Australia's deadliest modern mass shooting, killing 35 people, directly prompted sweeping national gun law reforms within weeks.
Key Facts
- Date
- 28 April 1996
- People killed
- 35 people
- People wounded
- 23 people
- Perpetrator
- Martin Bryant
- Sentence
- 35 life sentences without parole
- Gun buyback announced
- Within 2 weeks of massacre
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Martin Bryant, armed with two semi-automatic rifles, targeted the Port Arthur Historic Site, a popular tourist destination in Tasmania, Australia. Two victims were killed beforehand at Seascape, a nearby bed and breakfast property. Bryant's precise motives have remained subject to debate following his conviction.
On 28 April 1996, Bryant opened fire at a café and gift shop within the Port Arthur Historic Site, killing 20 people in rapid succession. He continued shooting at the car park, killing several children, then stole a vehicle at the tollbooth and abducted a woman's partner after killing her. He returned to Seascape, killed his hostage, set the property alight, and was captured the following morning.
Bryant pleaded guilty and received 35 life sentences without parole. The newly elected Howard government responded by negotiating the National Firearms Agreement with state governments within two weeks, imposing strict restrictions on semi-automatic and automatic weapons, establishing a national gun registry, a buyback program, and mandatory waiting periods for firearm purchases.