JFK and Port Arthur

GUNSHOT

A few years ago I listened for the first time to the tape of the gunshots in Dealey Plaza on the day that President Kennedy was assassinated. It was, shall we say, an epiphany, a moment in time when the perception of my world shifted. You see I had bought the establishment line about those gunshots, that is, "anyone could get 4 shots off in 8.31 seconds". Indeed, the Warren Commission had three FBI agents do just that. No problem, you had all day for the first shot, then get off the remaining 3 shots in 8.31 seconds, an average of one shot every 2.77 seconds.

The argument of 8.31 seconds to get off all 4 shots was all smoke and mirrors; it was directing everyone’s attention away from the real question. That question became obvious when I finally got access to the tape of the gunshots. You see, the last 2 shots are only .82 seconds apart!

It is physically impossible to recover from the recoil of a rifle, move your hand from the trigger, lift the bolt, pull the bolt back, push the bolt forward, close the bolt and then get your finger back on the trigger to snap off a second shot in .82 seconds. It just can’t be done, forget about aiming, you just can’t mechanically chamber a round like that in such a short period of time.

What the gunshots on that tape told me was that there had to have been a second shooter. If you have two people, that is enough for a conspiracy. Once I had that key bit of information, then the whole bogus Warren Commission with the former Chief Justice presiding was put in doubt. Obviously, there wasn’t just a conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy; there was also a conspiracy to hide the truth of the assassination.

So what has this to do with the Port Arthur Massacre? Well, have you ever heard the tape?

Recently, former gunsmith Stewart Beattie put together a booklet called "A Gunsmith’s Notebook on Port Arthur". To say it is devastating to the official line on the massacre is an understatement. It exposes the fraud surrounding both the massacre and the cover-up that followed. I will offer some tidbits from that booklet, but if you want some real ammunition, get the booklet with pictures and all.

In Chapter 15 Mr. Beattie addresses the gunshot on the "A Current Affair" video shown on television. If you listen to the tape you hear Bryant saying "I’ve got twenty to seven ‘cause of I’m making up some sandwiches…BANG...these people got, um salad and some steak here…"

That BANG is clearly a gunshot. I’ve been around firearms all my life, spent some time in the service and Viet Nam and I have been to quite a few indoor shooting ranges. That is the signature of a gunshot in or around a structure, no doubt about it. Mr. Beattie confirms that with the report from an independent expert’s report from Independent Audiometry Technologist. You can read the analysis and view the waveform comparisons in the booklet.

So, big question, if Bryant is on the phone, who is doing the shooting? Do you get it? There are two people; if you have two people then you have enough for a conspiracy. Further in the booklet on page 46 is the listing of the various "coughs" on the tape (that is what the police called the gunshots). The transcript indicates that there were 20 such "coughs", but it is how the gunshots are mentioned in the transcript that may illustrate the frustration of those involved with the investigation. As Mr. Beattie wrote, "The one event transcribed as "COUGH" at page 15 of the transcript, is the only "cough" incident transcribed in CAPITALS in the court documents. I cannot tell you why that is the case. And interestingly, could I be forgiven for suggesting that some honest soul wanted the public to have this audio/visual experience and access, via the "A Current Affair" tape.."

"PATSY"

Another tape to listen to and compare with the Kennedy assassination is the tape where Bryant asked the police negotiator about what happened at Port Arthur. The negotiator mentions that there had been some shooting at Port Arthur and was wondering if Bryant knew anything about it. Bryant, in a voice that echoes from the past with Lee Harvey Oswald, then asked, "Was there anyone hurt?" This is supposed to be from a person that just shot up the Broad Arrow Café, killed a mother and her daughters at point blank range and killed and dragged from a BMW the occupants of that car. It has the ring of innocence of Oswald’s voice when he was asked by a reporter "Did you shoot the President?" where upon Oswald replied, "no sir, I didn’t shoot anybody, I am just the Patsy!"

THE FIREARMS

Mr. Beattie in his notebook also spends considerable time explaining the firearm evidence. It is clear from Chapter 13 that the .308 FN FAL was not Bryant’s. Bryant had an AR-10 in .308. Unfortunately for Bryant’s handlers silly Martin took the AR-10 to Terry Hill the gunsmith 34 days before the massacre. The gun was still there on the day of the massacre.

You have to remember that the target firearms of the gun-ban legislation dating back to the 1980’s were all self-loading firearms, not just the military rifles, but also .22 and shotguns. Well, Bryant owned a .22 self-loader (the .223 AR-15), a .308 AR-10 and a Daewoo Shotgun configured like an AR-15 (not used in the massacre, just left in the boot of Bryant’s car at the tollgate, along with his passport!). I expect what happened was that his handlers didn’t find out about the AR-10 at the gunsmiths until quite late in the game, so they were forced to substitute in the FN FAL at the last minute.

