Today is the 30th anniversary of the Port Arthur Massacre. On 28 April 1996, Martin Bryant shot and killed 35 people, including 4 children, and wounding 23 others. The Online Hate Prevention Institute joins the rest of Australia in remembering those who were killed, those who were injured, and the families whose lives were changed forever.
The shooting at Port Arthur was the deadliest massacre in modern Australian history. People were targeted indiscriminately by an attacker who was intellectually disabled, mentally unstable, and acting out a psychopathic desire to achieve notoriety. In response to the massacre the Howard administration established the National Firearms Agreement – the foundation of what has been considered globally as one of the best examples of effective gun control measures.
In this article we examine the public responses to three posts commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Port Arthur Massacre. One is front a charity created in response to the massacre, one from an Australian Facebook page with a large following, and the third is a post by Australia’s Prime Minister to commemoratemark the day.
Alannah & Madeline Foundation
The Alannah & Madeline Foundation is named after two sisters who, along with their mother Nanette, were killed in the Port Arthur Massacre. Six days before the anniversary they invited the public to write a message of support for those impacted by the Port Arthur massacre in their virtual Memorial Garden.
The post has 1,100 reactions all of which are appropriate. Most are expressions of caring, many are likes for the post or loves, and 67 are crying.
The post also received 132 comments. These were appropriate and a selection of them are shared below.
Aussie Life’s Post
A post by the Facebook page Aussie Life (194K followers) shares a picture of memorial candles at the sight of Port Arthur and the message “In loving memory of the 35 people who lost their lives in the Port Arthur Massacre, 1996”.
The text accompanying the image describes the massacre as one of Australia’s darkest moments, sharing that it took 35 lives and left many others injured, and saying it became “the deadliest mass shooting in modern Australian history”.
The post provides detail of the attack which occurred across multiple sites as the shooter sought more victims. It describes the response, the ban on many automatic weapons and stricter gun laws overall, which it says changed Australia’s approach to public safety. The post says we pause to remember the victims, the families, and a moment that reshaped a nation.
The post received 2,300 reactions, only one was the “Ha Ha” emoji signaling derision.
The post also received 117 comments. These examples illustrate thoughtful and appropriate ways to commemorate the tragedy of Port Arthur in the digital space.
The Prime Minister’s Message
A message by the Prime Minister posted on the day of the anniversary reflects on the “terrible, indiscriminate cruelty of that day” saying that it “remains beyond understanding”. He said that “Australia pauses today to remember the 35 people whose lives and futures were so pitilessly stolen” and that we “think of everyone whose world was shattered by the loss”.
The Prime Minister wrote, “Our hearts go out to everyone who has lived with decades of loss, and every survivor and loved one who is no longer with us but was shadowed by an inconsolable grief for the rest of their days.”
Prime Minister Albanese praised the first responders on the day and the Tasmanian community which came together after the attack. He praised Walter Mikac, the father of Alannah and Madeline, and husband of Nanette, discussed in the previous post, who channeled his grief into a call for national action on gun reform. He praised the Government (John Howard’s Coalition government) and the Parliament of the day for acting on that call for gun reform.
The Prime Minister ended by saying, “Three decades on from that day when our nation stopped, let us stand together as we stood together then, united in love for everyone who never came home.”
The post received 4,100 reactions, most were appropriate while 16 expressed the “Ha Ha” emoji of derision which is entirely inappropriate. Still, we are encouraged that this represented less than 0.4% of responses.
The post also received 1,500 comments. Unlike the previous two posts, the ones on the Prime Minister’s post included both appropriate responses and those promoting conspiracy theories or seeking to make partisan attacks on the Prime Minister. In our view such comments are disrespectful at a time when the nation is trying to come together to mourn.
Appropriate comments:
Inappropriate comments:
These final comments demonstrates “up standing”. This is where posters push back against the inappropriate comments:
We remember those who lost their lives:
Winifred Joyce Aplin, 58;
Walter John Bennett, 66;
Nicole Louise Burgess, 17;
Sou Leng Chung, 32;
Elva Rhonda Gaylard, 48;
Zoe Anne Hall, 28;
Elizabeth Jayne Howard, 26;
Mary Elizabeth Howard, 57;
Mervyn John Howard, 55;
Ronald Noel Jary, 71;
Tony Vadivelu Kistan, 51;
Leslie Dennis Lever, 53;
Sarah Kate Loughton, 15;
David Martin, 72;
Noelene “Sally” Joyce Martin, 69;
Pauline Virjeana Masters, 49;
Alannah Louise Mikac, 6;
Madeline Grace Mikac, 3;
Nanette Patricia Mikac, 36;
Andrew Bruce Mills, 39;
Peter Brenton Nash, 32;
Gwenda Joan Neander, 67;
William Xeeng Ng, 48;
Anthony Nightingale, 44;
Mary Rose Nixon, 60;
Glenn Roy Pears, 35;
Russell James Pollard, 72;
Janette Kathleen Quin, 50;
Helene Maria Salzmann, 50;
Robert Graham Salzmann, 57;
Kate Elizabeth Scott, 21;
Kevin Vincent Sharp, 68;
Raymond John Sharp, 67;
Royce William Thompson, 59; and
Jason Bernard Winter, 29.
Read OHPI’s latest report: Australian responses to the attack on London ambulances.
Read J-Wire’s coverage: Report warns of coordinated disinformation after London attack on Jewish ambulances.
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