June 16, 2025 • 25 mins
Nearly 30 years have passed since the Port Arthur massacre — one of the darkest and most devastating events in Australia's history.
On April 28, 1996, a lone gunman, Martin Bryant, carried out the country’s deadliest mass shooting, killing 35 people and injuring 23 others in and around the historic Port Arthur site in Tasmania.
For decades, the question of why he did it has haunted survivors, investigators, and the nation. Now, new insights are finally beginning to shed light on what may have driven Bryant to commit such an unfathomable act.
This is the story of that day — the lives lost, the trauma endured, and the search for answers — as told through the eyes of survivor Anita Bingham.
CREDITS
Guest: Anita Bingham
Host: Jessie Stephens & Claire Murphy
Audio Producer: Ian Camilleri
Producer: Gia Moylan
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Tell us what you think of the show via email at truecrime@mamamia.com.au
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
True Crime Conversations acknowledges the traditional owners of land and
waters that this podcast was recorded on. For those of
us who remember this unfolding on our TV screens, it's
hard to believe that it's been nearly thirty years since
the Port Arthur massacre, one of the most devastating events
in Australian history. It's only now, all these years later,
(00:27):
that we're finally starting to understand what really drove Martin
Bryant to commit such a horrific crime. A recently uncovered
psychiatric report, never released to the public until now, reveals
what Bryant told a forensic psychiatrist just days after the
massacre while recovering in hospital. According to the report, Bryant's
(00:48):
plan wasn't random. It actually started as revenge aimed at
just one couple, David and Noline Martin, the owners of
Seascape guest House. Bryant's father, Maurice, had wanted to buy
that property for years, but when the Martins purchased it instead,
Maurice fell into a deep depression and eventually sadly took
(01:09):
his own life. Bryant blames the Martins entirely. He told
the psychiatrist that he believed they were, in his words,
very mean people who'd ruined his family's future. About a
year before the massacre, that's when he began planning to
kill them. But as we know, that plan didn't stop there.
(01:29):
According to the report, Bryant said to the psychiatrist, I
thought I might as well kill a few more. He
chose to port out the historic site on purpose because,
as he put it, a lot of violence has happened there.
It seemed like the right place. Bryant also said that
he fully expected to die that day too. It was
said in my mind, he said, I wasn't worried about
(01:50):
losing my property or never seeing my girlfriend again. I
just wanted to go down and kill the Martins and
a lot of people. In this episode, former True Crime
Conversations host Jesse Stevens speaks with Anita Bingham, a survivor
of the port out the massac. You'll hear what she saw,
what she lived through, and how it's shaped her life
(02:11):
since this is her story in her own words. Take
a listen. The following episode contains discussions of violence and
the retelling of traumatic events. Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It's lunchtime on a cool Sunday in April, and the
Port Arthur Historic Site is buzzing with visitors. Located at
the southern tip of the Tasman Peninsula, Port Arthur is
located about one hundred kilometers southeast of Hobart, the capital
of Tasmania. The quaint village was once a penal settlement
and a main draw card for tourists visiting Australia's southernmost state.
(02:50):
At around one ten PM, a man named Martin Bryant
pays his entry fee for the Port Arthur site and
parks near the Broad Arrow Cafe. He sits in his
car for a few minutes. He is seen walking towards
the cafe with a sports bag and a video camera.
He orders lunch, which he eats on the outside deck
(03:14):
to onlookers. He looked slightly nervous, but otherwise like a
normal man, likely just another tourist visiting Port Arthur. That morning,
Bryant had awoken at six am, which was unusually early
for him. He left his home at nine forty seven
am and drove to force It, arriving around eleven am.
(03:37):
Then he continued on to Port Arthur, where he stopped
at an accommodation site in Seascape. He hated the owners,
David and Noline Martin, who had bought the property before
Bryant's father had been able to his father, Maurice Bryant,
had been devastated and years later had ended his own life.
(03:59):
Bryant blamed the Martins for his father's death. When he
arrived at Seaside, he fired several shots, killing Noline Martin
and then stabbing David Martin. He then continued to Port
Arthur with a lightweight semi automatic rifle. What followed was
(04:20):
the worst massacre in Australian history committed by a single person.
Thirty five people were killed and twenty three were left wounded.
I'm Jesse Stevens and this is True Crime Conversations a
Muma mea podcast exploring the world's most notorious crimes by
(04:42):
speaking to the people who know the most about them.
In today's episode, I'm speaking with Anita Bingham, who was
working as a waitress at Port Arthur Historic Site's Francis
Langford Tea rooms on the day of the massacre. Anita,
(05:05):
what do you I remember about the morning of April
twenty eight, nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Well, I remember going to work as per usual that morning,
and it was a nice day.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
It was like an autumn crisp.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Cool morning, and I was working in it's like a
little cottage called the Francis Langford Tea Rooms, and my
role there is a waitress, so I would be serving
tea and coffee and scones and lunch to customers.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
You were seventeen at the time. What did your life
look like? Were you working this job while finishing off
high school or had you finished high school?