As Bryant said continuously, "No, I’ve never see that one before. Never. That’s not one of mine". He admits ownership of the AR-15, but not the FN-FAL. In fact he denies ever having seen the rifle before, yet he was supposed to have used it during the massacre! After repeated denials by Bryant, the police interrogator states, "Now you say you’ve never seen that 308 (FN FAL) before, but, you in fact own a 308." Bryant answers "Yeah, definitely…inaudible…AR10". The prosecution also did their job well by slight of hand at the sentencing so that the public never cottoned on that the rifle was not Bryant’s. I have visions of 1963 and a police officer holding aloft an old Carcano military rifle with a loose scope as the alleged murder weapon of Kennedy.

DESTRUCTION OF THE FIREARMS

Chapter 9 discusses the tape where Bryant makes comments about destroying the firearms before he leaves the Seascape Lodge. The negotiator asks "can I take it that you won’t have any firearms with you then?" Whereupon Bryant states so mater-of-factly, "That’s correct….they’ll all be destroyed." Negotiator, "You’re gonna destroy the firearms?" Bryant, "Yes, break them up."

Now here is where it gets interesting. Mr. Beattie goes through the blown up AR-15 in great detail. Using his experience and various pictures, it is clear that the AR-15 was blown up by the use of a "hot" round. That is, a round that was put together with very fast burning pistol or shotgun powder, not the medium burning powder usually used in the .223. So where did silly Martin learn to do this? Where did he do this? When did he plan this?

More importantly, why did the police take a different tack to this issue, they say that it was an accident (an accident that Bryant was able to predict!). Mr. Beattie goes through the police forensic evidence in depth and demolishes it. The police reports go to great length to allege that it was a bad batch of ammunition that blew up the gun. Unfortunately, the company (Norinco) that made the ammunition doesn’t make ammunition by batches, only by years. Also no other distributor or gunsmith that he contacted ever heard of such faulty ammunition.

SECURITY

There is a scene in the movie "JFK" where Donald Sutherland, playing the chief of the President’s security, tells Garrison (Kevin Costner) that he had been sent out of the country to Antarctica during the time of the President’s assassination. It is a dramatic scene in the movie that gives evidence of the extent of the conspiracy. No such "chief" at Port Arthur, but the modus operandi was the same. The only two police on the peninsula, Constables Hyland and Whittle, were directed to an anonymous bogus drug tip that left them the farthest point on the peninsula at the time of the massacre. Also the senior management staff of the Port Arthur site was sent away that morning to an obscure management meeting on the mainland. There was no agenda for the meeting, it was the first of its kind and strangely it was scheduled on a weekend during the busy time for the site. If there is ever a movie about the Port Arthur Massacre, perhaps Donald Sutherland’s son, Keefer, could play one of the cops that were sent on a wild goose chase.

OTHER ISSUES

The booklet is full of other interesting tidbits, like police statements that confirm multiple persons at Seascape. The FN FAL being found in the gutter of the porch next door to Seascape (with a picture form 24 March 2001 edition of "New Idea" showing the gun still in place!). The "further rifle….located on the grass to the north of the cottage", located there by Act. Sgt Craig Harwood. Not to mention the autopsy report regarding Mrs. Sally Martin, "The autopsy revealed …a number of small fragments of lead shrapnel….located in and around the left shoulder area and chest cavity.." "…although injury caused by exploding ammunition during the fire could not be ruled out as the cause of this" – what bunkum, can’t happen! Reminds me of the "magic bullet" in the Kennedy assassination.

WITNESS

Of all the witnesses that saw the shooter, only one knew Martin Bryant from before. That was Jim Laycock, the former owner of the Broad Arrow Café. He not only knew Bryant, but also where he used sit in the Broad Arrow and what he used to drink and the conversations he used to have with his daughter. So what did Laycock say about his identification of the shooter? "I did not recognize the male (shooter) as Martin Bryant".

Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear that evidence in court! Imagine the only person who knew Bryant from before the massacre saying that he didn’t recognize the shooter as Bryant. Of course, we will never get to hear that evidence, not only because the government will never have an inquiry, but more importantly because Mr. Laycock is now deceased. Reminds me of so many of the key witnesses around the Kennedy assassination ending up being deceased, perhaps this is just one more of those unusual coincidences between the Port Arthur Massacre and JFK.

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Get this booklet and the new CD-ROM E-Book, Deceit & Terrorism by Andrew McGregor that contains all the available tapes, court transcript, witness and Police statements as well as Special Commissioner Doyle's Report and recommendations — the most comprehensive works to date on Port Arthur — by directing your inquiry to: Mrs. W Scurr, "Port Arthur Unmasked", P.O. Box 8 Kempton, Tas. 7030.