Seascape Cottage, after the fire
April 28, 1996: A gun massacre leads to the changing of law in Australia.
Martin Bryant, a mentally ill man from Hobart, Tasmania, about to turn 29, had allegedly told a next-door neighbor, "I'll do something that will make everyone remember me." He became fascinated with a gun massacre in Dunblane, Scotland on March 13, 1996, and planned a similar mass shooting.
His first victims, David and Noelene Martin, owned Seascape Cottage, a bed and breakfast guest house in Port Arthur, Tasmania that Bryant's father, Maurice, had wanted to buy. Maurice fell into a depression and committed suicide, and Martin wanted revenge.
He then drove to Port Arthur Historic Site, a location associated with Australia's founding period. After eating in the cafeteria, he started shooting. He got in his car and drove, and fired out the window to shoot others. He then pulled over, stole another car, and killed its occupants.
He went back to the guest house with a hostage, but refused to negotiate with the police. He tried to escape by setting fire to the house, but couldn't, and was burned. He was captured and taken to Royal Hobart Hospital, where he was treated and kept under heavy guard.
In total, he shot 58 people, 35 of whom died. It was the largest killing in Australian history. He pleaded guilty to all charges.
The massacre led to a reassessment of Australia's gun laws by the newly elected government of Prime Minister John Howard. The National Firearms Agreement between state and federal governments was announced within two weeks of the massacre, establishing heavy restrictions on the use of automatic and semi-automatic weapons, and creating a gun buyback program, a national gun registry, and a waiting period for firearm sales.
Gun control advocates like to say that there hasn't been a mass shooting in Australia since. But, like the "gun rights" advocates tend to do, they're not telling the truth. Between April 29, 1996 and April 27, 2022, there were 23 shootings in Australia with 4 or more people wounded -- which is the American definition of a "mass shooting." However, only 2 of those have had 5 or more deaths, peaking at 7.
Still, that's a better record, even per capita, than in America. When the biggest massacre in its history occurred, Australia did something about it. When mass shootings occur in America, the federal government does nothing.
As of April 28, 2022, Bryant is serving 35 life sentences, plus 1,035 years without the possibility of parole, at Risdon Prison in Hobart.
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April 28, 1996 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. Jimmy Key started for the Yankees, but they trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the 6th inning. Their comeback included a home run by Paul O'Neill, to make a winning pitcher out of not-yet-closer Mariano Rivera. Rookie Derek Jeter, batting 9th, went 0-for-4.
* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Jeff Kent hit a home run. Bobby Jones was the winning pitcher.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-7 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Rangers scored 4 runs in the top of the 10th inning, and the O's could only come back with 3 in the bottom half. Cal Ripken went 0-for-5.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 17-3 at the SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) in Toronto. The Tribe got home runs from Sandy Alomar Jr. (no surprise), Albert Belle (no surprise) and Álvaro Espinoza (big surprise).
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the California Angels, 10-1 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Seattle Mariners, 16-9 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Ken Griffey Jr. had an odd stat-line: 0-for-0 with 3 walks, and an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Colorado Rockies, 21-9 at Coors Field in Denver. Mark Grudzielanek went 5-for-7 with 2 RBIs. He did not hit a home run. David Segui went 2-for-4 with 6 RBIs. He did not hit a home run. F.P. Santangelo did hit one, going 4-for-6 with 5 RBIs. Darren Fletcher also hit one, going 2-for-5 with 5 RBIs.
* The Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Uncharacteristically, Tony Gwynn went 0-for-4.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Frank Castillo pitched a 6-hit shutout.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Florida Marlins, 10-4 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs. He did not hit a home run, but Matt Williams and Mark Carreon did.
* The Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals were rained out at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The game was made up the next day. The Braves won, 4-1.
* And the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds were rained out at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 25. The Reds won, 9-1 and 3-1.
Football was out of season. There were 4 games played in the NBA Playoffs:
* The Orlando Magic beat the Detroit Pistons, 92-77 at the Orlando Arena. Shaquille O'Neal scored 29 points.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat, 106-75 at the United Center in Chicago. Michael Jordan scored 29 points.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns, 110-105 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. David Robinson scored 40 points and grabbed 21 rebounds.
* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 90-81 at the KeyArena in Seattle. Mitch Richmond scored 37 points.
And there were 3 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
* In an "Original Six" matchup: The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-3 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.
* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the USAir Arena (formerly the Capital Centre) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-1 at the Winnipeg Arena. This was the last game for the original version of the Jets, as they moved to Phoenix the next season. I have a separate entry for that event. The Atlanta Thrashers became the new Winnipeg Jets in 2011.
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