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[Music] on the 28th of April 1996 Martin John Bryan became known as the worst single
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mass murderer in Australian history 21 years later the Port Arthur massacre still stands as the third most deadliest
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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
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Bryant's life would go on to trigger a rampage that would change hundreds of people's lives that day as well as the
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lives of everyday Australians who looked on in horror [Music] tasmania is the most southern state of
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australia an island to located 240 kilometers 150 miles to the south of the Australian mainland separated by Bass
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Strait it is known for its green dense and untouched landscape almost 45% of Tasmania lies in reserves national parks
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and World Heritage Sites and the state was the founding place of the first environmental party in the world
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mountains lakes rugged cliffs and sweeping bays Tasmania is a lush wilderness with a sense of quiet and
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calm a slow and relaxed pace originally named of being demons land the state was
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inhabited in 1803 as a penal settlement of the British Empire around 75 thousand
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convicts most from Great Britain were sent to Van Diemen's land before transportation ceased in 1853 convicts
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were sent to Van Diemen's land with the knowledge that with the treacherous Bass
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Strait to the north end of the Wild Southern Ocean to the south there would be no escape to a neighboring land in
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1854 the present constitution of Tasmania was passed and at the following year the state of Van Diemen's land
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received permission to change its name to Tasmania many of the convicts were imprisoned at a penal colony at Port
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Arthur which was abandoned as a prison in 1877 with other sentenced to work for free settlers and small land holders who
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had moved to the region Port Arthur's eerie ruins were left to decay in the years that followed the capital city of
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Tasmania Hobart sits on the southeast coastline the small town of Port Arthur and the former convict settlement sits
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on the Tasman Peninsula 60 kilometres south of Hobart it is one of Australia's most significant heritage areas and an
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open-air Museum the Port Arthur historical site welcomes over 250,000 visitors per year Port Arthur was placed
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onto the world Heritage Register on the 31st of July 2010 Martin Bryant was born
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on the 7th of May 1967 at the Queen Alexandria Hospital in Hobart Tasmania the first born to Maurice and Carlene
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Bryant he was later followed by a sister Lindy Carlene remembers a stress-free pregnancy and a quick and easy birth she
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had worked up until a few weeks before the birth at the local Chocolate Factory life was calm and pleasant the first she
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passed with relative ease they had a seemingly happy and content baby but as Martin developed he started
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to reject even his mother's cuddles or any physical affection Carlene started to find it difficult to bond and she
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found this harder to deal with as Martin grew older as soon as he could walk Martin was escaping from the house and
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running away his escaping got so bad that Carlene resorted to putting him in a harness and a lead on the front
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veranda of their home with a pile of toys although people complained to her about this Colleen took comfort in the
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fact that she knew Martin was safe Martin was extremely slow to start talking and Carlene didn't feel she was
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able to nurture Martin the way she would like she would find him destroying toys
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and was confused by his behavior Maurice tried endlessly to help Martin to be a normal kid being as hands-on as he could
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by the time Martin turned 3 they knew something wasn't quite right instead of creating a normal routine
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primary-school made things even worse he was teased he behaved erratically and began to drive others away with his odd
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behavior Martin would often creep up and scare other kids on their way home from school
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he was assessed on a number of occasions by psychologists and psychiatrists who noted behavioural problems and learning
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difficulties he was noted to be aggressive destructive and very difficult with other children he was
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thought to be hyperactive and was placed on medication as he got older Martin was
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caught cutting trees down at a neighbor's place and he often stole things from other kids he started to
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suffer severe bullying and in turn became violin himself earning him a suspension from the local
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new town Primary School in 1977 it was around this time just before entering high school his latest assessment would
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no heed started torturing animals by 1980 he was transferred to a special education unit at Newtown High School
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where things continued on a downhill spiral during high school he became a recluse he was mostly friendless and had
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trouble socializing and relating to his peas one of his only schoolmates Greg ended his friendship the day Martin
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stuck the spike of a speaker into the top of Greg's him when Martin turned 14 Maurice gave him an air rifle instead of
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it giving him something to do on helped him focus it gave him an appetite for guns that would last the next 15 years
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he started hiding along the creek and firing at passers-by or firing out onto the bay Martin would shoot birds out of
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trees and shoot them again and again if they hadn't died instantly in early May 1983 the day before his 16th
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birthday Martin left school by February the following year his parents had him clinically assessed again this time in
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the hope you would receive a pension dr. Eric Cunningham Dax was a well respected
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psychiatrist who had helped establish community mental health awareness services in Tasmania as well as a
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research unit it wasn't long before he could see that Martin had a problem Martin was not able to concentrate on
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what dr. Dax was saying and interrupted him to talk about the age of the house and at the fireplace in the room Martin
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also still had troubles with the speech doctor Dax predicted that Martin would be unemployable as he would upset and
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annoyed people to the extent he would always be in trouble so he would have to be put on a disability pension his notes
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read cannot read or write does a bit of gardening and watches TV only his parents efforts that prevent further
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deterioration could be schizophrenic and two parents faced a bleak future with you
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Martin never saw a psychiatrist again although he did see a GP for anxiety and sleeping problems he was prescribed
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tranquilizers in January 1993 and again later that year in August he took these tablets on three or four occasions per
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week despite the findings of doctor Dax Martin did go on to get gardening and handyman work by early 1987 Martin had a
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small lawn mowing business which is when he met Helen Harvey Martin was 19 years
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old and Helen was then a 54 year old Harris to a substantial share in the tattles Lottery fortune
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her grandfather David Harvey had been general manager to George Adams creator of the tarsals gambling Empire Helen
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worked an office job with Tasmanian railways for a few years but at the age of 28 she retired to live with her
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mother ylva in a neglected Newton mansion on Clare Street she was an eccentric woman some would
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call slightly odd but harmless heavyset missing a couple of teeth with a whiff of body odor
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she usually wore aging clothes desperate for a wash she had 14 dogs and over 40 cats living at the house Helen employed
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Martin to do the lawns and help with some handyman work around the house by the mid 80s Helen and her mother Hoover
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were known to be virtual recluses in June 1990 someone reported Helen to the health authorities when the authorities
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arrived they found the house in a putrid state and both Helen and her mother in need of urgent hospital treatment pill
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ver never came home from hospital she died a few weeks later after being transferred to a nursing home it was
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revealed that Hill ver had been moved to downstairs into the kitchen it was here
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that she was forced to sleep upright in a chair when she arrived at the hospital
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they found she had an undiagnosed broken hip which had gone untreated for almost
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two years Helen was ordered to clean up the property and she was no longer allowed
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to keep animals there Maurice Bryant took long service life to help Martin with the cleanup of Helens home
