Amazing Australian shark attacks

Don't let this page put you off swimming at Australia's beautiful beaches as statistically there is very little chance that something will happen to you, unless it is in the car on the way to the beach, around 1450 people die on the roads in Australia every year, and only 0.9 a year on average die from shark attack in Australia. It is more dangerous to stay on the beach where you could get stung by a bee ( they kill three people a year in Australia) or pick up skin cancer that kills hundreds of people every year, or get hit by lightning like happened to an Irish tourist on Bondi Beach in February 2005. And don't let it put you off scuba diving either, only 11% of shark deaths worldwide are scuba divers, the most popular dish for sharks is surfer, probably because the surfboard looks like a seal from underneath. Only six out of all shark species are dangerous to humans.
In 2005 several people have survived shark attacks in Australia simply by punching the shark in the head as hard as they could, so remember this trick.

In contrast, worldwide people kill up to 200 million sharks each year.

The Australian Shark Attack File (ASAF), kept at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, has only recorded 33 fatal shark attacks in the past 30 years, including the two recent deaths in South Australia.
In over 200 years, there have been a total of 182 fatal attacks in Australia . New South Wales has recorded the most fatal attacks; 69 and Queensland 68 fatal attacks.

Organizers of the Sydney Olympics hired six divers on underwater scooters and wearing shark-pods, which emit a low-frequency electrical pulse to keep the triathletes' swimming course in the harbour free of sharks, even though nobody had been killed here for nearly 40 years since Marcia Hathaway was munched up in 1963.

One place that is worth avoiding is the canals on the Gold Coast. While the beaches are pretty safe, the canals are known for the unpredictable bullsharks. In December 2002 they killed Gold Coast man Beau Martin and only six weeks later former champion lawn bowler Bob Purcell was fatally mauled, both of them while swimming in Gold Coast canals. Some of the locals have turned the shark situation into a hobby and one fisherman reported he catches at least three bull sharks a night, most of the sharks he hooks are 1m to 1.5m long, but he says he has seen 3m to 4m monsters cruising the canals. The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries even runs a radio campaign to highlight the dangers of canal swimming. The department's shark control manager, Baden Lane, said people should not be swimming in the canals but, if they do, they should avoid night time, daybreak, dusk, overcast days and even the middle of the day. Yes, hello, what's left then? Another fisherman said bull sharks are very inquisitive and would nudge small boats or kayaks. Some shark species go in attack mode even before they are born, they eat eachother in the womb!

South African researcher Ramon Bonfil did a 15-month study of great white sharks and tracked 32 sharks with electronic tags. To his amazement a 3.8 metre shark that they tagged in South Africa swam 11,100km to Australia's west coast in 99 days, ans showed up again later off the South African coast, having completed a journey of more than 20,000 km. in record time.

Lucky escape

In March 2004 18 year old Chris van Namen had a lucky escape on Lake Macquarie in New South Wales when he rose out of the water on his waterskis only a split second from an encounter with an eight-foot bull shark headed in his direction. Nobody had seen the shark there and it was only after the photos were developed two weeks later that the fin was discovered and he realized how lucky he had been.

Photo and story sent in by Allan Hodges

Abrolhos Islands, March 2005

Geoffrey Brazier from Perth was skippering the luxury vessel The Matrix at Pelseart Island in the Abrolhos island group near Geraldton. He went snorkelling with a group of tourists and was taken by a six-metre shark.

Adelaide, Glenelg Beach, August 2005

Two University of Adelaide researchers were scuba diving collecting cuttlefish eggs about 2 kilometers off Glenelg Beach in Adelaide when a shark was spotted. One man was quickly pulled aboard the boat but the other man, 23 Year old Jarrod Stehbens was pushed back by the shark, and subsequently taken. Some of his equipment was recovered but despite a wide search police found no body. Jarrod was an experienced diver and left behind a wife and two children. Local fishermen reckoned anyone scuba diving around this area is shark bait and an accident was waiting to happen.

Adelaide, West Beach, December 2004

18 Year old was wake boarding behind a friend's boat when a great white struck and killed him in December 2004.

Aldinga Beach, south of Adelaide, 1963 and 1991

In 1963, Rodney Fox was competing in a spearfishing contest in Australia.
He swam down to spear a fish but was hit by a three metre long Great White shark. He was quickly taken aboard a boat but suffered horrific injuries, it was probably only his wetsuit holding everything together. He needed 462 stitches in his chest.
An Adelaide student was killed by a White Pointer while diving off the same beach in 1991.

Bronte Beach, April 2005

Early in the morning around 6 AM, a 30 year old surfer was attacked by a shark, estimated to be two to three metres long, but used his surf board to fend it off. The shark took a good chunk out of his board but the surfer came ashore unharmed. Swimmers were told to leave the water and the beach was closed for three hours but when there was no other sign of the shark it was re opened again. The surfer also returned to the waves, as they often do, some surfers have been known to keep on surfing while sharks are visible, they sometimes share a bay, sharks on one side, surfers on the other!

