Port Arthur Massacre

 Port Arthur Massacre (mass murder)

Date	1996/04/28
Location	Port Arthur,  Tasmania,  Australia
Blamed on	Martin Bryant
Type	•  Mass murder •  carjacking •  arson
Deaths	35
Injured (non-fatal)	37
Interest of	Paul Moder
Description	A mass shooting incident in and around Port Arthur Tasmania on 28 April 1996

Official narrative

The Port Arthur massacre of 28-29 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. The attack was perpetrated by "lone nut" Martin Bryant, a 28-year-old from New Town, a suburb of Hobart, who (in spite of having an IQ of only 66) displayed considerable shooting skills, killing 12 people in 15 seconds. After initially denying responsibility, eventually pleaded guilty to the crimes and was given 35 life sentences without possibility of parole.

Alternative culpability

Many concerns exist about the official narrative. Alternative narratives blame:

1. The Mossad
2. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
3. Australian domestic terrorists

The Mossad

Joe Vialls claimed early on that the Mossad did it, but that it was covered up by the Australian government. While this theory was the most popular originally, following the introduction of gun control, the gun control narrative became the most popular narrative, especially amongst US viewers of this event, who note the same gun control theories about various events in USA.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

Gun lobbyists including the NRA had blamed the Australian government of organising it, through the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, in order to push forward the gun control that won the John Howard Government the election a couple of years later. The massacre was followed by "a nationwide overhaul of gun regulation, as well as the buyback of more than 650,000 firearms."

Australian 'domestic terrorists'

Some have claimed that this may have been done by domestic terrorists aiming to control tourist traffic to Australia, and in particular trying to prevent foreign tour guides (especially Japanese) from taking jobs away from Australians. Unlike the above two theories, this is in line with previous government policies, and is supported by the gunman's statement, immediately prior to the attack :"There are a lot of WASPs and Nips about today".

Certainly, at the time, it was described as a terrorist attack by domestic terrorists in relation to tourism. Theorists suggesting that the Joe Vialls conspiracy theory was itself disinformation have suggested that that is what truly happened.

 

Related Documents

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:Port Arthur Massacre - A sceptical re-appraisal	webpage	17 December 2010	Syd Walker
File:Port Arthur Massacre-A Critical Study.pdf	book	2006	Carl Wernerhoff
File:Port Arthur Massacre.pdf	article	2006	Carl Wernerhoff
Document:Tasmanian Minister Misleads Canberra about Fresh Evidence on Port Arthur	webpage	February 2001	Joe Vialls

 

The Official Culprit

Name	Description
Martin Bryant	The official "lone nut" perpetrator of the Port Arthur Massacre, with an IQ of just 66.

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