

He has gone on to set up a foundation for the protection of children against violence called AMF, the Alana and Madeleine Foundation. www.amf.org