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soon after Helen asked Martin to move into the Clare Street property with her which he did they started spending a lot
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of money together they spent every day shopping and lunching at restaurants around 2:10 within three years Helen had
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bought 30 cars it took three months to clean up Clare Street skip be enough to skip in was piled with
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rubbish furniture and clothing there had to be thrown away Helen was Martin's only friend they were
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inseparable but always denied any form of sexual relationship in 1991 Helen and Martin moved to a 29 hectare 72 acre
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farm called Taurus ville in copping the Clare Street property was kept empty neighbors at the new property and
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copping recalled that Martin always carried an airgun and often fired it at tourists as they stopped to buy apples
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at a stall on the highway late at night he would roam through the surrounding properties firing the gun at dogs when
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they barked at him people avoided Martin at all costs despite his attempts to befriend them
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Martin usually wore white overalls a red cardigan and a cravat during this time Helen had mentioned that Martin was not
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an easy passenger in their car he often grabbed the steering wheel for her as she drove this was why she tended
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to drive at a slow pace never wanting to exceed 60 km/h 37 miles even on country
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roads Martin had not got his own driver's licence because he feared he would fail twice helen had run off the
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road while trying to fend Martin off once running up against an embankment and the other time into a drain - Martin
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it was not a death wish but a sudden childlike impulse one he could neither control nor suppress on the 20th of
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October 1992 Helen and Martin were travelling in her car when Helen veered to the wrong side of the road hitting
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another car head-on killing her instantly Martin was inside the vehicle at the time and was hospitalized for seven
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months he had severe neck and back injuries he was briefly investigated by police for any possible role he played
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in the accident but he was eventually cleared of suspicion martin was named the sole beneficiary of helens will and
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came into possession of assets totaling more than six hundred and fifty thousand
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dollars Helen even asked in her will that Martin be buried beside her when he died concerned he wouldn't know how to
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control his newfound fortune Carlene Bryant applied for and was granted alongside Maurice a guardianship order
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placing Martin's assets under the management of public trustees the order was based on evidence of Martin's
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diminished intellectual capacity Martin's long recovery from his injuries meant that he returned home to his
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parents for some time maurice looked after the copying farm until it was time to decide what to do with it Martin
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spent thousands of dollars on scuba diving gear fishing rods and a small inflatable boat he would go abalone
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diving at Port Arthur once or twice a week but he very tired of this hobby and started creating a surfer image he grew
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his hair and would cruise surf spots near Hobart but he would only sit on the sand he never went into the water
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Martin was reassessed through his pension it was a requirement of social services that he be reviewed in that
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review the following note was made Martin's father protects him from any occasion which might upset him as he
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continually threatens violence Martin tells me he would like to go around shooting people it would be unsafe to
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allow Martin out of his parents control Maurice Bryant was a devoted and patient
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father and husband who had dedicated over 20 years to helping Martin through his life during that time Maurice became
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depressed and on more than one occasion mentioned a suicide to his wife he visited his doctor twice in six months
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asking for help the constant anxiety and encroaching sadness and depression was on top of him
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Maryse was prescribed antidepressants the year before Helen's death Maryse had filed a will with the public
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trustees office in it he recognized that his son would find two life extremely difficult to manage in the event of his
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passing he left the family home in UT on to Carlene or in the event of her death
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its division between the two children Martin and windy because Martin would require extra resources Maryse left him
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the proceeds of his superannuation fund worth more than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars three weeks later
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Helen herself updated her own will naming Martin as the sole trustee Maurice knew there was no chance of
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Martin managing the fortune he had inherited without some help he obtained a court order under the Mental Health
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Act and had Martin's finances managed independently like he had always done he was making sure Martin's future was
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looked after it was decided that the millions of dollars Martin was to receive ares lifetime would be doled out
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in a controlled way to ensure it lasted for life after Helen Harvey's death Martin's sense of loss was immense Helen
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was the only true friend Martin had ever known his behavior became increasingly antagonistic as he struggled to form new
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friendships he started pestering kids as young as nine to join in their games but
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he only succeeded in scaring them off in mid of 1993 Maurice put his and Colleen's joint bank accounts solely in
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his wife's name and signed all of the bills for household utilities over to her on Friday the 13th of August 1993
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Maurice Bryant drove to the copying farm for the weekend Carlene didn't question
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the time her husband wanted to spend alone but became anxious when he telephoned about 7:30 that evening he
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sounded particularly quiet and withdrawn Carlene said over all the years when any
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of us would travel we would always telephone to say we had arrived safely on Friday evening Maurice telephoned and
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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
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I assumed he had had a future Maryse made another call that night to his daughter Lindy who was in Queensland
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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
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to answer an advertisement for a horse float no one answered but pinned to the door was a note in
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maurices handwriting caught the police officer Phil pipe was first on the scene and later recruits from the police
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academy were called in to assist in the search and rescue of 60 year old Maurice
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Bryant a firearm was found to be missing from the house they searched up the hill
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in light scrub towards the back of the property and back around to the farm EOS they noticed a man with long blond hair
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watching intently from the fence he was staring at the female recruits and kept hanging around it was Martin the son of
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the men they were looking for it became unnerving when Martin attempted to ask female officers out on a date while
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trying to find his father it took two days to find maurices body they located him in one of the four dams on the
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property he was facedown in almost three metres of water his body weighed down with a diving belt
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around his neck and across his body there was a strip of anti-anxiety medication in his pocket with 18 of the
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30 tablets gone constable Gary Whittle took Martin to formally identify his father a requirement under the coroner's
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act he stood there for several moments looking down at his father before nodding to Constable Whittle as Martin
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walked away he was seen to be almost two laughing he was completely disconnected
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from the death of his father Martin engaged with people on the property with jokes laughing loudly while ignoring the
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activity down near the den Martin was briefly suspected of murdering his father due to the emotional detachment
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and actual enjoyment of searching for his body but it was determined that Maurice had committed suicide Martin
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sold the copying farm and moved to back into Clare Street he lived alone often threatening neighbors that he would
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shoot them they trespassed on his property he also kept a strange schedule of sleeping all
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day and wandering around outside at night after his father died Martin became even more erratic and displayed
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more unusual behavior he started wearing a grey linen suit cravat lizard skin shoes and a Panama hat
