Convicts and the death penalty
Name one reason why convicts were sent to Australia
Who were the two main gang leaders involved in the Razor gangs? (bonus points if you can state their street names)
Tilly Devine (Queen of Woollomooloo) and Kate Leigh. (Queen of Surry Hills)
What type of punishment was port arthur known for?
Psychological punishment (silent prison)
What was the name of the shooter and when did the massacre occur?
Martin Bryant and 1996
What major event provoked major gun reform in Australia
The Port Arthur Massacre
What form of punishment were women subjected to?
head shaving, forced labour and wearing a collar
Why were the razors weapons of choice?
Due to the introduction of the Pistol Licensing Act in 1927 outlawing handguns, razors became the default weapon as they were easy to purchase, easy to conceal, and were easy to use to inflict great bodily harm on adversaries
What was open to the public until 1861?
Public execution
Name one of the shooters motives
He had 'below normal' intellect, resulting in social isolation and anger. His first victims had also purchased the seascape property he had wanted to purchase so he held resentment
Were mass shootings/ gun violence already declining by the 1980's-1996?
Yes
What is the difference between an eye for an eye punishment and rehabilitation
An-eye-for-an-eye punishments are typically justified as a form of justice. They are based on the premise that victims wont feel satisfied unless the criminals suffers to the extent that they have suffered. Rehabilitation focuses more so on rehabilitating the perpetrator to ensure they don't re offend.
What did Tilly decide to do with her career after she was imprisoned in 1925?
She decided to start her own brothels and become a madam instead of being a street walking prostitute
What was the purpose of the punishments enacted in the silent prison, and what happened to many of the prisoners?
These punishments were seen as enlightened, as it gave prisoners a chance to reflect on their crimes. However, many developed mental illnesses due to the prolonged sensory depravation,
What were the names of the two little girls that were shot, and what was made in their honour?
Alannah and Madeline Mikac, and their father created the Alannah and Madeline foundation. The foundation's goal is to keep children safe from violence.
name a shooting incident that occurred prior to 1996?
The Hoddle street and Queen street massacres, two girls being accidentally shot by sporting shooters and the Straithfield shooting.
Who was the last person to be executed in Australia and what did this conviction lead to (what did the states decide to do as a result)
Ronald Ryan, and due to the fact many people thought he had been wrongfully convicted, this contributed to the abolition of the death penalty in Victoria
What ended up happening to both the women at the end of the wars?
Kate filed for bankruptcy due to unpaid taxes, and Tilly divorced her husband Jim, and also had to pay back taxes and sell many of her properties.
What was the name of the high security prisoner who planned to escape with Ivan Milat, and what happened to him?
George Savvas, and he was found dead hanging by a bed sheet in his cell
How many victims were there, and how did the final events of the massacre play out?
35 people were killed. The shooter drove to seascape cottage after the shootings. An 18-hour standoff ensued because he claimed he had hostages. The following day, he had set fire to the cottage , taunting the police to 'come and get him'. He ran from the house, clothes alight and was captured by the police
What is the NFA and name two things it regulates
Gun ownership is a privilege not a right
○ Semi-automatic weapons must be strictly controlled
○ All guns must be registered
○ Guns musts be stored securely
○ There must be a 28-day cooling off period when buying guns
What was revealed about the punishments given in early convict Australia? Did they achieve justice, or reveal something about the people dishing out the punishments?
The punishments inflicted on early convicts revealed that the people in positions of authority had free reign to inflict any punishments they wanted for any indiscretion or lack of indiscretion. These punishments didn't achieve justice, and mainly provided an avenue for those in power to gain gratification in the infliction of misery.
What happened to Tilly in 1930?
she was arrested under the arrested as Vagrancy (Amendment) Act 1929, due to her participation in gang violence and promised to leave Sydney for 2 years.
Why was it so hard to escape the prison
Surrounded by a shark invested port, thick bush land and natural barriers, and the only way in or out was heavily guarded.
Outline the gun amnesty
Australian Government introduced the buy-back scheme and amnesty. The Gun buy-back scheme was introduced to give amnesty for firearm owners to hand over their fire arms that have recently been prohibited for compensation. In this case, semi automatic riffles and shotguns were targeted in particular.
How effective was the NFA?
The NFA has caused reductions in mass shootings, as no mass shootings have occurred in Australia for 23 years after it was adopted, until the 2019 Darwin shootings.
However, statistically, mass killings were already on the decline in the 20th century, and by 1980, mass shootings were already on the decline.