Speaker 4 (05:51):
I had finished high school.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I didn't go to college, so I went straight into waitressing.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
When I was fifteen.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
My parents had a holiday I guess you call it
a shack down on the Tasman Peninsula and they moved
there permanently. So once I finished school in Hobart, I
went down to live with them for a while.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
So I was seventeen.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yeah at the time, had you been working at this
cafe long?
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Not really, No, might have only been like a month. Yeah.
It was all quite new.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And for anyone who hasn't been to Port Arthur, can
you describe what it is and why people visit and
the setup in terms of there being cafes and stuff
for visitors.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well Port Arthur Historic Site is actually a place where
convicts once was sent there back in the eighteenth century,
so it was a settlement for people who committed crime.
People got shipped out from the UK and yeah, I
sent to prison for minor crime for stealing a loaf
of bread or hanky chief or something. So it was
(06:57):
operational for quite a long time and then it eventually
ceased and it's now like an historical site to go
and visit. There's lots of old buildings with bars still
on the windows. It's been really well restored over time.
Conservation have gone in to protect the buildings from collapsing
(07:17):
and it's now the popular tourist destination for visitors to Tasmania.
So it's a World Heritage listed place. And yeah, so
it's a huge site. It's a massive amount of land
and lots of old buildings are still standing and people
who go would go for the day, bring a picnic,
sit in the gardens under a tree, stroll around the land,
(07:40):
or you could go to a cafe and have lunch.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
There were two cafes on site that day.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
What was your first inclination that something was wrong.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
I really remember serving a ball of soup to a couple.
They was sitting on a table for two. So as
I was putting the soup down, I had the first bang.
It was a really loud bang, and then another and
then anotherah, And then my first actual reaction was, Oh,
there must be a reenactment. Because I hadn't been there
(08:12):
for very long working, I was still getting to know
the place, and I actually thought there were people dressed
up outside with muskets. I thought there was going to
be a show on, so I went outside. Yeah, I
remember walking out the front of the cottage and walking
towards the sounds, and the more I heard, I thought, oh,
(08:34):
something's not right. And when I knew something wasn't right,
it was also when I could see people ducking behind
walls of the buildings on the site. But it was
quite a distance from me. I mean, I'm talking so
many meters away. I could hear it, but I couldn't
quite see exactly what was going on. I could just
see some people running in the distance and ducking down
(08:57):
hiding by walls.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
And where were they running from? Were they running from
the other cafe on side.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Yeah, the other cafe on site. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
And once you recognize that something was very wrong. What
was your instinct? What did you do?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
My instinct was or something's just not quite right here.
So I remember going back inside. Everyone sort of heard
it as well, so we're all a bit curious about
what was going on. It was really unclear too, so
it was really difficult to know what to do. But
as time unfolded, I just remember we thought it was
best to keep people inside the cottage, and we kept
(09:36):
the doors locked, and I remember having to just reassure
people that things are okay, remain seated. It was just
such a long day, and I just remember making customers
team coffee and water because we had to stay inside
for quite a while until we kind of had some
clear communication as to what was going on. I think
we may have had a phone call at the cafe,
(09:57):
I'm not sure, or another staff member might have ran
over and knocked on the door and told us what
was going on, or year.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
What happened in the minutes and hours after you heard
those gunshots.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
So as time went by, I actually remember my boss
and one of the boys that was working in the
bakery at the cafe, they started to run over to
the Broad Arrow where the shootings occurred and started helping
them by running lots of burns of tea and coffee, water,
whatever they could find to help people. I think the
(10:34):
customers were slowly led out, maybe once we had the
all clear that he wasn't on the side.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
It was a weird time.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
It was really weird moment because I remember my boss
was saying, oh, you know, just clean up, clean up
as per usual. And I remember once the customers had
left the cottage, my job was to vacuum clean as
per usual. But I remember vacuuming, but I was just
so terrified because we still really didn't know where he was.
And I was in there by myself for a while,
(11:02):
vacuuming this cottage out, and I kept looking over my
shoulder all the time because I was just like, where
is this guy?
Speaker 4 (11:09):
And I was so scared.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
You're listening to True Crime Conversations with me Jesse Stevens.
I'm speaking with Anita Bingham, a waitress at the Port
Arthur Historic Site who was working on the day of
the massacre. Can you remember when you heard what had
(11:37):
actually taken place that day and how that felt to
learn of the tragedy that had occurred around you.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Yeah, well, I actually remember giving my sister a phone
call actually, and I'm going to be just picking up
the phone and calling her and going, Hey, what the
hell's going on down here?