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while carrying a briefcase during the day telling anyone who would listen that he had a well-paying career he also wore
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an electric blue suit with flared trousers and a ruffled shirt two restaurants that he frequented between
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1993 into 1996 he started travelling Martin visited Europe six times the US and Southeast Asia
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three times as well as New Zealand and Japan he also travelled extensively throughout Australia he complained about
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nearly every destination and often came straight home not staying for the trip as he had planned on his first trip to
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Singapore he lasted just three days before returning home people tended to avoid him he would later say that the
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best part of his international trips was the long plane journey the attraction of
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the long plane journey was that he could speak to the people next to him who presumably being strapped to their seats
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had no choice but to at least appear friendly he loved at describing some of what he regarded as the more successful
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interactions with fellow travelers on one of his trips overseas he met a young woman who he talked to for most of the
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long flight back from London when they arrived home the woman heard Martin Fannie's mother to say he had met the
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woman he would marry in late 1995 Martin began to feel ignored and that people were against him
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he became suicidal and decided he had had enough although he had previously been little more than a social drinker
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his alcohol consumption had increased by early 1996 some days he would drink half
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a bottle of sambuca and a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream supplemented with wine and sweet alcoholic drinks he later
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told a psychologist that during this time he felt as though he would be better off dead after moving back into
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the Clair Street mansion Martin had allowed it to become neglected yet again in early 1996 he
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placed an ad in The Mercury newspaper in Hobart for a gardeners position at Clair
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Street he no longer did the gardening and ironically the job he once did for Helen would soon be filled by someone
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who would also become attached to Martin a young woman named Petra answered the ad and she was employed soon after Peter
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was no longer doing the gardening but she started going out with Martin and often stayed over at his house on the
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15th of April 1996 Peter went to Hobart with Martin to go shopping Martin was looking for a bag so they
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went to the sports section of Maya department store Martin purchased the Printz sports bag having first measured
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it with a tape measure he had brought from home he told Pedro he was going to use the bag for Tai Chi but in a
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conversation with the shop assistant Martin said the bag had to have strong handles as it would be used to carry a
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lot of ammunition Martin had been doing some odd jobs here and there at a bed-and-breakfast called seascape near
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Port Arthur he was in a bad mood because they had told him a few days earlier that they didn't require services
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anymore Martin didn't like the couple he worked for there anyway and that they had argued on numerous occasions about
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land Martin believed should have belonged to his father Martin's parents had unsuccessfully tried to buy seascape
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before Maurice took his own life and Martin believed the process had really affected his father
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Martin patched up his differences with a couple when he started working for them
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but when he was laid off he became angry at them again on the 25th of April 1996
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Anzac Day Martin travelled to the town of Richmond with Pietra he had just purchased a new camera and wanted to try
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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
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about tourists and made racist comments about Japanese tourists and wasps which is something he spoke about all the time
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white anglo-saxon Protestants on Saturday night the 27th of April 1996 Peter and Martin went for dinner at
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Carlene Bryan's house Martin and Pedro hadn't left each other's side for weeks Martin drank more alcohol than usual at
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dinner he became very talkative and a little aggressive but in a somewhat jokingly
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manner after leaving his mother's home they traveled to a local nightclub and then returned to the Clare Street
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property where Martin said his alarm clock for 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning this was the first time Petra or anyone who
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knew Martin had ever seen or heard of him setting an alarm Petra had never seen Martin rise that early he had no
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job into no commitments at 6 a.m. Sunday the 28th of April 1996 Martin woke to the sound of his alarm Peter got up with
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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
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8 a.m. and went to visit her parents Martin didn't mention where he was going that day
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Martin fixed his surfboard to the roof of his yellow Volvo he didn't possess a driver's license
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although this didn't stop him driving he often put the surfboard on his car although he never surfed he wanted
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people to think he did he walked back into the house and picked up the Prince sports bag which he had already packed
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earlier he put it in the boot of the Volvo along with a few other things at 9:47 a.m. he said his house alarm and
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to left his Clair Street home as he pulled out of the driveway he headed towards the southern Tasman Peninsula
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just over half an hour later he arrived at the midway point News Agency the store sits along a small strip of shops
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and a petrol station on a peak of winding inlets just north of Hobart Airport at 10:30 a.m. Martin went in and
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bought a cigarette lighter the owner angelo recognized martin he hadn't seen him for quite a while but
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about 18 months prior Martin went into his news agency almost daily on this occasion Martin didn't say hello or even
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acknowledge Angelo he overpaid for the lighter leaving the change and to left the store abruptly when Martin crossed
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the bridge over to Sorrell he stopped in at the supermarket and dented carrying the large sports bag from his boot the
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supermarket owner watched him closely coming in with such a large bag was unusual Martin walked to the counter and
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placed the bottle of tomato sauce at the register he pulled out a large amount of
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small coins from his pocket paid for the source and went back to his car placing
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the bag back into the boot he arrived at the small town of Fawcett a little further southeast around 11:30 a.m. he
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stopped at the Shell service station and ordered a coffee from the attendant Gary
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Martin tart Gary had been there a few days before and had enjoyed his coffee but please this time though with a
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kettle for less time Martin told Gary he was going surfing at roaring Beach Gary noticed the surfboard on the roof
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of the Volvo he knew the conditions weren't good for surfing that day but he didn't say anything
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Martin counted out a pile of five-and-ten-cent pieces and put them on the counter a few people noticed the
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yellow Volvo with the surfboard along the road to Tirana where he stopped for the fourth time that morning this time
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he stopped at the petrol station which was also a bakery and purchased $15 worth of petrol Martin then kept driving
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south along the peninsula towards the Port Arthur historical site about five kilometers before he got there he turned
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into the seascape cottages where he had been fired from his job only a week earlier by the owners David and Nolan
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Martin Martin Bryant pulled into the seascape just before 12:00 midday the guesthouse had a busy night their night
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before but all the guests had moved on and David and Nolan were inside cleaning and tidying Martin drove up the driveway
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back these a 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
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then walked inside around 20 minutes later Martin walked outside seascape and locked the door with a set of keys at
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that exact moment Maureen and John Mason pulled up in a car they had spent the morning at Port
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Arthur and had noticed the seascape cottages on their way they decided to stop in on their way back to Hobart
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Airport they wanted to check out the guest house as a possible place to stay on their next trip that has mania they
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pulled up the driveway and got out of their car neither of them took particular notice of the Volvo but saw
