Difference between revisions of "Port Arthur Massacre"

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|occurred=1996/04/28
 
|occurred=1996/04/28
 
|constitutes=mass murder
 
|constitutes=mass murder
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|locations=Port Arthur, Tasmania
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|locations=Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia
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|fatalities=35
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|injuries=37
 
|ON_perpetrators=Martin Bryant
 
|ON_perpetrators=Martin Bryant
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|wikipedia=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur_massacre_(Australia)
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|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur_massacre_(Australia)
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|latitude=43°8′12″S
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|longitude=147°51′10″E
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|type=Mass murder, carjacking, arson
 
}}
 
}}
 
==Official narrative==
 
==Official narrative==
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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.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1996/04/30/1996-04-30_aftermath_of_horror__death_t.html Aftermath of horror death toll climbs to 35] New York Daily News 30 April 1996</ref> The attack was perpetrated by "[[lone nut]]" [[Martin Bryant]], a 28-year-old from New Town, a suburb of Hobart, who after initially denying responsibility, eventually pleaded guilty to the crimes and was given 35 life sentences without possibility of parole.
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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]].<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1996/04/30/1996-04-30_aftermath_of_horror__death_t.html Aftermath of horror death toll climbs to 35] New York Daily News 30 April 1996</ref> 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.<ref name=theguardian>https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/15/it-took-one-massacre-how-australia-made-gun-control-happen-after-port-arthur</ref> After initially denying responsibility, Bryant eventually pleaded guilty to the crimes and was given 35 life sentences without possibility of parole.
  
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===Original official narrative===
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==Alternative culpability==
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The attacks were first made known to the public on 28 April 1996, at which time members of the public were told that it was a terrorist attack by unknown perpetrators, with as many as 4-5 different gunmen, believed to be related both to [[ANZAC day]] (25 April) and to Port Arthur being known as a tourism site.
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Many concerns exist about the {{on}}. Alternative narratives blame:
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# The [[Mossad]]
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# [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]]
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# [[Australia]]n domestic terrorists
  
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===Narrative changed at night of 28 April 1996===
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===The Mossad===
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At some point during the night, someone phoned police to inform them that the gunmen at Port Arthur were now at Seascape Lodge, some 50km away, and the names of the gunmen were released to the media as being: Noelene Martin, David Martin, Glen Ray Pears and Martin Bryant.  Martin Bryant was said to be the true identity of "Jaimie", the person speaking to police, who worked at Seascape Lodge with the owners, Noelene and David Martin.  It was described as a terrorist plot aimed at stopping tourism to Tasmania, explicitly to Port Arthur.
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[[Joe Vialls]] claimed early on that the [[Mossad]] did it, but that it was covered up by the [[Australia]]n 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.
  
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===Narrative changed on morning of 29 April 1996===
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===Australian Security Intelligence Organisation===
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After the fire, it emerged that only one person was arrested: Martin Bryant.  It later emerged that the other 3 names, who were publicly named as assisting Martin Bryant, had in fact been amongst the 35 victims, as the death toll rose from 32 to 35.  Noelene and David Martin died on the night of 27 April 1996 while Glen Ray Pears it was suggested died before the gunman got to Seascape.  At the time, police would not reveal why the fire was started, who Martin Bryant was, or why he had done it.
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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."<ref name=theguardian/>
  
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===Narrative changed by Prime Minister John Howard===
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===Australian 'domestic terrorists'===
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The official narrative changed by then Australian Prime Minister John Howard who stated in a public speech that the culprit of the fire was automatic weapons, that it had nothing to do with the identity of the person, or his skills with a firearm, that there was no motive as it was a random killing and that the only person to blame is the fact that automatic weapons are still able to be bought in this country easily.   
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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".   
  
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===Official police narrative===
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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.
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Following Martin Bryant's arrest, police interview and psychiatric assessment, the official narrative changed again to state that Martin Bryant killed his two best friends and employers, David and Noelene Martin, on the night of 27 April 1996 after an argument at dinner where they had refused to sell property to him, believed to be Seascape Lodge itself, where he worked.  He had shot and killed them both in a rage, then the psychosis continued when he woke up the next morning, possibly as a result of seeing their bodies and remembering what he had done, leading him to steal a car and travel to Port Arthur, some 50km away, where, after sitting down to eat at the Broad Arrow cafe, he announced that there were "a lot of WASPs and Nips around", then opened fire on unsuspecting tourists and workers, before casually walking out into the car park, opening fire on people hiding in a tour bus, before stealing a car and driving off, stopping to shoot and kill a woman and her 2 small children on the road, before stopping to ask a man for directions, then taking him hostage and driving to Seascape, where he pretended to be a terrorist before setting fire to the place so as to destroy the evidence, and giving himself up in a vain hope of getting away with it.  While Martin Bryant was acknowledged to have suffered from a psychotic breakdown at the time of the incident, he was not described as insane at the time, as he was diagnosed as suffering from Asperger's syndrome, replacing his earlier diagnosis of schizophrenia, thus making him sane and in control of what he was doing, and eligible to be placed in prison, not in a psychiatric hospital.
 
  
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===Problems===
 
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Many concerns exist about the {{on}}.
 
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
{{SMWDocs}}
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==References==
 
==References==
 
<references/>  
 
<references/>  
 
{{stub}}
 
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[[Category:Port Arthur Massacre| ]]
 
[[Category:Port Arthur Massacre| ]]

Revision as of 11:46, 27 November 2016

Event.png Port Arthur Massacre (mass murder) Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
Date1996/04/28
LocationPort Arthur,  Tasmania,  Australia
Blamed onMartin Bryant
Type• Mass murder
• carjacking
• arson
Deaths35
Injured (non-fatal)37
Interest ofPaul Moder
DescriptionA 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.[1] 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.[2] After initially denying responsibility, Bryant 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."[2]

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

TitleTypePublication dateAuthor(s)Description
Document:Port Arthur Massacre - A sceptical re-appraisalwebpage17 December 2010Syd Walker
File:Port Arthur Massacre-A Critical Study.pdfbook2006Carl Wernerhoff
File:Port Arthur Massacre.pdfarticle2006Carl Wernerhoff
Document:Tasmanian Minister Misleads Canberra about Fresh Evidence on Port ArthurwebpageFebruary 2001Joe Vialls

 

The Official Culprit

NameDescription
Martin BryantThe official "lone nut" perpetrator of the Port Arthur Massacre, with an IQ of just 66.
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References

  1. ↑ Aftermath of horror death toll climbs to 35 New York Daily News 30 April 1996
  2. ↑ a b https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/15/it-took-one-massacre-how-australia-made-gun-control-happen-after-port-arthur


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