A tragedy where [Martin Bryant]
?, a deranged, mentally handicapped young man, used a semi-automatic rifle to kill 35 people on a "murder spree" on April 29, 1996 at the ruins of the [Port Arthur Prison Colony]
?, a popular historic tourist site in south-eastern
Tasmania.
Bryant was captured immediately afterwards, was convicted of murder and is currently serving life imprisonment.
The subsequent outcry around Australia saw the virtual banning of all self-loading rifles and shotguns, and considerable tightening of other gun laws around the country.