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it parked close to the guest house Martin appeared from the front of the house they know dude he was casually
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dressed with wavy blond hair past these shoulders he appeared highly agitated and to this immediately alarmed marine
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and John Martin was making jerking movements with his hands and couldn't stay still John said to him I wonder if
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we could have a look at one of the apartments to which Martin replied no my mother and father are out for ten
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minutes I can't show you around because I've got my girlfriend inside there couple immediately felt that Martin was
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speaking as if something was wrong they didn't think his speech was natural he seemed rude and uneasy murine urged
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the John to get out there they left with a very uneasy feeling especially when looking back they saw Martin staring at
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them it was 12:35 p.m. after marine and John left Martin got back in his car he drove back out onto the Arthur Highway
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and stopped when he saw two people whose vehicle was overheated they chatted briefly they asked Martin if he was
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going surfing to which he replied no I'm going to the Isle of the Dead to get rid
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of some wasps Martin then suggested that they meet up later at the Port Arthur cafe saying you can shout me a cup of
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coffee as Martin approached the Port Arthur tourist site he drove to the southern
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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
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boy Martin spoke with Roger and asked him about his health in return Roger asked about Martin's health to which he
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replied I don't drink much anymore and I don't smoke I'm down here surfing Martin
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also mentioned he was looking for some cattle to buy Roger said he had some cattle to sell but Martin told him he
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wasn't interested in looking at them right away he then said to Roger I wouldn't mind buying the Martin's
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place seascape Martin asked Roger if his wife was home when Roger said she was Martin asked if he could go up the house
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to see her Roger allowed him to but said he would go with him Martin quickly changed his mind Roger
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wasn't surprised by this change of mind sometime after the death of Maurice Bryant Martin had come across Rogers
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wife in Newton he had made a nuisance of himself and after that encounter he had
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rung her on a number of occasions because had become such a nuisance that they reported it to the police so
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when Roger offered their accompany Martin to see his wife he expected him to say no Martin's demeanor was cool and
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calm as he got back in his car and drove away at 1:10 p.m. almost three and a half hours after he left his home on
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Clair Street Martin pulled up towards the toll booth of the Port Arthur historical soil when he approached the
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toll Martin paid his $13 entrance fee but he complained and seemed miffed he drove down chedi Road towards the car
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park near the Broad Arrow Cafe he came across the site security manager in Kingston who was directing people in the
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car park as well as directing buses down to the bus base in the lower car park near the water's edge Martin approached
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him in his Volvo and said he wanted to park down with the buses at the water Ian directed him away saying it was
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reserved for buses and camp events he suggested Martin park in the area under the oak trees he noticed a large sports
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bag on the backseat of Martin's car Martin became argumentative saying he wanted to get on the 130 ferry he then
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sped off towards the information center the ferry is a short tour included with the ticket to Port Arthur from the ferry
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you can see the old penal colony graveyard sitting on an island referred to as the Isle of the Dead but Martin
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didn't make it to the ferry Ian watched as he drove down to the bus carpark parking his Volvo a few spaces
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down from a row of buses Martin sat in his car for about thirty seconds before getting you
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he muttering ant in the boot for a couple of minutes before walking to the backseat and picking up the large sports
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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
00:31:50
job it was 1:25 p.m. Broad Arrow Cafe was a large colonial style building which also
00:31:58
housed the neighboring gift shop and faced the main part of the historical ruins of Port Arthur there was a large
00:32:05
veranda area at the front with outdoor tables and umbrellas tourists were spread across the vast site visiting the
00:32:12
different parts of the old penal colony in the center facing the cafe the prison
00:32:17
sat behind a huge manicured lawn people were strolling the grounds of the majestic Church still with most of its
00:32:24
walls intact as well as the jetty the guard tower the watchman's quarters and the governor's
00:32:30
residence lunch was in full swing in the Broad Arrow cafe there were upwards of 60 customers they were sitting down to
00:32:38
eat or waiting to be served others were browsing the adjoining souvenir and gift
00:32:43
shop just on 1:30 p.m. Martin walked in the front door he ordered his food and bought two juices he walked out another
00:32:52
door to sit on the tables on the veranda as he did so he requested a woman who is
00:32:57
entering with a party of ten to hold the door for him someone commented on the enormous size of his meal to which he
00:33:05
replied he was hungry because he had been surfing all day he sat down on the edge of the second-to-last table on the
00:33:12
veranda he put down his tray and place the large and heavy sports bag on the ground by his side he mentioned too
00:33:21
loudly that there was a lot of wasps about and complained about the parking he also mentioned that there weren't
00:33:28
many Japanese tourists out that day people ignored him Martin ate his food quickly when he
00:33:36
finished he suddenly stood up almost knocking his tray on the ground he reached down and picked up his sports
00:33:42
back he placed it over his shoulder picked up his tray and walked back inside the cafe
00:33:48
he went through the main doorway of his time and again asked someone to hold the
00:33:52
door open for him Martin walked into the inside dining area he pasts groups of diners and placed his
00:34:00
bag on an unoccupied table in the northwestern corner of the cafe he unzipped his bag and took out an ar-15
00:34:08
semiautomatic rifle fitted with a thirty shot magazine within approximately four
00:34:15
seconds Martin fired five shots three people had been killed a couple and another woman
00:34:21
sitting amongst the large group with an actor Martin it happened so quickly she did not have a chance to drop to the
00:34:27
ground in hiding shots continued to fire in immediate succession Martin targeted people
00:34:33
directly but it stray bullets also hit others Martin turned and commenced firing the weapon at people further down
00:34:39
the cafe in the western corner a man jumped the counter in heat while observing the carnage another man
00:34:46
sitting alone instinctively stood up shouting no no not here he was immediately shot by now people outside
00:34:55
the cafe were approaching to see what was going on as they approached they saw someone slump against the window on the
00:35:01
inside he was the seventh victim victims eight and nine fell seconds later with the shrapnel injuring a number of other
00:35:08
people people leapt on top of others to shelter friends family and also the shelter complete strangers human
00:35:16
instinct took over and no one had time to think Martin continued walking through the cafe shooting at people the
00:35:24
shots were heard from as far as the ruins on the other side of the soil some thought a reenactment was taking place
00:35:30
an innocent reenactment of the history of Port Arthur but it wasn't long before most people realized this was no
00:35:37
reenactment and the lives were in danger few people had an opportunity to react let alone escape
00:35:45
inside the gift shop people were carrying and hiding as best they could the exit door to the veranda was locked
00:35:52
and unable to be opened as Martin move towards the gift shop I mean he was still sitting in a table and likely in a
00:35:59
state of shock stood up he would later describe his reaction as confused he thought he may have been able to make it
00:36:06
to the safety of the nearby fireplace but as he moved Martin shot him twice seriously wringing him but he survived
00:36:13
two gift shop workers were shot dead at the counter while others hid behind displays and some behind a curtain
00:36:20
Martin then shot and killed a man and woman before turning his back and re-entering the cafe once again he
00:36:27
appeared to have been distracted by some noise and movement in the cafe many people pretended they were dead as they
00:36:33
lay underneath tables and on the floor ballistics experts would later conclude that the shooting may have only been
00:36:40
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
00:36:50
happened as Martin was re-entering the cafe as the man stood up he was shot twice and killed he was heard shouting
00:36:58
no before being shot once again Martin returned to the gift shop and walked over to where a group of five people
00:37:05
were huddled together near the locked exit door he shot and killed three of them
00:37:11
in less than two minutes Martin had left 29 spent shells on the floor of the cafe
00:37:16
and a gift shop 20 people were dead in - 12 were injured cafe staffer in from the
00:37:24
serving area into the kitchen area kitchen staff were told what was happening and four of them managed to
00:37:30
escape out the back three of them hiding behind trees and shrubs on the fourth rent towards the information center to
00:37:36
warn others and to get help people sitting on buses watched this Martin exited the cafe he stood on the balcony
00:37:43
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
00:37:51
towards the Visitor Information Center people were running in scattering everywhere the Martin was near firing
00:37:58
indiscriminately and no particular target he walked towards the front of the buses whilst the number of people
00:38:04
were moving quickly between them headed towards the water's edge one of the bus drivers was moving along the outer side
00:38:10
of the bus when he was shot and killed as Martin moved towards a group sheltering behind a bus he shot at them
