FAL

The FN FAL rifle has always been one of the main artifacts of the Port Arthur Paradox. A non-military .308 semi automatic, serial number G3434, it was manufactured in Belgium and somehow made it's way to the roof of a guest house at Seascape.

The police interview transcript makes very interesting reading. After readily discussing his stupid near-death boating accident, his porn habits and family, Martin is asked about the guns.

He readily says that he owns an AR10 in .308, and AR15 in .223 and a USAS12 shotgun. The .308 AR10 wasn't used at Port Arthur, it was safe in Terry Hill's gun shop for repairs. It needed repairs because Martin knew so little about firearms that he used the wrong type of bullets, and jammed it.

But let's get back to the interview:

PAINE

Q. Yeah. Alright, the next one we'll look at is a ahh, a three 0 eight ahh, calibre, FN weapon.

A. Mmm.
Q. Do you remember where?
A. I've never seen that one before. Never. That's not one of mine.
Q. You sure?
A. No definitely not, never seen that in my life. It's nice though.
WARREN
A. Three 0 eight, yes. Had a three 0 eight.
Q. Mmm.
A. That was one Terry Hill was repairing.
PAINE
Q. I’ll just ask Mr Warren to pick up a scope we have there on the floor because that might be causing the confusion. I believe that that scope was probably fitted to that gun before we got it. Now does that...
A. No I've never seen that scope before in my life. Never. No. No I've never. Never seen that scope in my life.
Q. Now you say you've never seen that three 0 eight before but you did in fact own a three 0 eight?
A. Yeah, definitely.

Q. Right. 

So the conversation is pretty clear - Martin has never seen the .308 FN, but then the cops add a scope to it - a scope that had been lying on the floor of the interview room, not attached to the rifle.

What does Martin have to gain from lying about the FAL? Nothing. He admits the AR15 and the shotgun, that's enough to get him locked away for life. He gains nothing from lying about the FAL and I don't believe that he is lying. I believe he hadn't seen it before.

This is an added complication. Scoped rifles like this were rare in Australia, since most armies using the FN FAL or SLR used open sights. The scopes were reserved for special sniper rifles. Check out the Gunsmith's Guide to Port Arthur for more information about the FN FAL and SLR family of rifles.

Which brings me to my latest discovery.

I finally got a copy of David Everett's book Shadow Warrior. I've often said that Dave ticks most of the boxes when it comes to the Port Arthur shooter, although I don't think it was actually him who did it. Rather, I think it was someone like him, trained by the army but then cut loose, paid to do the job and disappear afterwards. A soldier of fortune. In the book, there are men like Baz and The Belgian who fit this description perfectly.

So look what I came across in the pictures:

Dave and an unknown accomplice, squatting in front of piles of ammunition, proudly displaying an AR15 and a SCOPED FN FAL - just like the one recovered from Seascape.

So who is this other chap? He looks a bit taller than Dave, but Everett was a small, skinny bloke so the mystery man is average height - Bryant's height.

Is it really so hard to imagine? This bloke gets arrested in 1995 by Qld cops and is sitting in an interview room when the door opens. In comes Rebecca Peters, flashing an INTERPOL badge she got from the Open Society. She asks the detectives to leave for a moment, then speaks to the ex-SAS mercenary and gun runner.

'Look, mate. You're fucked. You're looking at twenty years in prison, just like your accomplices James Reynolds and Dave Everett. Everett is still in prison, and Reynolds killed himself. I'm the only hope you've got.'

He looks skeptical, so she puts on her best Mad Max 2 impersonation.

Max: Two days ago, I saw a vehicle that could haul that tanker...

'You wanna get outta here, you talk to me.'

'Okay,' he says warily. 'Talk to me.'

'Simple,' she says. 'I get these cops to release you into my custody, you do a job for me and then disappear afterwards.'

'What kind of job?'

'Something right up your alley,' she smirks. 'Shooting a bunch of American Tourists on a jetty in Tasmania...'

He thinks for a moment. Gun control means big profits for the arms dealers who work in the shadows. People like me. Not a bad idea...

He smiles, and holds out his wrists for her handcuffs.

'Please promise me you won't...abuse me...while I'm in your custody...?'

She gives him a look that would melt steel.

'Don't worry, shithead. You're not my type.'

***

Nobody who has read the interview transcript and Nicholas Cheok's witness statement believes that Martin Bryant planned and carried out the Port Arthur Massacre on his own.

Think about possible v probable - what's more likely - did a disabled bloke with a 66 IQ plan a complex military style operation, execute it with precise timing and then hold to a convoluted lie when interrogated by the cops? He says that he drove past Port Arthur because he didn't have the money to go in. He couldn't pay the entry fee because he was due to get more money from the Public Trustee on Monday 30 April 1996.

Or was he set up, drugged and left in Seascape while professionals stole his Volvo, impersonated him and then set fire to the building to cover their tracks? Martin waking up and getting out of the fire wasn't in their plan, he was supposed to die in the fire. Nice and neat.

If ex SASR members were involved, then it makes sense that there is a shame and a coverup at the highest levels. The Australian public trust these men to do our dirty work, to do extreme violence on our behalf, so we may sleep safely in our beds at night. If it was revealed that some of them went rogue, and helped commit this atrocity, the public's faith in the institution would be shattered and all the billions spent, wasted.

So the truth and an innocent man are sacrificed for political expediency.

Sadly, it has ever been thus.

My novel, the 2nd Empty Chair is a possible, plausible alternative to the official story, based on the witness statements and court documents. You can get it from Amazon or if you want 15% off the paperback, go to www.lulu.com/spotlight/OskarZim and order it from there.
The discount only lasts until Christmas.