Martin Bryant - Port Arthur Massacre

Port Arthur Massacre

Bryant has provided conflicting and confused accounts of what led him to kill 35 people at the Port Arthur site on 28 April 1996. It appears that it could be his desire for attention, as he allegedly told a next door neighbour, "I'll do something that will make everyone remember me," as well as mounting frustration as his social isolation had made him unbearably angry.

His first victims, David and Sally Martin, owned the bed and breakfast guest house "Seascape." The Martins had bought the B & B that Bryant's father had wanted to buy and he complained to his son about this. Bryant apparently believed the Martins had deliberately bought the property to hurt his family and blamed the Martins for the depression that led to his father's death. He shot them in that guest house before traveling to the Port Arthur ruins. Bryant entered The Broad Arrow Café on the historical site's grounds, carrying a large blue duffel bag. Upon sitting down to eat a meal in the front balcony area, he remarked "There's a lot of wasps about today" to no one in particular. Once he finished, Bryant moved towards the back of the café and set a video camera on a vacant table. He took out an Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and, firing from the hip, began shooting patrons and staff. Within 15 seconds, he had fired 17 shots killing 12 people and wounding 10. Bryant then walked to the other side of the shop and fired 12 more times killing another eight people while wounding five. He then changed magazines before fleeing, shooting at people in the car park and from his yellow Volvo sedan as he drove away. Bryant drove three hundred metres down the road, to where a woman and her two children were walking. He stopped and fired two shots killing the woman and the child she was carrying. The older child fled, but Bryant followed her and killed her with a single shot. He then stole a gold-coloured BMW by killing the occupants. A short distance down the road he stopped beside a couple in a white Toyota and, drawing his weapon, ordered the male occupant into the boot of the BMW. After shutting the boot he fired two shots into the windscreen of the Toyota, killing the female driver. He returned to the guest house, set the stolen car alight and took his hostage inside with the Martins' corpses. The police soon arrived and tried to negotiate with Bryant for many hours before the battery in the phone he was using died, ending communication. Bryant's only demand was to be transported in an army helicopter to an airport. Sometime during the negotiations, Bryant killed his hostage.

The next morning, 18 hours later, Bryant set fire to the guest house and attempted to escape in the confusion. Suffering burns to his back and buttocks, he was captured and taken to Royal Hobart Hospital where he was treated and kept under heavy guard.