April 28 at Port Arthur is the day that can never be forgotten, and perhaps already we should be thinking about that.
This is not an easy article to write, just three days after 35 people died in the horror that began at the site at 1.30pm last Sunday.
But I believe suggestions made yesterday by two Hobart women are worth considering.
One of those women is Jody Oddie, wife of Steve, a Mercury press artist. The other is Moya Fyfe, one of our reporters who was sent to the peninsula to cover the awful tragedy.
Judy believes that relatives and friends of the dead will look upon the site as a grieving place, and that it would be abhorrent to expect to pay admission at the toll booth when they chose to visit.
So do I. But what of the practicalities? How can one visitor be distinguished from another? A special pass, if such was provided, might be considered macabre.
Moya Fyfe came up with the solution. "I think April 28 should be declared Memorial Day, and each year on that date the gates should be thrown open for all who wished to gathere there."
No guides in colonial uniform, no activities, just a short, commemorative service, and some time to remember. It makes sense to me.
The nightly ghost tours should also be abandoned, and the Tasmanian community should be prepared to meet the shortfall in revenue through a tax of some kind.
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