The Port Arthur massacre was a mass killing that took place at Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia. On Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 April 1996 35 people were killed, and 37 people were badly hurt. Martin Bryant used semi-automatic guns to shoot people who were visiting Port Arthur. Port Arthur is an old penal colony or large prison. More than 75,000 convicts from Britain and Ireland had been kept at the prison from the 1830s to the 1870s. The ruins of the prison are one of the biggest attractions for visitors to Tasmania. Bryant is in jail for the crime.