It was a Sunday afternoon in April 1996 when a lone gunman armed with semi-automatic rifles killed 35 people in the Australian tourist town of Port Arthur.
The massacre almost 30 years ago, which ushered in some of the strictest gun laws in the world, feels like a bygone age for many Australians.
But the Bondi Beach attack on Sunday, which left 15 dead, rekindled memories of the Tasmanian tragedy - none more so than for leading gun control advocate Roland Browne.
As the country's deadliest modern-day mass shooting was unfolding, Mr Browne was meeting fellow gun control advocates to lobby for a ban on the exact type of firearm used in the Port Arthur attack.
“There’s just a lot of similarities,” Mr Browne, who spent childhood summers in Bondi, told the BBC.
Despite being hailed for its strict gun laws, Australia’s reality is more complicated. A recent report revealed over 4 million privately-owned firearms in the country, nearly double the number from two decades ago.
New calls for tighter regulations have emerged, with suggestions including limiting ownership numbers and improving intelligence on license applications. Mr Browne is advocating for stricter ownership caps while some argue that focusing solely on gun limitations ignores broader issues such as radicalization.
The tragedy serves as a wake-up call for many, reiterating the need for ongoing reforms to adapt to evolving societal challenges and ensure public safety.