Speaker 4 (11:54):
This is crazy? And my sister said.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Oh, okay, that's why I can see ambulances and police
CAUs screaming pusps, so she kind of wasn't sure either,
So I'm remember talking to her, and then I was
allowed to go home until dark. I remember we all
had to kind of stay on the site until police
and so forth gave the instructions it was safe to
(12:16):
leave the property. And I really remember going up to
the local pub up on the hill to put our
motor in and my dad was waiting for me there
at the bar, and I just remember running to him
and he grabbed me so tight, and I hugged him
so tight, and it was just like oh, because my
(12:37):
dad didn't know whether I was okay or not while
all this was going on, and it was just that
safety of oh, I'm in my dad's arms, and it
was a bit of a sense of relief. But it
really wasn't until I got home that night, sat down,
put on the news and the news flash in front
of my eyes with everything like the cars being stopped
(12:59):
on the highway, the police blocking off the highway. That's
when it really sunk in and hit me what the
hell just happened? And then because it did feel so surreal,
didn't feel real.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Well, it was the most deadly shooting in Australian history
and you were meters away. That would have just been
so terrifying, and you would have learned in the days
afterwards that I think it was thirty five victims, which
just would have been so beyond traumatic in the days afterwards.
Were you haunted by those thoughts of that could have
(13:29):
been me?
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Oh? Gotcha, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
I mean I remember going to bed that night, I
don't remember sleeping well, and I think the next few
nights I actually had a dream of him running after
me with the gun, hunting me down.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
So that was a really horrible nightmare.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
And yeah, I remember getting some brief counseling at the
local SES headquarters or whatever it is in the little
shed because it's a local country town and it's so
isolated down there, we're not just sort of skipping back.
I remember it felt like forever before police or ambulance
or the helicopters all arrived to the site. Maybe the
(14:04):
local doctors were there on the scene as quick as
they could. But yeah, so anyway, the days after, I
just felt so lucky to be here, to be alive.
And I wasn't the one over in the Border Row.
But ironically, when I applied for work at the historic site,
they were.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
Going to put me in the Broad Arrow.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Actually there was a position going there, but I ended
up at the tea rooms thankfully.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
So yeah, it was really I was really numb after
it all. It was just so surreal thing like you
just couldn't believe it. And I couldn't read any media.
I found it hard to read any sort of newspapers
or watch the news and things like that was quite
hard to take in.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
And I can imagine it would have been everywhere because
of oh yeah scale and in the days, weeks and
even now. I mean the name Martin Bryant is infamous
in Australia. Did you learn much about him and who
he was afterwards? If you just completely shut that out?
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Yeah, I just completely shut it. I didn't want to know.
I didn't want to know.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
I mean, you do ask why why on earth would
someone do such a terrible thing, especially those little girls.
Especially I feel for Walter Mikhak losing his two little daughters.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Oh God, it breaks my heart. And it wasn't just
people that.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Even though people died, it's the scars that you live
with afterwards. It's still just as painful the damage he's
done to people just from you know, you've got to
live with those memories and they're hard to just switch off.
So I really did shut a lot of stuff out
about him. But I think the twentieth anniversary was when
I just started to really be more intrigued by what
(15:47):
happened that day. And I was interviewed once by an
author called Margaret Scott. She wrote a book called Caught Arthur,
a Story of Courage and Strengths. And I've got about
a two page section where I've told my story, and
then the books filled with other people's stories. But I've
not been able to really sit down and actually read
that book front to back. So I actually did do
(16:08):
that not long ago. I pulled it out of the
box at home and I read it. And I was
also given a bravery ward by the governor. And I
sometimes think, oh, I don't know why I was given
this but I guess I helped people in a way.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Of course. And I think when people talk about something
traumatic happening or a moment of crisis, they say we
go into fight or flight, yes, or freeze. And it
sounds like you kept going, which is not necessarily what
you know I might have done or anyone else.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Yeah, you adrenaline kind of kicks in and you just go,
oh my god, you just got to.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Yeah, I just wanted to help people.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
And I think, going back to your question afterwards too,
I did find it really difficult going to a cafe
anywhere or public places. I just wanted to sit where
I could see the door. I member, I just had
to and I still do that sometimes, which is really odd.
But I need to know who's coming and going from
the cafe, And yeah, I get a little bit spooked
if I know someone's walking in with a big bag,
(17:05):
because that's kind of what happened.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
This is a strange question, but I'm wondering if when
the Sydney siege events happened, if that was at all
triggering for you because of the site.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
It did a bit and I did watch that, I
think on Four Corners or something one night, and oh, gosh.
I probably shouldn't have, because it really triggered some things.
And I felt for those people as well.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Because it would deprive your sense of safety. That you
have an environment that's meant to be really safe and
you can't relax. Then you know you must be on
such high alert.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah, yeah, I'm not too bad now, but yeah, you're
just fully aware of it and anything that goes bang,
Oh my gosh, I jump at the sound of a
car back firing, balloon popping. I had trouble not long after.
