Canberrans have surrendered about 800 firearms and related items including crossbows, fireworks, pistols and machine guns to ACT Policing during the national firearms amnesty.
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Minister for Policing and Emergency Services Mick Gentleman said those that handed in their unregistered and unwanted firearms during the three-month amnesty had helped keep our community safe.
"I think it really does show what a safe and responsible community we do have in Canberra," Mr Gentleman said.
"I think it's quite successful and we're very pleased that the Canberra community has come on board for this."
Of the 800, 699 were firearms, which included 180 shotguns, 430 rifles and 131 handguns.
A German ME8 maxim machine gun, captured by the Australian Light Horse in 1918 and shipped back to Australia, was the heaviest of the haul, weighing 35kg. It was given to a Victorian town as a trophy but disappeared in the last hundred years.
The machine gun came into the hands of an anonymous collector. It will be gifted to the Australian War Memorial for its collection.
Chief police officer, assistant commissioner Justine Saunders said the amnesty was a tremendous outcome for not just the ACT community, but the entire country as it will see 51,000 firearms off the streets around Australia.
"We know there is real potential for firearms such as these to fall into the wrong hands and we do know, once they do, they are used in violent crimes," assistant commissioner Saunders said.
"We've see there's been an increase in robberies involving firearms, we've also seen increasing drive by shootings.
"So for me, one less gun on the street is a great outcome, and in this instance we've seen 699."
Assistant commissioner Saunders encouraged Canberrans to still surrender any unwanted and unregistered firearms, even after the amnesty.
"The greatest difference between the amnesty and the day-to-day activities that occur here are that there is an anonymity associated with the amnesty," she said.
"If you have a firearm we encourage you to bring it in, but of course we'll be asking questions as to who you are and some history to the firearm."
The amnesty allowed people to surrender unwanted or unregistered firearms to the police, with no questions asked.
