'Darling; I'm going to be with the Lord'

from page 5 of The Examiner, May 1, 1996


[no by-line]

  A Sydney man told his wife he was "going to be with the Lord" as he lay dying from wounds he received in the Port Arthur massacre.
  Devout Christian Tony Kistan was one of six New South Wales tourists among the 35 people killed on Sunday in Australia's worst modern mass shooting.
  The others included Sydney solicitors Zoe Hall and her friend Glen Pears, who is believed to be one of the victims.
  South African Mr Kistan, 48, brought his family to Australia 14 years ago and immediately became an active member of the Dulwich Hill Salvation Army church in Sydney's inner west.
  "He was very involved in the church, and was very, very popular, a fine Christian man with a fine Christian family," said Major Ray Allen of the Salvation Army.
  "He was very happy, always smiling and a very supportive, very good family man. He supported his sons in everything they did -- soccer, basketball, cricket, and helped Adrian, who looked after the Sunday School at Dulwich Hill."
  His eldest son, Nesan, 24, a student living in Wollongong, returned to the family's Summer Hill home yesterday to break the news to his 20 year-old brother Adrian.
  Their mother, Sarah, was with Mr Kistan when he was shot and held him as he said: "Darling, I'm going to be with the Lord now."
  Major Allen said the sons had been too distraught to talk as they waited for their mother to come home.
  Ms Hall, 28, from southern Sydney suburb Kangaroo Point, was a promising solicitor at Sydney firm Minter Ellison.
  "She was outstanding, a really delightful kid, very popular -- everybody liked her. She was very capable, very talented and had a great future in front of her," said Minter Ellison managing partner Phil Clark.

[image: "Seascape sifting: Police sift through the ruins of the Seascape guest house after recovering a third body, the 35th shooting victim, yesterday." (9x15) ]


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