My friends and I went to the regatta and there
were fireworks and all. It just triggered stuff for me again,
(18:00):
and I had to kind of like luckily my friend
was understanding that I just needed to get away.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
From Have you had any contact other than that book
with any other survivors in the twenty five years since.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Yeah, I have, but not so much of regular contact
or anything. Like.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
There's another guy that I know who was working on
the ferry at the time, and he was there that day,
but he hasn't really spoken to me a lot about
his experience. I don't think he really likes talking about
it much.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
And another guy who was working with but yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Some people just don't want to talk about it, which
is fine, but yeah, as I said after, it was
really a hard time too, because I remember being not
new to the community, but I sort of was. I
was only seventeen. I actually felt quite alone in a
weird way too. As much as the community was affected
and some people were directly affected, somewhere indirectly affected. And
(18:53):
I know that some businesses went broken things like that
because of it, but thankfully they got us some counseling,
and I worked with a lady for a number of.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Years and she was really good at helping me.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Understanding of trauma and PTSD has come so far since
nineteen ninety six, and you must have really felt that
because I imagine in the aftermath there wouldn't have been
nearly as much understanding or potentially compassion, because they're thinking, well,
you weren't physically harmed, but the what ifs that would
(19:27):
have played through your mind. I just can't imagine.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Oh no, that's right.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Have you been back to the site since?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Oh yeah, many times. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
So after that actual day, I remember going away for
about two or three weeks holiday. I'm pretty sure my
doctor suggested I take some time off and then when
I came back to work, it was a really weird
time because I remember coming back and like my position
was no longer available, so they put me in the
Broad Houry cafe. So it was like a temporary setup
(19:59):
because the cafe had been kind of wrecked, but there
was like a temporary building because they still needed to
try and get business up and running again. And I'm
just washing pots in the Broad Arrow and I didn't
really like that. I felt really uncomfortable. So yeah, I
did go back, and then many years later I think
I went That's right, I went traveling and then I
(20:22):
came back because where I live, in that town, there's
not a lot of employment, so Port Arthur is really
the draw card for employment for a lot of the locals.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
And so I went back.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I've been back about three times, and my most recent
time would have only been about a year ago. And
I worked as a ticketing officer on the counter. And
I really loved that because I do love people. I
love tourism, I love visitors and I get excited about
them coming to see Tazzy because it's such a beautiful place.
And I really enjoyed it. But again, what I found
(20:53):
difficult was I was standing at the door. That was
one of my roles, and it was to meet and
greet customers as I was coming through the door, gives
them a brochure, told them about the tours on offer
and what tickets do they want to purchase. But some
people just walk in the door and they're just curious
about where the shooting happened and they're not interested in
coming to buy a ticket. Someone will just walk in
(21:15):
and go, oh, could you tell me where that crazy
man just went and killed everyone?
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Is it where I'm standing now? Was it there? Was
it there? And oh my god?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
And I'm just like, well, you know, like my whole
body just goes into this like I sort of freeze
and then I start sweating. And they don't know I
was there that day, you know, So yeah, my physical
symptoms started to just go really wolf. And then I
had to take a deep brass and kind of explain
because we're given borichues now that explains what happened that
(21:44):
day to Pip, So I just have to direct them
to that. And there's a memorial garden you can go
down and pay a visit to. But I found it
hard nearly on a daily basis, someone will mention the
shooting and I couldn't do it anymore.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
I just had to leave. No.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
I completely understand that. And finally I just wanted to
ask in terms of the long term effect of Port
Arthur and what happened that day. I've read a lot
about post traumatic growth and that sometimes having an instance
like this it can bring about positive psychological change from
(22:18):
these sorts of adverse circumstances. Is that something you relate
with at all?
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Oh definitely? Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
I really learned a lot from that day, and what
I learned most of all was life is just so short.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
Gosh, you know, one minute Yearnix, You're not And.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
I just was like, oh my god, I was so
close to that possibly happening to me that day, and
I just went man, you know, I remember just being
in the counselor's chair seventeen, and I had a bucket
list of stuff.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
I'm like, right, I.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Want to do this, I want to do that, and
I just wanted to live life to the fullest and
I did. I went around Australia in a camper van
when I was twenty one, and then I took off
overseas and traveled the world many times now, and yeah,
it's maybe living the moment. And I've still got to
really dislike to guns. I struggle watching any kind of
violent films shooting. I still get frustrated when I hear
(23:14):
America's got shootings going on and that. But it just
made me want to live life to the fullest. And
that's something that's changed my perspective.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, that's something it seems like some victims of crime
relate with. Then, if there's one other thing we can
be somewhat thankful for from Port Arthur, it's the changing
gun laws and that a mass shooting like this has
not happened again and hopefully will never happen again in
this country.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Yeah, hopefully. I think. Good on to John Howard.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
He got quite onto it straight after those gun laws,
But I mean they're still around and there's still controversy.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
You know.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
I've heard of all different sizes of the story. I've
heard farmers need guns for animals and that, and I
get that, but it's just when they end up in
the wrong hands, really, and you know, and I always
wonder why, you know, what went through his mind that day.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
And I've heard lots of different.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Things like, oh, but you know, he was bullied and
he had esperg whatever honest you may have had.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
I don't know, but I sort of don't want to
know in a way either better.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Yeah, you just can't understand or someone could do such
an evil thing.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Anita Bingham was awarded a Bravery Medal by the Governor
General for her efforts on the day of the Port
Arthur massacre. She also has a letter from the Queen
commending her efforts. This year marks twenty five years since
the traumatic events of April twenty eighth, nineteen ninety six,
but they live on in the memories of survivors and
(24:39):
the Australian public. True Crime Conversations is a Muma mea
podcast hosted by me Jesse Stevens. Sound design is by
Ian Camaliary and our producer is g R.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Moulan.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
If you'd like to find out more about the show,
don't forget to join our online community. Just search for
True Crime Conversations on Facebook and make a request to join.
