{"id":753181,"date":"2026-04-25T23:28:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T23:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/753181\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T23:28:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T23:28:25","slug":"thirty-years-after-losing-his-family-in-the-port-arthur-massacre-walter-mikac-says-gun-control-is-still-vital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/753181\/","title":{"rendered":"Thirty years after losing his family in the Port Arthur massacre, Walter Mikac says gun control is still vital"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walter Mikac was in the darkest depths of grief, shock and anger.<\/p>\n

As he flew from Hobart to Melbourne \u2014 where his loved ones were to be buried \u2014 he decided to pen a letter to the then Prime Minister John Howard.<\/p>\n

“As the person who lost his wife & two beautiful daughters at Port Arthur, I am writing to you to give you the strength to ensure no person in Australia ever has to suffer such a loss,” he wrote.<\/p>\n

Days earlier \u2014 on Sunday, April 28, 1996 \u2014 Mr Mikac had been at a golf tournament in Tasmania when loud bangs rang out in the distance.<\/p>\n

He initially assumed the sounds might be linked to some sort of re-enactment event at the historic penal colony of Port Arthur, where his wife and two daughters were.<\/p>\n

But it soon became apparent something terrible was unfolding.<\/p>\n

“[It was] the worst day of my life,” Mr Mikac told the ABC ahead of Tuesday’s 30th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre.<\/p>\n

\"Walter<\/p>\n

Walter Mikac with his daughters, Alannah and Madeline, in the 1990s. (Supplied: Walter Mikac)<\/p>\n

About 1:30pm, a man had arrived at the popular tourist site in a yellow Volvo sedan.<\/p>\n

He had walked into the Broad Arrow Cafe, where dozens of visitors were eating lunch or waiting to order.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After consuming his own meal, the man placed a sports bag on a table and pulled out an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle \u2014 one of three firearms he had arrived with that day.<\/p>\n

Within 15 seconds, 12 people had been fatally shot and several others were seriously injured.<\/p>\n

Over the next 90 seconds or so, eight more people were killed in the adjoining gift shop.<\/p>\n

Then, as the man made his way back through the car park, along the road to the toll booth, and later to the general store, he used his weapons to murder another 12 people.<\/p>\n

Among them were Mr Mikac’s wife, Nanette, and the couple’s two daughters \u2014 six-year-old Alannah and three-year-old Madeline \u2014 who were shot despite their mother’s pleas.<\/p>\n

“If you could possibly imagine your worst nightmare, that was it,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mr Mikac said.\"a<\/p>\n

Walter Mikac founded the Alannah & Madeline Foundation after the Port Arthur tragedy. (ABC News: Glenn Mullane)<\/p>\n

PM ‘staggered’ by shooting spree<\/p>\n

Eighteen hours after it started, the murderous rampage finally came to a fiery end at the Seascape Cottage, where the bodies of three more victims were found.<\/p>\n

In total, 35 people were killed, almost two dozen were wounded, and many more, including witnesses and first responders, were left with psychological scars.<\/p>\n

It was the worst mass shooting in modern Australian history.<\/p>\n

“I was just staggered,” then prime minister John Howard told the ABC of his first reaction after hearing about the massacre.<\/p>\n

“There was no other word I could possibly employ.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Liberal prime minister John Howard led the push for massive reforms to gun ownership. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)<\/p>\n

In the immediate aftermath, Mr Howard \u2014 who had been sworn in as the nation’s leader just seven weeks earlier \u2014 recognised the need for significant gun control laws.<\/p>\n

“I just felt that we had to use the marshalled outrage of the Australian community, and use the moral authority that that gave us, to bring about a result that was really beyond our legal reach, but nonetheless appropriate and proper and just.”<\/p>\n

He said Mr Mikac’s handwritten letter, urging him to stand firm on the reforms and not buckle to the resistance of some states, strengthened his resolve.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The first letter Walter Mikac penned John Howard. It is now in the National Museum of Australia. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

\n

7\/5\/96
WALTER MIKAC<\/p>\n

To Mr Howard,<\/p>\n

As the person who lost his wife & 2 beautiful daughters at Port Arthur I am writing to you to give you the strength to ensure no person in Australia ever has to suffer such a loss. I watched the news report this morning on the plane from Hobart to Melbourne (where my family will be buried) on new legislation concerning gun laws. I applaud your resolve & every Australian will be proud of your leadership in this matter (even your mate KIM across the bench). All I can say is there must be enough of penalty against possession of such horrific weapons & a one off tax (such as the one proposed) is one I\u2019m sure every Australian would many gladly give many fold. Please contact me at some stage to let me know what ensues. With all my heart, I implore you to restore AUSTRALIA to being the best place in the world.<\/p>\n

WALTER MIKAC
(PHARMACIST, HUSBAND, FATHER)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“[The letter] had a lot [of impact],” Mr Howard said.<\/p>\n

“Because it really personified the feeling of a lot of people, and none had been more grievously affected than he was.<\/p>\n

“I just felt if I didn’t keep pushing, I’d let people like Walter Mikac down very badly.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Loading…World-leading gun laws introduced<\/p>\n

Twelve days after the mass shooting, Australia’s eight states and territories agreed to implement the National Firearms Agreement.<\/p>\n

The agreement had several key elements, including:<\/p>\n

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