‘Love over evil’: Port Arthur remembered 30 years on

Love triumphs over evil.

A simple but powerful message was at the heart of the small and intimate ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre.

On April 28, 1996, thirty-five people were killed and two dozen people were injured when a gunman opened fire on the historical tourist area with a semi-automatic rifle.

This remains the deadliest mass shooting in Australia’s modern history.

Jane Scholefield, who hid behind a wall in the prison building to avoid the bullets, said that day was etched in her memory in a way that words cannot explain.

“As the anniversary approaches each year, the memories return with a weight that never quite goes away,” he said at the ceremony at the site.

“Even if the world moves on… for those of us touched by that day, it will never be forgotten. It lives on within us.”

Among the crowd was Carolyn Loughton, 70, whose 15-year-old daughter Sarah was murdered while the couple were on their first big holiday together.

Ahead of the ceremony, she said: “I gave birth to my daughter and lay on top of her as she took her last breath.”

Ms Loughton was shot in the back, forcing doctors to undergo a lengthy procedure and remove half of her left tibia and hip to use as a bone graft.

He said Sarah was a good horse rider, tennis player and an empathetic, intelligent young person with a bright future.

“When you lose your children, you lose your future. It’s a constant loss of what could have been for him and for me,” he said.

Flowers and wreaths were placed on the memorial cross, while participants were encouraged to share loving words on paper leaves.

At 13.30, when the conflict started, a moment of silence was observed and the names of the 35 dead were read.

“At the heart of survival, remembering and change is something simple but incredibly powerful: love,” Ms. Scholefield said.

“Love for those lost, love for those who stand by us, and love for the lives we continue to live.

“Love is stronger than hate, stronger than fear, stronger than evil.”

The tragedy led to groundbreaking gun law reform under then-prime minister John Howard and a buyback plan that led to the destruction of more than 640,000 guns.

Gun laws have recently been under the spotlight since 15 people were killed in an attack targeting the Jewish community in Bondi in December.

“The shootings just five months ago showed that society still has rapid-firing weapons at its disposal,” Ms Loughton said.

“For everyone’s safety, these weapons should be kept in an inaccessible place,” he said.

Ms Loughton and Gun Control Australia’s Roland Browne said they supported Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s proposed cap on the number of guns a person can own.

“The lessons of the late ’80s and early ’90s are still there,” Mr. Browne said.

“The work still needs to be done, and our group will continue to do it.”

Mr Albanese thanked Walter Mikac, who lost his wife Nanette and daughters Alannah and Madeline in the shooting, for leading the call for gun reform in 1996.

“Australia is a better place because the government and parliament of the day came together to answer Walter’s call,” he said.

“This is what we hold on to, the enduring memory that in the midst of the most terrible darkness, the best of humanity finds a way to shine.”

Mr Mikac said the government’s commitment to community safety three decades ago was “as important as ever”.

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the state would never forget the lives lost and everyone whose lives were changed forever.

Gunman Martin Bryant, now 58, is serving 35 life sentences and will never be released from Risdon Prison in Hobart.

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