True Crime Conversations acknowledges the traditional owners of land and
waters that this podcast was recorded on. For those of
us who remember this unfolding on our TV screens, it's
hard to believe that it's been nearly thirty years since
the Port Arthur massacre, one of the most devastating events
in Australian history. It's only now, all these years later,
(00:27):
that we're finally starting to understand what really drove Martin
Bryant to commit such a horrific crime. A recently uncovered
psychiatric report, never released to the public until now, reveals
what Bryant told a forensic psychiatrist just days after the
massacre while recovering in hospital. According to the report, Bryant's
(00:48):
plan wasn't random. It actually started as revenge aimed at
just one couple, David and Noline Martin, the owners of
Seascape guest House. Bryant's father, Maurice, had wanted to buy
that property for years, but when the Martins purchased it instead,
Maurice fell into a deep depression and eventually sadly took
(01:09):
his own life. Bryant blames the Martins entirely. He told
the psychiatrist that he believed they were, in his words,
very mean people who'd ruined his family's future. About a
year before the massacre, that's when he began planning to
kill them. But as we know, that plan didn't stop there.
(01:29):
According to the report, Bryant said to the psychiatrist, I
thought I might as well kill a few more. He
chose to port out the historic site on purpose because,
as he put it, a lot of violence has happened there.
It seemed like the right place. Bryant also said that
he fully expected to die that day too. It was
said in my mind, he said, I wasn't worried about
(01:50):
losing my property or never seeing my girlfriend again. I
just wanted to go down and kill the Martins and
a lot of people. In this episode, former True Crime
Conversations host Jesse Stevens speaks with Anita Bingham, a survivor
of the port out the massac. You'll hear what she saw,
what she lived through, and how it's shaped her life
(02:11):
since this is her story in her own words. Take
a listen. The following episode contains discussions of violence and
the retelling of traumatic events. Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It's lunchtime on a cool Sunday in April, and the
Port Arthur Historic Site is buzzing with visitors. Located at
the southern tip of the Tasman Peninsula, Port Arthur is
located about one hundred kilometers southeast of Hobart, the capital
of Tasmania. The quaint village was once a penal settlement
and a main draw card for tourists visiting Australia's southernmost state.
(02:50):
At around one ten PM, a man named Martin Bryant
pays his entry fee for the Port Arthur site and
parks near the Broad Arrow Cafe. He sits in his
car for a few minutes. He is seen walking towards
the cafe with a sports bag and a video camera.
He orders lunch, which he eats on the outside deck
(03:14):
to onlookers. He looked slightly nervous, but otherwise like a
normal man, likely just another tourist visiting Port Arthur. That morning,
Bryant had awoken at six am, which was unusually early
for him. He left his home at nine forty seven
am and drove to force It, arriving around eleven am.
(03:37):
Then he continued on to Port Arthur, where he stopped
at an accommodation site in Seascape. He hated the owners,
David and Noline Martin, who had bought the property before
Bryant's father had been able to his father, Maurice Bryant,
had been devastated and years later had ended his own life.
(03:59):
Bryant blamed the Martins for his father's death. When he
arrived at Seaside, he fired several shots, killing Noline Martin
and then stabbing David Martin. He then continued to Port
Arthur with a lightweight semi automatic rifle. What followed was
(04:20):
the worst massacre in Australian history committed by a single person.
Thirty five people were killed and twenty three were left wounded.
I'm Jesse Stevens and this is True Crime Conversations a
Muma mea podcast exploring the world's most notorious crimes by
(04:42):
speaking to the people who know the most about them.
In today's episode, I'm speaking with Anita Bingham, who was
working as a waitress at Port Arthur Historic Site's Francis
Langford Tea rooms on the day of the massacre. Anita,
(05:05):
what do you I remember about the morning of April
twenty eight, nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Well, I remember going to work as per usual that morning,
and it was a nice day.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
It was like an autumn crisp.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Cool morning, and I was working in it's like a
little cottage called the Francis Langford Tea Rooms, and my
role there is a waitress, so I would be serving
tea and coffee and scones and lunch to customers.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
You were seventeen at the time. What did your life
look like? Were you working this job while finishing off
high school or had you finished high school?
Speaker 4 (05:51):
I had finished high school.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I didn't go to college, so I went straight into waitressing.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
When I was fifteen.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
My parents had a holiday I guess you call it
a shack down on the Tasman Peninsula and they moved
there permanently. So once I finished school in Hobart, I
went down to live with them for a while.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
So I was seventeen.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yeah at the time, had you been working at this
cafe long?
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Not really, No, might have only been like a month. Yeah.