00:38:16
killing one woman injuring another and also injuring the woman from the kitchen who had run to warn them she
00:38:23
would later undergo six operations Martin turned around and fired at another group fleeing towards the jetty
00:38:30
injuring two more people he then walked to the boot of his Volvo and changed weapons he took out of the boot a
00:38:37
semi-automatic 308 self-loading rifle a military style weapon Martin fired it across the water towards
00:38:45
the ruins and then back towards the cafe he walked to the driver's door of his Volvo and for some reason sat
00:38:51
momentarily behind the steering wheel before getting up and walking back towards the buses again
00:38:58
Martin fired out over the field towards the ruins at the back of the soil a woman saw some gravel fly up from the
00:39:05
pathway a foot or two in front of her she was one of the ones who thought this was still a reenactment she marveled at
00:39:11
how ingenious it was that a small explosive device could be implanted in the path making such a realistic effect
00:39:19
at this moment Martin walked up the to people's children behind a tree he's shot at them but missed hitting the tree
00:39:26
instead walking back towards the buses again Martin saw a woman he had shot and wounded earlier she was lying injured on
00:39:33
the ground with one shot he killed her shots were fired into the windows of the first bus but luckily no one was on
00:39:41
board Martin then walked onto the bus next to this one two women sat motionless next
00:39:46
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
00:39:54
shot but managed to get up and run for shelter onto the bus next to the one Martin was on Martin saw him into the
00:40:00
bus and calmly walked on after him the men attempted to hide behind some seats but when he looked up there was a rifle
00:40:07
pointed any before he pulled the trigger Martin said no one gets away from me the man ducked instinctively and the
00:40:16
bullet missed his head and struck him in the neck he felt immediately paralyzed but miraculously regained movement in
00:40:23
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
00:40:29
his arms an American tourist video this encounter when Martin saw in filming his
00:40:36
shot at him but missed striking a nearby car instead survivors described Martin's
00:40:42
demeanor as calm unrushed and is not showing any signs of emotion the first call was made to triple-zero at 1:32
00:40:50
p.m. wendy scre who was working as a tour guide placed the call from the information center within minutes
00:40:58
numerous other calls were made giving more details about what was happening at Port Arthur with 24 dead and 18 injured
00:41:07
behind him Martin Bryant walked back to his car he calmly opened at the driver's
00:41:12
door and got in he started the engine and began beeping the horn and waving firing at his window over the site
00:41:20
towards the ruins he drove along jetty Road towards the toll booth a red Commodore and a gold BMW had entered
00:41:28
through the toll booth entrance and were driving down the road to the a park that were warned by an elderly
00:41:33
man on the way not to go any further as someone was firing shots the driver of the Commodore reversed the small way
00:41:40
before doing in Utah the gold BMW performed a similar maneuver and had come to block the entrance so the red
00:41:47
commodore pulled over under the two occupants got out and started running they were picked up by another couple
00:41:53
and driven to the Port Arthur service station just north of the entrance the golden BMW had a local woman and three
00:42:01
visiting friends inside they stopped at the toll booth and all watched down the road as the yellow Volvo approached them
00:42:08
as Martin was driving up the hill he saw a young mother and her two daughters walking up the road
00:42:13
Martin opened his door and slowed down stopping next to them the mother moved towards the car she and another lady
00:42:21
with her thought it was someone offering them help to escape but someone else recognized Martin as the gunman and
00:42:27
yelled out it's him Martin casually climbed out of his car and pointed his gun with his hand on her shoulder he
00:42:34
instantly shot and killed the mother and one of her daughters the second daughter
00:42:39
attempted to run away the side of the road was lined with trees and she ran to hide behind one in the hopes Martin
00:42:45
wouldn't see her but he had been behind her the whole time with two shots she too lost her life
00:42:52
Martin fired at some people hiding in a bush but missed others further up the road began running
00:42:58
they told drivers of cars coming down the road to go back and many ran on foot down a dirt side road and hit him the
00:43:04
bush as casually as he had exited the car he again got back in and drove towards the toll booth which was manned
00:43:11
by the same person he had paid his 13 dollar entrance fee to earlier Martin pulled up just past the toll booth
00:43:18
approximately level with or slightly behind the gold BMW as Martin shot the toll booth attendant the gold BMW still
00:43:27
with four occupants inside tried to exit onto the main road the woman in the front passenger side of the BMW was
00:43:34
motioning to another vehicle approaching to go back at the same time Martin walked to the rear is a Volvo and
00:43:40
removed the 308 self-loading rifle he shot a repast enger' in the BMW the female driver of the BMW got out and
00:43:48
walked towards Martin she too was fatally shot Martin turned his attention to the two remaining occupants of the
00:43:57
BMW shooting them and dragging them from the car on lookers watched in horror as
00:44:03
he went back to his Volvo and transferred ammunition a set of handcuffs the ar-15 and one container of
00:44:10
petrol into the BMW Martin drove out the exit of Port Arthur leaving behind his yellow Volvo with the surfboard still
00:44:18
attached to the roof racks inside the Volvo he left behind a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun that was fitted
00:44:25
with a magazine containing nine cartridges a gun he would later state he was scared to shoot Martin also left
00:44:32
behind two magazines for the 308 rifle one empty and one containing 17 boyfriend's a magazine for the colt
00:44:40
ar-15 rifle containing 12 live rounds and a cardboard box containing 439 308 caliber cartridges there was a 25 litre
00:44:50
gasoline container containing 20 litres of petrol and a second a 10 liter drum containing 7 litres of petrol plus three
00:44:58
packets of little Lucifer fire starters as Martin drove off another car approached along the road and he shot at
00:45:05
it spraying the driver with glass a second bullet hit the driver's door as the men escaped speeding off down the
00:45:12
road Martin drove towards a nearby service station and with a screeching halt he cut off a white Toyota Corolla
00:45:19
witnesses including the men who had just been shot at watch this Martin waving a
00:45:24
gun around and yelling tried to pull the female passenger from the car as she screamed the male driver got out to
00:45:31
approach Martin who pointed his gun directly at him and forced him into the boot of the BMW the man was pleading
00:45:38
with Martin not to shoot the young woman too scared to move sat trapped in her Corolla trying to crawl over to the
00:45:44
driver's seat in a scrambling panic with just a few slow and steady steps Martin calmly walked to the front of the
00:45:51
car and shot it through the windscreen killing her instantly it was at this point the service station
00:45:59
attendant had everyone inside lie down as he locked the main doors he grabbed his rifle but by the time he could
00:46:06
retrieve some ammunition Martin was back in the BMW and gone a kilometre down the road Martin shot at a
00:46:13
red Ford Falcon driving towards him smashing the windscreen he then made a sharp turn leading back down the road
00:46:19
towards the seascape cottage Martin saw a four-wheel-drive approaching and he pulled over and got out of his car the
00:46:26
female driver of the four-wheel drive and the passenger her boyfriend saw Martin carrying a gun their first
00:46:33
thought was that he was shooting rabbits but then both watched in horror as he lifted his gun and pointed it at them
00:46:39
the woman felt the wind of the first round as it passed her cheek and shattered the driver's window next to
00:46:45
her head Martin then corrected his aim in the second round hit her in the arm the
00:46:50
third round of bullets hit the bonnet and immediately stopped the engine while of a bullet smash the windows
00:46:55
luckily the car was heading down a hill and they were able to roll down and around a corner a further two cars were
00:47:03
shot at and people injured Martin then hurried back to the BMW and sped off down the driveway at the seascape
00:47:10
cottage towards their guest house it was 2 p.m. Martin stopped on the seascape property
00:47:16
beside a tall edge he dragged his hostage from the boot and forced him inside unlocking the front door with the
00:47:23
keys he had stolen earlier he handcuffed his new hostage to a stair rail he then
00:47:29
walked back outside collected his ammunition and then set the BMW a line using the container of petrol after
00:47:37
receiving the first triple-zero call at 1:32 p.m. officers Paul Highland and Garry Whittle were dispatched the call
00:47:44
was that a lone gunman was wreaking terror at the Port Arthur historical site it was not initially clear what was
00:47:51
happening but there were possibly deaths and definitely injuries Highland and wibble were there only two police
00:47:57
officers stationed in the peninsula area that afternoon at the time they got the call there were
00:48:03
30 kilometres of 19 miles away responding to a call out to saltwater river someone had reported white powder
00:48:09
found in jars which would later turn out to be washing piata it would take them over 20 minutes at high speed to get to
00:48:16
the Port Arthur area a conference was scheduled to be held in the north of the state in the days following and police
00:48:23
resources were not on hand in the area as they would normally be Highland and Whittle were told to stay on the lookout
00:48:29
for a yellow Volvo the officers drove in different police vehicles and headed off
00:48:34
on two different routes giving them a better chance of seeing the car it is not common police practice for officers
00:48:40
to separate especially when a man with a gun is on the loose but we've no other backup close by the officers knew it was
00:48:47
necessary constable we'd all took the most the rep route to Port Arthur with constable Highland taking the longer
00:48:54
route via Tirana in an attempt to cut off any escape by the gunman radio broadcasts kept updating his new calls
00:49:01
were made to triple zero constable Highland to stop that the shot at four-wheel drive on the road near the
00:49:07
seascape cottage constable Whittle headed towards the Port Arthur general store then they teamed back up and set
00:49:14
off for the seascape cottage the officers arrived after 2:00 p.m. they saw a BMW on fire with black heavy smoke
00:49:22
billowing from the vehicle the back half had not yet caught a lot it was obvious
00:49:27
the fire had not long started constable Highland had decided to drive further north up the road to stop any traffic
00:49:33
from coming down as he did so he caught a brief glimpse of a figure running past
00:49:38
one of the cottages towards the entrance of the main residence constable Highland
00:49:43
stopped his vehicle across the roadway about four hundred meters north of seascape and remained in this position
00:49:48
for some time constable Whittle meanwhile had positioned his vehicle at an angle
00:49:53
across the highway outside the seascape entrance to block northbound traffic after hearing a loud explosion coming
00:50:00
from the direction of the burning BMW constable Whittle took cover at the rear of his police vehicle about 2:10 p.m.
