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Port Arthur: A story of strength and courage
Book by Scott, Margaret
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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April 7, 2024an excellently written account of the events and aftermath of Australia'as worst mass shootings. definitely a must read if you'd like to know about australian history and port arthur- Scott seamlessly wove the convict history with the horrific events of april 28th with the inspiring way in which the community and australia came together afterwards.
May 7, 2017
Events at Port Arthur struck to the emotional core of Australians. A year after, Margaret Scott, acclaimed poet and resident of the area of Tasmania where the tragic events took place, has written a wonderful testament to the people of the Tasman peninsula whose lives were irrevocably changed. Thirty-five lives were lost on a beautiful, golden autumn day (28 April, 1996). Countless more lives were touched and affected in the most profound of ways.
I can't imagine a better person to write a book such as this. Scott's profound humanity and lyrical abilities are a real tribute to the people involved, from the families and loved ones of victims to the trauma doctors and nurses working far away from the scene in Hobart.
Never maudlin, never saccharine sweet or cloying, and not seeking to focus on the shock-horror value of the story, the book is personal and warm.
I bought this book after a visit to the Port Arthur historical site, and it book makes an invaluable contribution to the poignancy of a visit to this most special of places in Australian history (it was a 19th century convict penal settlement, with many ghost stories to tell before the 1996 tragedy.
I can't imagine a better person to write a book such as this. Scott's profound humanity and lyrical abilities are a real tribute to the people involved, from the families and loved ones of victims to the trauma doctors and nurses working far away from the scene in Hobart.
Never maudlin, never saccharine sweet or cloying, and not seeking to focus on the shock-horror value of the story, the book is personal and warm.
I bought this book after a visit to the Port Arthur historical site, and it book makes an invaluable contribution to the poignancy of a visit to this most special of places in Australian history (it was a 19th century convict penal settlement, with many ghost stories to tell before the 1996 tragedy.
September 2, 2017
Nice, a healing homage to the people of Port Arthur. Scott is an expert at evoking time and place.
August 26, 2012
This is a remarkable book.
I know I visited Port Arthur in 1992, and I think I also went there in 1994. Both of these visits were prior to 1996, when the events of this book take place. I remember coming home from a driving lesson with my father on the 28th of April 1996 to find my mother crying, telling us about what had happened.
Margaret Scott is an icon of Australian television, comedy, and literature. When my mother saw this book, she said "I think Margaret Scott was my lecturer in Children's Literature." As someone who watched Margaret Scott on Good News Week, that was an amazing revelation - I am so incredibly JEALOUS of my mother!
But anyway: this book is written by a legend, about an event that will forever be part of my memory - and she does it so very well. As a local to the peninsula, she writes about the community surrounding Port Arthur in a way that only a local could. She writes about the events of that terrible day with an urgency and effect that grabbed at me, so many years afterwards. She gave me a vision of how horrible it must have been: that day, and then in the times thereafter.
What I found particularly interesting to contemplate was Scott's comments on the ways in which history has always been artificialised at Port Arthur, and the ways in which some people wanted to either sweep the events of April 28, 1996 under the carpet, or equally artificialise them. It was a way of thinking about history, memorials, and how we mark and remark upon events that I think will really sit with me in the weeks and months to come.
It's another Australian book that I'm grateful to have read - glad to have read - and that I know I will think back to in the future.
I know I visited Port Arthur in 1992, and I think I also went there in 1994. Both of these visits were prior to 1996, when the events of this book take place. I remember coming home from a driving lesson with my father on the 28th of April 1996 to find my mother crying, telling us about what had happened.
Margaret Scott is an icon of Australian television, comedy, and literature. When my mother saw this book, she said "I think Margaret Scott was my lecturer in Children's Literature." As someone who watched Margaret Scott on Good News Week, that was an amazing revelation - I am so incredibly JEALOUS of my mother!
But anyway: this book is written by a legend, about an event that will forever be part of my memory - and she does it so very well. As a local to the peninsula, she writes about the community surrounding Port Arthur in a way that only a local could. She writes about the events of that terrible day with an urgency and effect that grabbed at me, so many years afterwards. She gave me a vision of how horrible it must have been: that day, and then in the times thereafter.
What I found particularly interesting to contemplate was Scott's comments on the ways in which history has always been artificialised at Port Arthur, and the ways in which some people wanted to either sweep the events of April 28, 1996 under the carpet, or equally artificialise them. It was a way of thinking about history, memorials, and how we mark and remark upon events that I think will really sit with me in the weeks and months to come.
It's another Australian book that I'm grateful to have read - glad to have read - and that I know I will think back to in the future.
July 25, 2023
The Port Arthur massacre is a pretty big deal in Australian history. It happened back in 1996 and yet Martin Bryant (the perpetrator) is still a household name. That’s probably because mass shootings are pretty unheard of in Aus. But then that’s because this shooting inspired unprecedented bipartisan support at the state and federal level to change the gun control laws.
So that’s the context, the Port Arthur massacre is also unique in that the shooting occurred at a site that is already mired in a brutal convict history being an old penal penitentiary from the convict days. I’ve visited Port Arthur since the shooting and can attest to the natural beauty of the region and the deep and conflicted history.
Margaret Scott does a great job of presenting all of these elements in her exploration of the event, its impact and its repair in the region. I particularly enjoyed that she chose to showcase the victims rather than the offender. The exploration of how this impacted Tasmanian community was clearly enriched by the fact that she actually is a Tasmanian resident and understands the culture. Tassies are a very friendly lot and tend to be more community minded than us Melbournians and that shined through in her writing. The examples of compassion and heroism shown on the day and after were a delight to read about in contrast to the brutality of Bryant’s actions.
I definitely recommend this to anyone else interested in learning more about this dark chapter in Aussie history.
So that’s the context, the Port Arthur massacre is also unique in that the shooting occurred at a site that is already mired in a brutal convict history being an old penal penitentiary from the convict days. I’ve visited Port Arthur since the shooting and can attest to the natural beauty of the region and the deep and conflicted history.
Margaret Scott does a great job of presenting all of these elements in her exploration of the event, its impact and its repair in the region. I particularly enjoyed that she chose to showcase the victims rather than the offender. The exploration of how this impacted Tasmanian community was clearly enriched by the fact that she actually is a Tasmanian resident and understands the culture. Tassies are a very friendly lot and tend to be more community minded than us Melbournians and that shined through in her writing. The examples of compassion and heroism shown on the day and after were a delight to read about in contrast to the brutality of Bryant’s actions.
I definitely recommend this to anyone else interested in learning more about this dark chapter in Aussie history.
August 7, 2011
A very graphic book
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews