Martin John Bryant (born 7 May 1967) is an Australian mass murderer[1] who shot and killed thirty-five people and injured twenty-three others in the Port Arthur massacre on 28 and 29 April 1996.

[3] A psychiatrist who examined Bryant told the family that he would never be capable of holding down a job because he would aggravate people to such an extent that he would always be in trouble.

[4] Locals recall abnormal behaviour by Bryant, such as pulling the snorkel from another boy while diving and cutting down trees on a neighbour's property.

[6] In an examination after the massacre, forensic psychologist Ian Joblin found Bryant to be borderline mentally disabled with an IQ of 66, equivalent to an 11-year-old.

Psychiatrist Paul Mullen, hired at the request of Bryant's legal counsel, found that he was socially and intellectually impaired.

Furthermore, finding that he did not display signs of schizophrenia or a mood disorder, Mullen concluded, "though Mr Bryant was clearly a distressed and disturbed young man he was not mentally ill."[5] In early 1987, when Bryant was aged 19, he met 54-year-old Helen Mary Elizabeth Harvey, heiress to a share in the Tattersall's lottery fortune, while looking for new customers for his lawn-mowing service.

[6] A mandatory clean-up order was placed on the Harvey mansion, and Bryant's father took long-service leave to assist in cleaning the interior.

Following the clean-up, Helen Harvey invited Bryant to live with her in the mansion and they began spending extravagant amounts of money, which included the purchase of more than thirty new cars in less than three years.

Around this time, Bryant was reassessed for his disability pension and a note was attached to the paperwork: "Father protects him from any occasion which might upset him as he continually threatens violence ... Martin tells me he would like to go around shooting people.

As Bryant had only the "vaguest notions" of financial matters, his mother subsequently applied for and was granted a guardianship order, placing his assets under the management of public trustees.

[5] While living at Copping, the white overalls he habitually wore were replaced with clothing more in line with Harvey's financial status.

Now that he was alone, Bryant's fashion sense became more eccentric; he often wore a grey linen suit, cravat, lizard-skin shoes and a Panama hat while carrying a briefcase during the day, telling anyone who would listen that he had a high paying career as a businessman.

[5][10] Bryant has provided conflicting and confused accounts of what led him to kill thirty-five people at the Port Arthur site on 28 April 1996.

[7] Bryant's first victims, David and Noelene Martin,[12] owned the bed and breakfast guest house called "Seascape".

[13] Bryant apparently believed the Martins bought the property out of spite towards his family and blamed them for causing the depression that led to his father's suicide.

[5] He fatally shot the Martins in the guest house and stole their weapons and the property keys before travelling to the Port Arthur site.

At Port Arthur, Bryant entered the Broad Arrow Café on the grounds of the historic site, carrying a large blue sports bag.

Once he finished eating, Bryant moved toward the back of the café and set a video camera on a vacant table.

A short distance down the road, he stopped beside a couple in a white Toyota and, drawing his weapon, ordered the male occupant into the boot of the BMW.

Bryant returned to the guest house, set the stolen car alight and took his hostage inside, where he had left the Martins' corpses.

The following morning, eighteen hours later, Bryant set fire to the guest house and attempted to escape in the confusion.

[14] Suffering burns to his back and buttocks, Bryant was captured and taken to Royal Hobart Hospital, where he was treated and kept under heavy guard.

[20] Newspaper coverage immediately after the massacre raised serious questions about journalistic practices, and criticism was directed toward Australian media.

Though the measures caused controversy, opposition to the new laws was lessened by media reporting of the massacre and mounting public opinion.

[25] In March 2012, Sydney artist Rodney Pople controversially won the AU$35,000 Glover Prize for his landscape painting depicting Port Arthur with Bryant in the foreground holding a firearm.