A piercing moment of silence fell at 1:28 pm on Tuesday as Australia marked 30 years since its worst massacre. The names of Martin Bryant's 35 victims were read aloud during an emotional gathering at Port Arthur, where victims' families, survivors, and first responders came together to honour those lost on April 28, 1996.
Survivors speak of remembrance and resilience
Standing on the ground that became a killing field, a roll call of innocent lives was read out. Survivor Jane Scholefield, who hid behind a wall to escape the gunman, attended the service and helped rewrite the narrative of Australia's deadliest shooting.
"By remembering, we honour those people, not just how they died, but how they lived," she said.
The horror of that day
On that day in 1996, evil arrived at Port Arthur. Bryant murdered 35 people, with 20 executed in the Broad Arrow Cafe in just 90 seconds. For the first time in three decades, survivor Peter Croswell attended a commemorative service.
"In the cafe, I witnessed from when he walked into the main body of the cafe, I was watching his feet. So I saw everything that happened and the aftermath," Croswell told 7NEWS. "There's not a day goes by where I don't think of some aspect of it. It's changed me as a person."
Families torn apart
Families were torn apart in a split second, including Walter Mikac's, who lost his wife and two young daughters. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Mikac's advocacy, saying: "We think of Walter Mikac, who channelled his devastating life into a call for national action on gun law reform."
Concerns over gun ownership
But Tasmania now has the highest rate of gun ownership in the country, with one firearm for every four people. There are growing concerns that the lessons from what happened three decades ago are being forgotten over time.
"As we look to the next generation, it is our responsibility to share this history, so they can build a future shaped not by violence, but by compassion," Scholefield said.