00:50:08
Martin received a call from a reporter from the ABC television station who was randomly ringing local businesses trying
00:50:15
to receive information about what was occurring Martin answered the phone and told her
00:50:20
his name was Jamie the reporter asked him if he knew what was happening to which he replied lots of fun Martin then
00:50:27
told her that if she found him again he would shoot his hostage at through our 8:00 p.m. and again at 3:25 p.m. the
00:50:35
girlfriend of Constable Highland received two telephone calls Harland was by now hiding in a ditch outside
00:50:41
seascape the calls were from Martin Bryant who was again calling himself Jamie Martin asked Highlands girlfriend
00:50:50
if she knew where her husband was and if she knew whether or not her husband was
00:50:54
ok when she didn't answer Martin said that he knew where her husband was and used constable violins
00:51:01
name Martin knew exactly who the officers waiting outside were remember constable Whittle was the officer who
00:51:09
was with Martin when he identified his father's body sergeant Andrew Fogarty from the Special Operations group
00:51:15
arrived shortly afterwards together with constable Pat Palin from the traffic operations group constable Pat Allen
00:51:22
reversed his police vehicle from the direction of Port Arthur towards a constable whittles vehicle as he did so
00:51:28
constable Whittle heard three very loud shots from the direction of seascape bullets passed over constable Allen's
00:51:34
vehicle hitting bush or shrubbery to his right constable Whittle was then joined by
00:51:38
constable Allen and they both also took cover in a ditch off the side of the road during their time in the ditch a
00:51:46
large number of shots were fired in their general direction from several different weapons every time they moved
00:51:52
Martin would fire them as well as his own firearms Martin now had access to a considerable number of firearms owned by
00:51:59
members of the Martin family inside seascape specialist teams were put into place
00:52:05
assistant commissioner Lupo Prince initiated the SAC pave national anti-terrorist plan that had been
00:52:11
endorsed the previous year November 1995 a Police major incident room was set up
00:52:17
at police headquarters with Lupo Prince being the commander a police forward command post was set up at Tirana where
00:52:24
superintendent Bennett was the forward commander the hostage situation required police negotiators and by 2:25 p.m. a
00:52:33
team was formed under sergeant Terry McCarthy at 3:30 p.m. the first negotiators phone call is placed to the
00:52:40
landline inside seascape cottages Martin entered and continued to refer to himself as Jamie by 4:30 p.m. the phone
00:52:49
company had established the secure telephone line permitting a member of the negotiation team to communicate
00:52:55
directly by telephone with Bryant from that time until about 9:30 p.m. the police hostage negotiator made contact
00:53:01
with Martin on several separate occasions during these calls Martin maintained the hostages were
00:53:07
alive claiming them something to eat and given them during the phone calls Martin
00:53:49
made comments about things he knew from the hostage taking in the boot of his car leading investigators to assume he
00:53:55
had some dialogue with the hostage Martin demanded to be provided with a helicopter to take him to Hobart Airport
00:54:02
where he then wanted to be flown to Adelaide he threatened to kill his hostages if these demands were not met
00:54:08
he said that when the helicopter arrived intended to take one hostage with him and release the others around the 9:00
00:54:16
p.m. police special operations group members arrived from Victoria to assist the Tasmanian Special Operations Group
00:54:23
as shots were still being fired they couldn't approach the house or open fire themselves for fear of hurting one
00:54:30
of the three hostages they didn't know for sure if they was still alive but they had to assume they were the Special
00:54:37
Operations Group were able to get officers Whittle and Allen out of their ditch under the cover of darkness
00:54:43
wearing riot shields and bullet resistant jackets at 11:35 p.m. a request was made for the coroner to
00:54:51
attempt police felt the outcome was looking brave during the seascape siege Martin could see the movements of the
00:54:58
Special Operations Group officers he continually demanded their retreat each time they began to approach the house he
00:55:05
appeared to have excellent awareness of the events around him a man was spotted on the roof of an adjacent building at
00:55:11
one point which is assumed had to be Martin later in the night the cordless phone Martin was using began to run low
00:55:18
on batteries police tried unsuccessfully to get him to return the phone to the charger but it went dead and there were
00:55:24
no further communications the siege continued throughout the night and apart from a lull between the hours of 4:00
00:55:31
a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on the 29th of April Martin continued to discharge firearms in various directions from the upper
00:55:37
floor of the residence several different weapons were used and in excess of 150 shots were fired at no stage did any of
00:55:47
the Special Operations Group police returned fire because of the risk to the hostages an 8 a.m. on the 29th of April
00:55:54
18 hours after Martin arrived at seascape cottage the house was set ablaze the upstairs portion of the house
00:56:01
was on fire and there were flames coming partly down the lower level the fire was
00:56:06
spreading slowly but Martin was still firing shots so police couldn't approach thirty minutes after the fire started
00:56:12
Martin Bryant walked out of a cottage his clothes on fire he taunted police to come and get him he was tackled to the
00:56:20
ground and the fire was extinguished he was escorted by heavily armed Special Operations officers to a nearby
00:56:28
imbalance and taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital survivors of the shooting were being treated in the same hospital
00:56:35
Marvin was quickly ushered into a section segregated from survivors after putting out the fire which had destroyed
00:56:41
much of the large main cottage three bodies were discovered in the rubble David and Nolan Martin were found all
00:56:48
been killed before the rampage at Port Arthur started the third body was the hostage Martin had taken on the highway
00:56:55
it is still unknown exactly when he died but he was the 35th person Martin Bryant
00:57:00
killed that day the two to three ar-15 semiautomatic rifle that Martin had used to murder most of his victims was
00:57:08
recovered from the wreckage of the seascape cottage the other rifle was discovered on the balcony roof of the
00:57:14
small cottage to the south of the burnt-out main residence in the days that followed police conducted an
00:57:21
extensive search of Martin's house in Clair Street Newton in the hallway of the residents lying open were two
00:57:27
plastic gun cases they also found two gun cleaning kits a third canvas gun case and the two-to-three caliber
00:57:35
automatic self-loading rifle also recovered from Martins house was a large quantity of 38 caliber and two to three
00:57:42
caliber ammunition in an upstairs bedroom and in one of the lower front rooms secreted in the bottom of two
00:57:49
separate pianos were two leather ammunition belts containing two 308 caliber cartridges and thirty two to
00:57:56
three caliber cartridges together with several boxes of ammunition and two magazines
00:58:02
in total 1491 308 caliber into 246 two to three caliber live rounds of ammunition were seized from Martin
00:58:12
Bryan's home on the evening of Monday the 29th of April detective Inspector John Warren unsuccessfully attempted to
00:58:20
interview Martin in his room at the Royal Hobart Hospital at that time Martin was sedated Detective Inspector
00:58:27
warrant returned the following morning Martin's response to the allegations was that he didn't know anything and had
00:58:34
been a long way from Port Arthur surfing he said I've been unjustly accused Martin the declined to participate in a
00:58:43
video recorded interview an Inspector warrant then formally arrested him for the murder of one of the victims Cape
00:58:48
Elizabeth Scott on Monday the 6th of May 1996 the Port Arthur task force was established under the overall command of
00:58:58
Superintendent Jack Johnston with detective inspectors Warren and Payne maintaining control of the ongoing
00:59:03
investigation on the 4th of July 1996 after obtaining the permission of Martin's then defense lawyer mr. Gunson
00:59:12
inspectors Warren and Payne conducted an interview with Martin at Risdon prison he remembers 28 survivors and identified
00:59:20
issues I said the days everyone's talking about during the course of this interview
00:59:30
Martin admitted ownership of the colt ar-15 rifle he further admitted to kidnapping a male
00:59:36
person and ordering him at gunpoint into the boot of the BMW and then driving the
00:59:41
BMW to seascape however at all times throughout the interview Martin denied that he had ever entered the Port Arthur
00:59:48