Brooms Head, New South Wales, February 2001

Mark Butler, a 40-year-old father of three, was attacked by a shark on February 4 at Brooms Head , near Yamba, on the New South Wales north coast, but managed to walk about half a kilometre to nearby homes for help. Mr Butler suffered lacerated legs and blood loss in the incident.

Bunbury, Western Australia, January 2004

46-year-old abattoir supervisor Allan Oppert was attacked by a 4.5m great white during a dive 25km off Binningup Beach, just north of Bunbury. He ended up half inside the shark's jaws and said his life flashed before him when the shark's top teeth were digging in just above his knees and the bottom teeth into his calf. Then the shark spat him out and he inflated his BCD and shot to the surface where he yelled out to his mates. But the shark came after him again and was just metres behind him when he was pulled into his friend's boat. After surgery he was released from Bunbury Hospital but will be unable to work for at least six weeks.

Cairns, North Queensland

Fishing boats are usually followed by sharks because of all the bits of fish they throw overboard, therefore it is not a good idea to fall overboard. Unfortuntaly one crew member did and was never seen again, except for his head; a few days later a fish filleter at Cairns fish wholesaler A Fine Kettle Of Fish got the surprise of his life when a 44kg and 1,6 metre long Morgan Cod had a huge lump in his stomach which on closer examination turned out to be a human head! It was believed this was the head of the missing fisherman that had found its way back on board again but Cairns Police, who are holding both the head and the fish in the city morgue, said yesterday DNA tests would be needed to establish conclusively that the head indeed belonged to the lost fisherman. As cods do not attack humans it is believed that the crewman was ripped apart by sharks that habitually follow fishing boats to feed off fish scraps thrown overboard and that the giant cod, a bottom feeding fish, found and swallowed the head.

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Cairns, North Queensland, December 2002

Dutch tourist Lienne Schellekens survived a hammerhead shark attack off the far north Queensland coast, a popular scuba diving and snorkeling area. The 18 year old was snorkeling near Upolu Cay, about 40km off Cairns, when the shark latched onto her left arm, ripping chunks from it, before she was dragged from the water by her boat's skipper. Lienne was airlifted to Cairns Base Hospital for surgery on her arm. She was swimming near three other people when the shark attacked her. Boat skipper Chris Adams said he raced to help Lienne in a dinghy when she suddenly started screaming .
I wasn't quite sure what was happening but when I got to her there was a lot of blood in the water, he said. It was pretty horrendous. We had to get her in the dinghy and got her back to the boat and bandaged her up as well as we could. Another tour operator took her to Upolu Cay and helped with first-aid until a Queensland Rescue helicopter arrived with a paramedic. Chris said tour and dive boats travelled to the same area every day and it was regarded as safe. Where we go is not noted for any of the big sharks or the dangerous sharks, he said. It's one of those things that is just a most unusual occurence.

Caves Beach, near Newcastle, New South Wales, February 2004

22-year-old Luke Tresoglavic was snorkelling on a reef off Caves Beach, south of Newcastle when he was attacked by a small wobbegong, or carpet shark shark. He grabbed hold of it with both hands to stop it shaking and swam 300 metres to shore, a couple of people tried to help me but could not remove it, so he walked to his car and drove to a local surf club to get help while the shark was still attached to his leg. Under the supervision of senior lifeguard Michael Jones three men took hold of the shark and attempted to flush its gills with fresh water to make it loosen its grip on Mr Tresoglavic's leg. With blood oozing from 70 needle-like punctures in his leg, he then drove to the nearest hospital, taking the dead shark with him. Wobbegong sharks have a reputation of being moody and short-tempered, can grow up to three metres in length and have very sharp teeth.

Cottesloe Beach, Perth, November 2000

A man was killed and another injured in a shark attack in shallow waters off a popular Perth city beach. Scores of witnesses watched as the shark attacked at 6.30am WST at Cottesloe Beach, which was crowded with early-morning swimmers.
A group of friends were swimming 30 to 40 metres off the beach when the shark struck, fatally injuring 49-year-old Ken Crew, of Mosman Park. He was pulled ashore on a surf ski but died at the scene, after having his leg torn off by a shark. A second man, Fremantle lawyer Mr Dirk Avery, who is believed to have tried to pull his friend away from the shark was taken to hospital with cuts to his lower leg.
Police immediately evacuated the beach as police and fisheries officials mounted an air and sea search for the shark, believed to be a great white shark , also known as a "white pointer". Only last month Perth beach-goers were warned to take care after two sharks - one believed to be a white pointer - were spotted off the city's northern beaches.
Today's attack was watched by patrons at fashionable Cottesloe's Blue Duck cafe, overlooking the beach. A distressed cafe owner Kim Gamble, who knew the dead man, said the first thing he saw was blood spreading in the water.
From the balcony I could see this huge shark - it was really huge, he said. There was a whole sea of blood and it was pulling the person. It's something I wouldn't want to see again. I do a lot of diving at the Abrolhos islands and see sharks all the time - and that was very big, Mr Gamble said.
Today's death follows two fatal shark attacks in South Australia in September. It was the second shark attack at Cottesloe in just three years.
Dr Penn said fisheries staff and police would try to encourage the shark to move back out to sea. White pointers are a protected species in Australian waters and a special permit would be needed to kill it. Dr Penn said killing the shark would be a last resort.

