25 years today. Yet it still seems like only yesterday our hearts were shattered on that terrible Sunday.
\n28 April 1996. Port Arthur.
\n35 innocent people taken from us. 23 more wounded in that heinous and cowardly act.
\nTo call to mind the names of those who died is heart-breaking.
\nVictims as young as 3 and as old as 72.
\nAmong them \u201ca lovely, devoted couple\u201d.
\n\u201cThe happiest girls in the world\u201d.
\nAn \u201cadored Nanna\u201d.
\nA \u201chumble man\u201d who \u201csimply wanted to serve.\u201d
\nAnd a woman who \u201cbrought joy and warmth to all who knew her.\u201d
\nToday we remember and send our love to all those who still bear the scars of that terrible day. The families and friends of those who died; the injured, the survivors, the first responders and all those who witnessed and were impacted by the unspeakable horror of that day.
\nWe remember the incredible bravery and selflessness as well – the family members who sought to shield and protect others.
\nWe pay tribute to the strength, resilience and courage of the local Tasmanian community and to all those who could never forget but still found a way to heal.
\nWe look to the light that was found from the darkness of that day. Light like the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, which Walter Mikac named for his two daughters he lost that day, and which is dedicated to keeping children safe from violence and bullying.
\nWe also give thanks for the courageous response to this terrible event by former Prime Minister John Howard and former Deputy Prime Minister, the late Tim Fischer, supported by then Leader of the Opposition Kim Beazley, who put in place some of the strongest gun laws in the world today, that have served to keep Australians safe.
\nMay Walter, and all the families of the victims taken from us that day, be comforted and renewed on this day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
25 years today. Yet it still seems like only yesterday our hearts were shattered on that terrible Sunday. 28 April 1996. Port Arthur. 35 innocent people taken from us. 23 more wounded in that heinous and cowardly act. To call to mind the names of those who died is heart-breaking. Victims as young as 3 … Continue reading “Port Arthur 25-Year Anniversary”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11180\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}