Memorial plan for death site

from page 6 of The Examiner, May 1, 1996


by Matthew Rogers

  The Port Arthur cafe in which 20 people were killed on Sunday will be flattened and a monument erected in its place.
  A meeting of the Port Arthur Historic Site Committee yesterday passed a unanimous motion to demolish the building.
  It is likely to be replaced by a memorial wall with the names of all those killed, although the final decision will not be made until after the trial when the cafe is no longer needed for evidence.
  The site will be re-opened to the public on Saturday, although facilities will not re-open until May 20.
  Historic site chairman Michael Mazengrab said traumatised workers would be allowed to return to work when they were up to it and the Government had offered to pay their wages in the meantime to ensure they endured no financial hardship.
  Mr Mazengarb praised workers for the help they gave the injured on Sunday, some of them battling on despite losing their own loved ones.
  One female worker kept struggling to help others after her daughter had been killed and a male worker did likewise after his wife was shot dead.
  Mr Mazengarb critised the interstate media's insensitivity to workers and their families and said one organisation landed a helicopter at the Nubeena school and tried to interview young relatives of the victims.
  One worker at the site said journalists had called workers pretending to be police officers in a bid to gain information.
  Mr Mazengarb said only the fullness of time would reveal whether Port Arthur's future as a tourist location was secure.
  "The site will never be the same. It can't be and people can't expect it to be," Mr Mazengarb said.

[image: "Respect: A wreath of flowers at the front of the cafe where 20 people died." by Neil Richardson (11x8) ]


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