A memorial service will be held at St Michael’s Uniting Church – on the corner of Russell and Collins Street in Melbourne – on 8 December to commemorate the 30th anniversary of a mass shooting which rocked the city.
On 8 December 1987, a man armed with a sawn-off shotgun entered the Australia Post headquarters in Queen St and began killing people as he moved from floor to floor.
Eight people were killed and five wounded before the gunman fell to his death on the 11th floor when he attempted to escape through an open window.
It was the second mass shooting in Melbourne in four months and followed the killing of seven people in Hoddle St, Clifton Hill, on 9 August.
At about 4:20pm on the day, the gunman went to the fifth floor where his rampage began. He moved from floor to floor killing and injuring office workers before two office workers who had already been shot and a colleague tackled him and another worker hid his rifle.
He had bought the gun and obtained a shooter’s licence only a few weeks beforehand. He had also kept press clippings from the Hoddle Street massacre.
Several of the workers in the building on the day still work for Australia Post and many have suffered from post traumatic stress.
Australia Post spokesperson Michael Halloran was a young worker in the building at the time.
He said: “This is not only a most significant event in Australia Post’s 200-year-old history, it is also a significant event in Australia’s history and action has rightly been taken to commemorate the event.”
The service, which will feature readings and music, begins at 10:30am The families and friends of the victims, Australia Post workers and the general public are invited to attend.
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