It was all quite new.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And for anyone who hasn't been to Port Arthur, can
you describe what it is and why people visit and
the setup in terms of there being cafes and stuff
for visitors.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well Port Arthur Historic Site is actually a place where
convicts once was sent there back in the eighteenth century,
so it was a settlement for people who committed crime.
People got shipped out from the UK and yeah, I
sent to prison for minor crime for stealing a loaf
of bread or hanky chief or something. So it was
(06:57):
operational for quite a long time and then it eventually
ceased and it's now like an historical site to go
and visit. There's lots of old buildings with bars still
on the windows. It's been really well restored over time.
Conservation have gone in to protect the buildings from collapsing
(07:17):
and it's now the popular tourist destination for visitors to Tasmania.
So it's a World Heritage listed place. And yeah, so
it's a huge site. It's a massive amount of land
and lots of old buildings are still standing and people
who go would go for the day, bring a picnic,
sit in the gardens under a tree, stroll around the land,
(07:40):
or you could go to a cafe and have lunch.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
There were two cafes on site that day.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
What was your first inclination that something was wrong.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
I really remember serving a ball of soup to a couple.
They was sitting on a table for two. So as
I was putting the soup down, I had the first bang.
It was a really loud bang, and then another and
then anotherah, And then my first actual reaction was, Oh,
there must be a reenactment. Because I hadn't been there
(08:12):
for very long working, I was still getting to know
the place, and I actually thought there were people dressed
up outside with muskets. I thought there was going to
be a show on, so I went outside. Yeah, I
remember walking out the front of the cottage and walking
towards the sounds, and the more I heard, I thought, oh,
(08:34):
something's not right. And when I knew something wasn't right,
it was also when I could see people ducking behind
walls of the buildings on the site. But it was
quite a distance from me. I mean, I'm talking so
many meters away. I could hear it, but I couldn't
quite see exactly what was going on. I could just
see some people running in the distance and ducking down
(08:57):
hiding by walls.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
And where were they running from? Were they running from
the other cafe on side.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Yeah, the other cafe on site. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
And once you recognize that something was very wrong. What
was your instinct? What did you do?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
My instinct was or something's just not quite right here.
So I remember going back inside. Everyone sort of heard
it as well, so we're all a bit curious about
what was going on. It was really unclear too, so
it was really difficult to know what to do. But
as time unfolded, I just remember we thought it was
best to keep people inside the cottage, and we kept
(09:36):
the doors locked, and I remember having to just reassure
people that things are okay, remain seated. It was just
such a long day, and I just remember making customers
team coffee and water because we had to stay inside
for quite a while until we kind of had some
clear communication as to what was going on. I think
we may have had a phone call at the cafe,
(09:57):
I'm not sure, or another staff member might have ran
over and knocked on the door and told us what
was going on, or year.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
What happened in the minutes and hours after you heard
those gunshots.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
So as time went by, I actually remember my boss
and one of the boys that was working in the
bakery at the cafe, they started to run over to
the Broad Arrow where the shootings occurred and started helping
them by running lots of burns of tea and coffee, water,
whatever they could find to help people. I think the
(10:34):
customers were slowly led out, maybe once we had the
all clear that he wasn't on the side.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
It was a weird time.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
It was really weird moment because I remember my boss
was saying, oh, you know, just clean up, clean up
as per usual. And I remember once the customers had
left the cottage, my job was to vacuum clean as
per usual. But I remember vacuuming, but I was just
so terrified because we still really didn't know where he was.
And I was in there by myself for a while,
(11:02):
vacuuming this cottage out, and I kept looking over my
shoulder all the time because I was just like, where
is this guy?
Speaker 4 (11:09):
And I was so scared.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
You're listening to True Crime Conversations with me Jesse Stevens.
I'm speaking with Anita Bingham, a waitress at the Port
Arthur Historic Site who was working on the day of
the massacre. Can you remember when you heard what had
(11:37):
actually taken place that day and how that felt to
learn of the tragedy that had occurred around you.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Yeah, well, I actually remember giving my sister a phone
call actually, and I'm going to be just picking up
the phone and calling her and going, Hey, what the
hell's going on down here?
Speaker 4 (11:54):
This is crazy? And my sister said.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Oh, okay, that's why I can see ambulances and police
CAUs screaming pusps, so she kind of wasn't sure either,
So I'm remember talking to her, and then I was
allowed to go home until dark. I remember we all
had to kind of stay on the site until police
and so forth gave the instructions it was safe to
(12:16):
leave the property. And I really remember going up to
the local pub up on the hill to put our
motor in and my dad was waiting for me there
at the bar, and I just remember running to him
and he grabbed me so tight, and I hugged him
so tight, and it was just like oh, because my
(12:37):
dad didn't know whether I was okay or not while
all this was going on, and it was just that
safety of oh, I'm in my dad's arms, and it
was a bit of a sense of relief. But it
really wasn't until I got home that night, sat down,
put on the news and the news flash in front
of my eyes with everything like the cars being stopped
(12:59):
on the highway, the police blocking off the highway. That's
when it really sunk in and hit me what the
hell just happened? And then because it did feel so surreal,
didn't feel real.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Well, it was the most deadly shooting in Australian history
and you were meters away. That would have just been
so terrifying, and you would have learned in the days
afterwards that I think it was thirty five victims, which
just would have been so beyond traumatic in the days afterwards.