Historic Site on the 28th of April and denied shooting anyone his account of the kidnapping on the highway and the
00:59:55
stealing of the BMW were contradictory to witness accounts police paramedics and forensic experts would later break
01:00:02
down when they were asked to describe the scene inside the cafe witnesses to the shooting found it difficult to find
01:00:08
the words to describe what happened the Port Arthur massacre excluding the time at seascape had lasted about 30 minutes
01:00:16
in total 35 were dead 23 injured many seriously injured nothing could prepare surgeons and nurses at Hobart Hospital
01:00:26
for what was to come or what they would see gunshot wounds had left gaping holes
01:00:31
where bullets had gone straight through whole parts of bodies were missing blood
01:00:36
loss had been enormous coincidentally on that Sunday morning 25 specialists doctors based all over Australia from
01:00:44
the Royal Australian College of Surgeons had attended a training course in Hobart
01:00:48
and their last lecture was on terrorist attacks and gunshot wounds they stayed on to help take care of the wounded
01:00:55
victims in an effort to explain what had happened police escorted hundreds of reporters on to the Port Arthur site as
01:01:02
well as close by after seascape yellow paint markings over the carpark and cafe area signified whether dead and injured
01:01:09
had fallen after this more than 700 reporters from 17 nations attended there was a media frenzy a quote from reporter
01:01:18
Colin James in an article for the Adelaide Advertiser nothing could get anyone ready for the
01:01:24
grief and anguish of those who lost somebody or the sense of sadness hanging in the crisp Tasmanian air like a heavy
01:01:30
cloud Australians have found it impossible to grasp but as such a wanton slaughter could happen in a place of
01:01:36
such breadth taking beauty and serenity like Tasmania Martin Bryant lay in bed in the Royal Hobart Hospital
01:01:44
he was separated from his survivors some of whom were still fighting for their lives six days after the massacre
01:01:51
Tasmanian police officer Phil pike who was the first officer on the scene in the search for Maurice Bryant years
01:01:57
earlier described the guarding Martin the following is taken from no te and wrote during that time I commenced my
01:02:05
shift at 6:00 a.m. with two other members from the prosecution section and another from the radio room Bryant was
01:02:12
asleep in the end Ward with all external door secured hospital security assisted
01:02:17
by police staffed the locked entry doors untrained for this type of situation they were very nervous the prison
01:02:24
officers sat at the entrance to Bryant's room a large room with normally four beds now only house is alleged killer as
01:02:32
Brian had been formally charged and detained he was in the custody of the Justice Department not Tasmania police
01:02:40
looking around the corner my first view was of a huddled figure under brown sheets he's had a massive burnt hair in
01:02:47
the darkness I couldn't tell if he was asleep or awake and watching us the room smell of burnt skin which I could
01:02:55
thankfully only faintly detect due to having a limited sense of smell our briefing said Bryant previously had made
01:03:03
threats towards the nursing staff making shooting motions with his hands the lights of the room came on as the relief
01:03:10
shift for the prison staff arrived pulling back the sheets to check his handcuffs his severely burned body was
01:03:17
covered with the knitted bandage commonly used for burn victims looking at Bryant's lying in the bed I wondered
01:03:23
how I could protect him if anyone forced their way into the ward to harm him we had received unvalidated reports of
01:03:30
people flying from the mainland to try and kill him suspects had allegedly made a
01:03:35
reconnaissance of the area - making application for security positions at the hospital I made up my mind to
01:03:42
protect the prison officers and nursing stuff but not Bryant if anyone came through the door with firearms
01:03:49
having perhaps this decision wouldn't have been sound judgment but with 26 hours sleep over five days I was
01:03:56
sleep-deprived like many others I saw his behavior change from being completely childlike to that of an evil
01:04:03
killer many times over the day with one incident in particular involving me as I
01:04:09
chatted with one of the prison officers who lived in my hometown I was aware Bryant was watching me intently looking
01:04:15
towards him Bryant slowly closed his eyes as if he was falling asleep when I looked away he fixed me with a stare I
01:04:23
described as pure evil this was the killer the person I knew was capable of having carried out those murders it was
01:04:32
at this point there was no doubt in my mind he had committed this crime after going through the past few days and
01:04:39
remembering his victims I pulled my stool towards him as he opened his eyes and again fixed me with that evil stare
01:04:45
I tapped my fingers on the outside of my holster saying if you get out of those handcuffs Martin this is for you as I
01:04:53
fight back unlike your other victims after this engagement he no longer held any eye contact with me I heard Bryant
01:05:03
described his love of action movies especially those with Steven Seagal which linked in with my observations
01:05:08
inside his house on the morning of 29 April when asked about certain people I heard Bryant say I hated the Martins I
01:05:17
did it because they were the worst people in my life as I now know the owners of seascape were killed first in
01:05:23
the chain of events on April 28 bend each changing was hard as the badly injured Bryant was in pain after one
01:05:32
session of nursing staff changing the bandages Bryant said in his childlike voice thank you for looking after me in
01:05:38
treating me so kindly the nurse fled the room in tears personally struggling to show compassion to this spree killer his
01:05:47
voice was often regressed to quiet and childlike when he wanted something it was always please could I have
01:05:53
something to eat please I need to go to the toilet Bryant was always childlike with the
01:06:00
ability to instantly switch into the killer with a look of pure evil knowing him before having worked at the
01:06:06
scene observed inside his house and now at the hospital it is my belief Bryant saw himself as an action hero of some
01:06:14
nature for me there remains no logic in the madness and evil which took place at
01:06:19
Port Arthur prior to facing court Martin was examined by court-appointed psychiatrist
01:06:27
Ian sail who diagnosed Bryant with Asperger's syndrome psychiatrist Paul Mullen hired at the request of Martin's
01:06:35
legal counsel also examined him he found that Martin was socially and intellectually impaired but did not
01:06:41
display signs of schizophrenia or a mood disorder Mullen disagreed with sales analysis of Bryant Sale believes that
01:06:49
Bryant showed a combination of conduct disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
01:06:54
whereas Mullen concluded though mr. Bryant was clearly a distressed and disturbed young man he was not mentally
01:07:01
ill a psychiatric report was conducted by Martin's defense intended to clarify to the court why an insanity plea was
01:07:09
not considered appropriate and to at least outlined some of the factors which contributed to the actions of Martin it
01:07:16
was conducted in hospital on the 4th of May 1996 and lasted three and a half hours the report stated Martin was
01:07:24
anxious but gradually relaxed as the interview progressed he was receiving medication for pain but this did not
01:07:31
produce any disorientation or obvious disorganization in his state of mind he initially denied memories of the
01:07:38
offences but subsequently gave a fuller account he presented initially as a normal man coherent but with limited
01:07:45
vocabulary it was only when they attempted to test his comprehension skills and numeracy that the extent of
01:07:52
his intellectual limitation became clear Martin's intelligence was tested on a number of occasions the extensive the
01:07:59
testing revealed a full scale IQ of 66 making him intellectually in the lowest 1 to 2 percent of the population
01:08:07
although a measure of intelligence is of practicable significance than functional
01:08:12
capacities and it was clear that Martin had functioning capabilities he functioned in the community lived
01:08:19
independently albeit with the assistance and financial constraints provided by a
01:08:23
guardian he managed if not only to function in his everyday in routine environment but also managed to cope
01:08:29
with trips interstate and overseas he was described as having a fascination with weapons with his money came access
01:08:37
to weapons with enormous potential for destruction the court would hear that while interviewed Martin would refer to
01:08:44
the massacre as the accident he claimed to have no memory of the shootings or the events leading up to it he would
01:08:51
state he only remembered driving the BMW at a higher speed but he would go on to
01:08:56
recall some of the events in a later interview he confirmed that he had been planning the massacre at Port Arthur for
