Notable Australian mass murders
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Several massacres occurred in Australia leading up to firearms licensing laws in 1996 after the Port Arthur massacre, one of the deadliest lone wolf massacres in history. Because of this, most major gun massacres in Australia occurred before 1996.
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[edit] Mass deaths
- Cullin-La-Ringo massacre - Horatio Wills and party killed by aboriginals at Cullin-La-Ringo Station in Queensland in 1860. 19 dead.
- Hornet Bank massacre - Mrs Fraser, six of her children and three farm workers killed by aboriginals at Hornet Bank Station, near Taroom, Queensland in 1857. 10 dead[citation needed]
- Coniston massacre - Over 50 aboriginal people killed in the last Aboriginal massacre. The motive was revenge for the killing of dingo hunter Frederick Brooks.
- Milperra massacre - Two biker gangs, Comancheros and the Bandidos, engage in a shootout in a hotel carpark, killing 7 people, including an innocent teenage girl. Only one defendant was acquitted on the murder charges.
- Hoddle Street massacre - Armed with 2 rifles and a shotgun, Julian Knight fatally shoots 7 people and wounds another 19 before surrendering to authorities.
- Queen Street massacre - Armed with a sawn-off shotgun, Frank Vitkovic roams the Australia Post building killing 8 and wounding 5. When the weapon was finally wrestled from him, he committed suicide by jumping out of a nearby window.
- Strathfield massacre - Wade Frankum kills 7 and wounds seven with a large knife and an assault rifle before turning the gun on himself when he realised he could not escape.
- Port Arthur massacre - Armed with 2 semi-automatic assault rifles, Martin Bryant kills 35 people around Port Arthur and wounds 37 before being caught by police the next day following an overnight siege.
[edit] Murders over period of time
- North Shore Granny Murders - John Glover murders six elderly women.
- Melbourne gangland killings - 29 underworld figures murdered in an 8 year period between 1998 and 2006.
[edit] Fewer than 5 deaths
- Walsh Street police shootings - 2 officers ambushed by armed offenders and subsequently shot dead.
- Monash University shooting - Student Huan Xiang kills 2 and wounds 7 at Monash University before being wrestled to the ground by a wounded lecturer.
- Moorabbin Police murders - Two police officers are fatally shot at close range whilst staking out a restaurant.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Whiskey Au Go Go fire - Fire in club kills 15
- Mack Truck murders - Truck driver deliberately crashes truck into a hotel, killing five and badly wounding 16.
- Russell Street Bombing - 23 wounded when a car bomb ignites outside a Police Building. One of the wounded, a female police officer, died later of injuries from the explosion.
- Sydney Hilton bombing - Two garbage men killed and 12 injured by a bomb planted in a garbage bin. A police officer who was wounded dies later.
[edit] Effects on firearm laws
- Port Arthur Massacre - Semi-automatic rifles and pump action and self-loading shotguns banned from civilians. Licensing also necessary for all firearms, and ammunition capacity restricted to 5 rounds in magazine-fed rifles
- Monash University shooting - Pistols restricted to .38 calibre, magazine capacity restricted to ten rounds maximum, and pistols required to be minimum 12 inches long.
[edit] Killers
- Comancheros and Bandidos
- Julian Knight
- Frank Vitkovic
- Wade Frankum
- Martin Bryant
- Huan Xing
- John Wayne Glover
- Douglas Crabbe
- Bandali Debs and Jason Roberts