Were you haunted by those thoughts of that could have
(13:29):
been me?
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Oh? Gotcha, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
I mean I remember going to bed that night, I
don't remember sleeping well, and I think the next few
nights I actually had a dream of him running after
me with the gun, hunting me down.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
So that was a really horrible nightmare.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
And yeah, I remember getting some brief counseling at the
local SES headquarters or whatever it is in the little
shed because it's a local country town and it's so
isolated down there, we're not just sort of skipping back.
I remember it felt like forever before police or ambulance
or the helicopters all arrived to the site. Maybe the
(14:04):
local doctors were there on the scene as quick as
they could. But yeah, so anyway, the days after, I
just felt so lucky to be here, to be alive.
And I wasn't the one over in the Border Row.
But ironically, when I applied for work at the historic site,
they were.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
Going to put me in the Broad Arrow.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Actually there was a position going there, but I ended
up at the tea rooms thankfully.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
So yeah, it was really I was really numb after
it all. It was just so surreal thing like you
just couldn't believe it. And I couldn't read any media.
I found it hard to read any sort of newspapers
or watch the news and things like that was quite
hard to take in.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
And I can imagine it would have been everywhere because
of oh yeah scale and in the days, weeks and
even now. I mean the name Martin Bryant is infamous
in Australia. Did you learn much about him and who
he was afterwards? If you just completely shut that out?
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Yeah, I just completely shut it. I didn't want to know.
I didn't want to know.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
I mean, you do ask why why on earth would
someone do such a terrible thing, especially those little girls.
Especially I feel for Walter Mikhak losing his two little daughters.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Oh God, it breaks my heart. And it wasn't just
people that.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Even though people died, it's the scars that you live
with afterwards. It's still just as painful the damage he's
done to people just from you know, you've got to
live with those memories and they're hard to just switch off.
So I really did shut a lot of stuff out
about him. But I think the twentieth anniversary was when
I just started to really be more intrigued by what
(15:47):
happened that day. And I was interviewed once by an
author called Margaret Scott. She wrote a book called Caught Arthur,
a Story of Courage and Strengths. And I've got about
a two page section where I've told my story, and
then the books filled with other people's stories. But I've
not been able to really sit down and actually read
that book front to back. So I actually did do
(16:08):
that not long ago. I pulled it out of the
box at home and I read it. And I was
also given a bravery ward by the governor. And I
sometimes think, oh, I don't know why I was given
this but I guess I helped people in a way.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Of course. And I think when people talk about something
traumatic happening or a moment of crisis, they say we
go into fight or flight, yes, or freeze. And it
sounds like you kept going, which is not necessarily what
you know I might have done or anyone else.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Yeah, you adrenaline kind of kicks in and you just go,
oh my god, you just got to.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Yeah, I just wanted to help people.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
And I think, going back to your question afterwards too,
I did find it really difficult going to a cafe
anywhere or public places. I just wanted to sit where
I could see the door. I member, I just had
to and I still do that sometimes, which is really odd.
But I need to know who's coming and going from
the cafe, And yeah, I get a little bit spooked
if I know someone's walking in with a big bag,
(17:05):
because that's kind of what happened.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
This is a strange question, but I'm wondering if when
the Sydney siege events happened, if that was at all
triggering for you because of the site.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
It did a bit and I did watch that, I
think on Four Corners or something one night, and oh, gosh.
I probably shouldn't have, because it really triggered some things.
And I felt for those people as well.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Because it would deprive your sense of safety. That you
have an environment that's meant to be really safe and
you can't relax. Then you know you must be on
such high alert.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah, yeah, I'm not too bad now, but yeah, you're
just fully aware of it and anything that goes bang,
Oh my gosh, I jump at the sound of a
car back firing, balloon popping. I had trouble not long after.