01:09:02
a few weeks prior including the attack on the Martins Martin Brian stated in one of his interviews it was set in my
01:09:10
mind it was just set that Sunday I wasn't worried about losing my property or never seeing my girlfriend again it
01:09:17
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
01:09:25
trial and his trial was scheduled to begin on the 7th of November 1996 he initially pleaded not guilty but was
01:09:32
persuaded by his court-appointed lawyer John Avery and at the prosecution to plead guilty to all charges
01:09:39
sidenote martin's lawyer John Avery was later jailed for four years he stole over half a million dollars from clients
01:09:46
and his law firm Martin's sentencing hearing the court heard he behaved deceptively to those close to him
01:09:53
regarding his possession and use of firearms he hid the firearms and ammunition around his house had a view
01:10:01
from others the court heard his acts of preparation included buying a sports bag
01:10:06
to conceal one of his weapons he also talked with him handcuffs rope and a hunting knife three semi-automatic
01:10:12
weapons and a significant quantity of ammunition he followed through a series of actions which culminated in a hostage
01:10:19
and siege which had an air of pre-planning he clearly intended to embark upon violence and murderous conduct it was
01:10:28
found with the money he had inherited he researched and purchased the colt ar-15
01:10:32
semiautomatic weapon for $5,000 he also legally purchased these other firearms just months prior to the massacre Martin
01:10:41
visited the Port Arthur Historic Site on a number of occasions these visits to Port Arthur suggest the shooting was
01:10:47
premeditated on the 13th of March 96 weeks before the Port Arthur shooting a 43 year-old suspected pedophile Thomas
01:10:56
Hamilton living in the Scottish town of Dunblane opened fire at the Dunblane primary school killing 16 children and
01:11:03
one teacher before committing suicide media coverage of this event is presumed to have been the trigger for Martin
01:11:10
Bryant to act apart from a stack of old newspapers gun magazines were the only literature found inside Martin's house
01:11:18
the local newsagent said he would often browse through the latest issues of gun magazines inquiries with local gun shop
01:11:26
owners revealed Martin asked the gunsmith to check and service several high-powered semi-automatic weapons
01:11:31
prior to the shooting why he wanted the weapons serviced is now horrifyingly clear but exactly what
01:11:37
made him snap is not at sentencing psychiatrist Paul Mullen who was appointed by Martins defense said the
01:11:46
following Martin Bryant currently does not have the science and the symptoms of a mental illness he is however by virtue
01:11:53
of his personality and intellectual limitations both of reduced coping ability and of increased psychological
01:11:59
vulnerability firstly it is abundantly clear that at the time of the commission of these crimes and at the present day
01:12:06
the accused is not criminally insane secondly although it has been thought in his early years that perhaps he suffers
01:12:13
schizophrenia it can conclusively be claimed that there is no evidence to support the notion that this man has a
01:12:19
schizophrenic illness thirdly it appears that the accused that does not fit into
01:12:24
any neat pigeonhole of particular mental illness fourthly he clearly is intellectually disabled and without the
01:12:32
support of his father and Miss Harvey and with the access to funds he regrettably found himself able with
01:12:38
ferocious consequence to carry out this mass destruction finally your honor it would be quite apparent the accused
01:12:45
revels in the notoriety is achieved but in a simple way he accepts the enormity of his actions and as a result has
01:12:53
instructed me to comment on penalty Martin Bryant was sentenced by Supreme Court Judge William Cox to 35 life
01:13:01
sentences for the murders plus 1000 and 35 years for other crimes committed Judge Cox ordered that Martin should
01:13:09
remain in prison for the rest of his life the coroner deemed an inquest unnecessary on the basis that the
01:13:16
primary facts of the various deaths are already known this was supported by the Attorney General Martin Bryant was the
01:13:24
first killer in Australia to be sentenced without the possibility of parole for the first eight months of his
01:13:31
imprisonment he was held in a purpose-built special suicide prevention cell in almost complete solitary
01:13:36
confinement he then remained in protective custody for his own safety as other inmates whispered plans to kill
01:13:43
him on the 13th of November 2006 Bryant was moved into Hobart's Wilford lobe Center
01:13:50
a secure mental health unit run by the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services the 35 bed unit for inmates
01:13:58
with serious mental illness is staffed with doctors nurses and other support workers inmates are not locked down and
01:14:05
can come and go from their selves exterior security at the facility is provided by a three wall perimeter
01:14:11
patrolled by private contract guards Martin attempted suicide on the 25th of March 2007 by slashing his wrists with a
01:14:19
razor blade two days later he cut his throat with another razor blade he would attempt to suicide eight times in total
01:14:27
Martin is now housed in the maximum-security wisdom prison near Hobart the Port Arthur massacre prompted
01:14:35
a severe crackdown on firearms in Australia due to the weapons used - during the massacre and the fact that
01:14:41
Martin Bryant was able to purchase them easily and legally the Australian government established two new yours
01:14:46
that heavily restricted the availability of firearms legal ownership and use of self-loading rifles self-loading
01:14:53
shotguns and pump-action shotguns were either banned or heavily restricted the australian government introduced the
01:15:00
National Firearms agreement legislation that outlawed automatic and semi-automatic rifles as well as
01:15:06
pump-action shotguns the nationwide gun buyback scheme and gun amnesty saw more than 640,000 weapons turned into
01:15:14
authorities Prime Minister John Howard faced political and public resistance to the laws after just three months as the
01:15:22
country's leader howard wore a bulletproof vest as he addressed the hostile 3,000 strong crowd opposed to
01:15:28
the gun reforms howard told NBC News years later the laws had widespread public support but faced fierce
01:15:36
opposition from some rural supporters because they believed that they were unfairly paying a price for the misdeeds
01:15:42
of others Howard persisted with introducing the laws and went on to win that election
01:15:48
and lead Australia for more than a decade he considers the gun reforms as a key part of his legacy
01:15:55
gun-related homicides decreased 7.5 percent per year following the reforms while firearm related suicides also fell
01:16:03
although there have been calls to revisit the laws most Australians haven't looked back and still support
01:16:09
the laws to this day howard told NBC America on the 20-year anniversary of the massacre that he acknowledges major
01:16:16
cultural and historical differences which make it difficult to draw comparisons between the gun cultures in
01:16:22
the US and Australia a number of conspiracy theories have arisen after the Port Arthur massacre
01:16:29
many have cited Australian politicians making predictions that only a massacre involving dozens of fatalities would
01:16:35
spark massive gun control legislation I'm not getting into them in detail there are websites out there if you're
01:16:41
that way inclined but quickly one of the main points brought up is the accuracy of Martin's shooting in the Broad Arrow
01:16:47
cafe in the gift shop 32 people shot with 29 bullets in under 90 seconds and most of those killed suffered head shots
01:16:57
they also claimed the shooter was firing from his hip which makes accuracy even more difficult and they claimed the
01:17:04
shooter was right-handed Martin Bryant is left-handed the 35 people murdered by Martin Bryant were David Martin 72 Nolan
01:17:15
Martin 69 mo Yin 48 su Ling Chun 32 Kate Scott 21 Anthony Nightingale 48 Kevin sharp 68 Raymond sharp 67 Walter Bennett
01:17:34
66 Andrew Mills 49 Tony Kirsten 51 Sarah Layton 15 Mervyn Howard 55 Mary Howard 57 Elizabeth Howard 26 Nicole Burgess 17
01:17:52
Dennis lever 53 Gwen mender 67 jason winter 29 Ronald Jerry 71 Peter Nash 32 Pauline masters 49 Royce Thompson 59
01:18:10
Winifred appling 58 Jeanette Quinn 50 elder Gaylord 48 Robert salesman 58 Helene salesman 50 Russell Pollard 72
01:18:25
Mary Rose Nixon 60 Zoey Hall 28 Glenn piers 35 Nanette me cake 36 Madeleine me cake 3
01:18:37
Alana me cake 6 Walton me cake lost his wife and two young daughters on the road
01:18:46
leading up to the toll booth he said I truly believe the power of love and creation will always triumph over the
01:18:54
power of destruction and revenge he has gone on to set up a foundation for the protection of children against violence
01:19:01
called AMF the Alannah and Madeline Foundation [Music] you