THIS MONTH marks the 20th anniversary of a day that changed Australia forever: the Port Arthur massacre. It also changed the life of Walter Mikac, the father who lost his wife, Nanette, and daughters, Alannah, six, and Madeline, three. Here, he shares his account of that terrible day, how it affected his own life, and inspired a charity for children.
I was raised in Melbourne, but in 1994, my wife Nanette’s parents moved to Tasmania. When we visited, we saw an opportunity to open a pharmacy there, so we moved to Nubeena, a little village near Port Arthur.
It was fantastic. I was able to check my fishing nets and cray pots each morning and still be at work by 9am. Alannah could come across the road from school and spend the afternoon with me until closing. We may have forgone city entertainment, but we felt we’d gained in freedom and safety. We never even locked our house.
Walter and Nanette Mikac on their wedding day.Source:News Limited
On the day of the shooting, I’d sponsored a golf tournament, so I went to play. I suggested Nanette have a day out with the girls at Port Arthur – she knew it well, as she worked there. We heard the gunshots from the course. “They must be having a re-enactment,” someone said. After the game, a young couple ran into the clubhouse. “People have been shot at the historic site,” they cried.
It didn’t seem possible. I drove over to have a look. The roads were closed, so I went home to see if Nanette and the girls were there. When I found the house empty, alarm bells rang.
Not long after, our family friend and local GP, Dr Pam Ireland, came and told me what had happened. She took me to the site, insisted the police let us through, and took me to see my family. For acceptance, that was very important. It meant there was no need for someone to describe or hide the details. I was able to hold each of them. The police didn’t cope with that very well, but Pam’s insistence made that happen.
The next day was my 34th birthday. At the funeral I just kept thinking of the love I’d received from Nanette and my children. They weren’t alive but I wanted to keep their spirit alive. I wanted to remind people not to get sidetracked with work and things we think are important, like sweeping the driveway, but instead, to cherish the time they had with their children and family.
“I truly believe the power of love and creation will always triumph over the power of destruction and revenge,” I said.
Family photo of Port Arthur massacre victims, Nanette, Alannah (left) and Madeline Mikac, with Walter Mikac.Source:News Limited
After that it was a case of trying to get through each minute. I couldn’t understand what allowed someone to kill that many people without being stopped, so I wrote a letter to [then-Prime Minister] John Howard. The next day he phoned. He wanted to thank me and to ask if he could read my letter to a police ministers’ meeting to get some resolution about changing our gun laws.
The resulting gun reforms were a big thing and I hope Australians never allow those laws to be changed; I’m currently organising a petition to make sure they don’t. We don’t want [Queensland MP] Bob Katter’s son-in-law [gun importer Robert Nioa] importing guns that get around the law purely on the definition. We don’t want a gun culture like the States. We don’t need it. Prior to Port Arthur there’d been 11 mass shootings here in 10 years. Since that legislation we haven’t had one and it’s made Australia safer for our children.
When everything you care about is gone, it’s hard to know what to do. There certainly wasn’t any point in going to work. Sleep didn’t come easily and I took a lot of anger out on my body. I’d run and cycle for hours. Friends disappeared, and there were plenty of young families who were friends with our children and we never heard from them again. People were worried about saying the wrong thing.
Walter leaving the church after a memorial service for his family.Source:News Limited
I wrote my book [The Circle Of Life] and that was hard, too, especially recalling the emotions and the court case. I never refer to the gunman by name. Apparently when he stopped in front of Nanette, she pleaded with him not to hurt her babies. He doesn’t deserve to be remembered in the same context as her, or any of the courageous people who went through it. He doesn’t deserve notoriety. He just deserves to sit in that cell for the rest of his life.
Going overseas to Europe and Africa helped my recovery. No one knew me. If I looked morose it didn’t matter, and having that time where there was no expectation from anyone was really important.
At the memorial service a year later, I felt vulnerable. I carried irises because they were Nanette’s favourite flower, and I wore Alannah and Madeline’s hair bands around my wrist and carried their teddy bears.
By this time, I’d received a letter from a man named Dr Phil West. He said he had two daughters the same age as Alannah and Madeline and really felt for me. He suggested I set up a foundation in their names. I guess people saw the photos of me at the service and got on board.
In the 19 years since, we’ve developed a range of incredible programs, devised by experts who do everything from supporting children who’ve been the victims of violence, to preventing bullying.
The Alannah and Madeline Foundation has helped 1.5 million children.Source:News Limited
We’ve provided comforting buddy bags [containing pyjamas and teddies] to more than 40,000 children fleeing violence. Our eSmart program is now in one in three schools and libraries, and educates parents and children about cyber safety. Princess Mary is an ambassador and uses the program in Denmark and Danish territories. We’re the only organisation outside Denmark she’s an ambassador for.
We’ve helped 1.5 million children. It’s awesome. The first generation of kids we supported have now become ambassadors themselves. I met a couple of brothers we’d helped a couple of years ago and I couldn’t stop hugging them. We’d enabled them to stay together, providing counselling and school fees, and I was so happy their lives had been restored to some normality after the trauma of what they’d seen.
In 1997, I met Kim Sporton. We married and in 2001 our daughter, Isabella, was born. The day I discovered we were having her was brilliant, and I’ve been able to experience some of the events I wasn’t able to with Alannah and Madeline. I’ve always told her about her big sisters. She’s visited the cemetery with me and in December 2014, aged 13, she walked the Kokoda Track with me for the foundation. It was the most humbling thing I’ve done in my life, especially doing it with Isabella.
Walter Mikac with current wife Kim Sporton.Source:News Limited
I’m now living in Byron [Bay], running another pharmacy. There was definitely a desire to get back to the ordinary and I won’t go back to Port Arthur this year. I went the day before the first anniversary for some quiet private time, and the next day a photo of me at the site appeared on the front page of the Hobart Mercury. I don’t want to put myself in that situation again.
To have Alannah and Madeline remembered with their foundation, to do public speaking to help others coping with trauma, to continue speaking about gun laws, that is what’s important now.
[Source:- News.com]