My friends and I went to the regatta and there
were fireworks and all. It just triggered stuff for me again,
(18:00):
and I had to kind of like luckily my friend
was understanding that I just needed to get away.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
From Have you had any contact other than that book
with any other survivors in the twenty five years since.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Yeah, I have, but not so much of regular contact
or anything. Like.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
There's another guy that I know who was working on
the ferry at the time, and he was there that day,
but he hasn't really spoken to me a lot about
his experience. I don't think he really likes talking about
it much.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
And another guy who was working with but yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Some people just don't want to talk about it, which
is fine, but yeah, as I said after, it was
really a hard time too, because I remember being not
new to the community, but I sort of was. I
was only seventeen. I actually felt quite alone in a
weird way too. As much as the community was affected
and some people were directly affected, somewhere indirectly affected. And
(18:53):
I know that some businesses went broken things like that
because of it, but thankfully they got us some counseling,
and I worked with a lady for a number of.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Years and she was really good at helping me.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Understanding of trauma and PTSD has come so far since
nineteen ninety six, and you must have really felt that
because I imagine in the aftermath there wouldn't have been
nearly as much understanding or potentially compassion, because they're thinking, well,
you weren't physically harmed, but the what ifs that would
(19:27):
have played through your mind. I just can't imagine.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Oh no, that's right.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Have you been back to the site since?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Oh yeah, many times. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
So after that actual day, I remember going away for
about two or three weeks holiday. I'm pretty sure my
doctor suggested I take some time off and then when
I came back to work, it was a really weird
time because I remember coming back and like my position
was no longer available, so they put me in the
Broad Houry cafe. So it was like a temporary setup
(19:59):
because the cafe had been kind of wrecked, but there
was like a temporary building because they still needed to
try and get business up and running again. And I'm
just washing pots in the Broad Arrow and I didn't
really like that. I felt really uncomfortable. So yeah, I
did go back, and then many years later I think
I went That's right, I went traveling and then I
(20:22):
came back because where I live, in that town, there's
not a lot of employment, so Port Arthur is really
the draw card for employment for a lot of the locals.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
And so I went back.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I've been back about three times, and my most recent
time would have only been about a year ago. And
I worked as a ticketing officer on the counter. And
I really loved that because I do love people. I
love tourism, I love visitors and I get excited about
them coming to see Tazzy because it's such a beautiful place.
And I really enjoyed it. But again, what I found
(20:53):
difficult was I was standing at the door. That was
one of my roles, and it was to meet and
greet customers as I was coming through the door, gives
them a brochure, told them about the tours on offer
and what tickets do they want to purchase. But some
people just walk in the door and they're just curious
about where the shooting happened and they're not interested in
coming to buy a ticket. Someone will just walk in
(21:15):
and go, oh, could you tell me where that crazy
man just went and killed everyone?
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Is it where I'm standing now? Was it there? Was
it there? And oh my god?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
And I'm just like, well, you know, like my whole
body just goes into this like I sort of freeze
and then I start sweating. And they don't know I
was there that day, you know, So yeah, my physical
symptoms started to just go really wolf. And then I
had to take a deep brass and kind of explain
because we're given borichues now that explains what happened that
(21:44):
day to Pip, So I just have to direct them
to that. And there's a memorial garden you can go
down and pay a visit to. But I found it
hard nearly on a daily basis, someone will mention the
shooting and I couldn't do it anymore.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
I just had to leave. No.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
I completely understand that. And finally I just wanted to
ask in terms of the long term effect of Port
Arthur and what happened that day. I've read a lot
about post traumatic growth and that sometimes having an instance
like this it can bring about positive psychological change from
(22:18):
these sorts of adverse circumstances. Is that something you relate
with at all?
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Oh definitely? Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
I really learned a lot from that day, and what
I learned most of all was life is just so short.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
Gosh, you know, one minute Yearnix, You're not And.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
I just was like, oh my god, I was so
close to that possibly happening to me that day, and
I just went man, you know, I remember just being
in the counselor's chair seventeen, and I had a bucket
list of stuff.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
I'm like, right, I.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Want to do this, I want to do that, and
I just wanted to live life to the fullest and
I did. I went around Australia in a camper van
when I was twenty one, and then I took off
overseas and traveled the world many times now, and yeah,
it's maybe living the moment. And I've still got to
really dislike to guns. I struggle watching any kind of
violent films shooting. I still get frustrated when I hear
(23:14):
America's got shootings going on and that. But it just
made me want to live life to the fullest. And
that's something that's changed my perspective.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, that's something it seems like some victims of crime
relate with. Then, if there's one other thing we can
be somewhat thankful for from Port Arthur, it's the changing
gun laws and that a mass shooting like this has
not happened again and hopefully will never happen again in
this country.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Yeah, hopefully. I think. Good on to John Howard.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
He got quite onto it straight after those gun laws,
But I mean they're still around and there's still controversy.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
You know.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
I've heard of all different sizes of the story. I've
heard farmers need guns for animals and that, and I
get that, but it's just when they end up in
the wrong hands, really, and you know, and I always
wonder why, you know, what went through his mind that day.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
And I've heard lots of different.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Things like, oh, but you know, he was bullied and
he had esperg whatever honest you may have had.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
I don't know, but I sort of don't want to
know in a way either better.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Yeah, you just can't understand or someone could do such
an evil thing.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Anita Bingham was awarded a Bravery Medal by the Governor
General for her efforts on the day of the Port
Arthur massacre. She also has a letter from the Queen
commending her efforts. This year marks twenty five years since
the traumatic events of April twenty eighth, nineteen ninety six,
but they live on in the memories of survivors and
(24:39):
the Australian public. True Crime Conversations is a Muma mea
podcast hosted by me Jesse Stevens. Sound design is by
Ian Camaliary and our producer is g R.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Moulan.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
If you'd like to find out more about the show,
don't forget to join our online community. Just search for
True Crime Conversations on Facebook and make a request to join.
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