Cottesloe Beach, Perth, October 1997

In October 1997 two men escaped injury when a five-metre shark - believed to be a white pointer - bit their surf-ski in half 200 metres off Cottesloe Beach in Perth.

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Darwin, Northern Territory, May 2002

20 year old Richard Morris tried to throw back a six-foot-long shark that was hauled aboard a trawler off the coast of Darwin after getting trapped in prawn nets but it clamped its jaws around his arms. Three of his workmates managed to free him by jamming screwdrivers in the shark's mouth to prise open its jaws. After the ordeal he was taken to Darwin Hospital for surgery.

Eden, New South Wales

In January 2007 abalone diver Eric Nerhus was busy working at a depth of about nine metres when a three metre long white pointer shark swallowed his head and shoulders and munched on him.
Eric was wearing a lead-lined weight vest which gave him some protection and had an abalone chisel in his hand that he used to stab at the monster's head and eyes, which convinced the shark to spit him out and let him go. Eric's wetsuit was shredded and his mask crushed, his nose broken and he had deep bleeding wounds on his head, chest and back.
When he surfaced in a pool of blood his son Mark pulled him aboard, alerted authorities and he was flown to Wollongong Hospital.

Esperance, Western Australia

15 year old Zac Golebiowski was surfing with his 18 year old brother at Wharton Beach near Esperance,
he was sitting on his surfboard waiting for the right wave, when he felt a "bit of a tug".
This turned out to be a bite from a four metre white pointer, besides a very damaged surfboard he was also missing his right leg below the knee, and the left lef was severely lacerated. A holidaying Kiwi couple helped to drag him ashore and stem the blood flow with an extension cord after the attack and drove him about 60km towards Esperance, where they were met by the ambulance that took him further to the local hospital, and after initial treatment there he was airlifted to Perth Hospital.

Fishery Bay, South Australia

On Fathers Day 2005 40 year old fisherman Jake Heron was enjoying a day of surfing with his kids and a friend near the town of Fishery Bay. The kids were on shore when they heard their father, who was about ten metres out from the rocks, yelling out and saw him repeatedly punching a four metre long great white shark that attacked him. The shark then bit his surfboard in two and continued to attack him. It was extremely lucky that then a large wave washed him up on the rocks and away from the shark. His mate then wrapped towels around his arms and thighs which had huge wounds which later required dozens of stitches and took him to hospital.

Gold Coast, January 2008

A couple of men were fishing from a boat off the Gold Coast, it was early morning and they hauled a three metre mako shark aboard. But the shark was a bit wild and whipped around and latched on the leg of a 20 year old man, hanging on that tight that in the end the others had to not only kill the shark but cut its entire head off to free the man. By now his leg was pretty messy and a helicopter lifted him off the boat for a quick ride to hospital.

Gracetown, Western Australia, July 2004

On 11 July 2004 a shark, estimated to be about five metres long and described by eye witnesses to be 'as big as a car' knocked 29 year old surfer Bradley Adrian Smith off his board and subsequently mauled and killed him at Left Handers beach, south of Gracetown, near Margaret River. 16 year old Cameron Rowe who was one of the surfers nearby that witnessed the 45 second attack said; I could see the whole shark, it lunged out of the water to latch on to him. It bit him and then he's tried to fight it and then it's bitten him again, and disembowelled him. His leg was just hanging on. There was a big pool of blood and then he was lying in the water. Cameron told how he and his mates surfed to shore when one of the sharks starteded heading towards them. But back on the beach they saw Brad's lifeless body drifting towards them, so Cameron and 17-year-old Mitchell Campbell went back into the ocean, paddled out against the choppy waves and tried to pull him on to one of their surfboards. Mitchell Campbell said; I grabbed his shoulder, and when I pulled him forwards his legs and everything came up and it was just shredded. They then called 000 but by this time all authorities could do was close the beach, erect shark warning signs and start hunting for the shark. Left Handers beach was considered a relatively safe beach for junior surfers. After the deadly 2000 attack on 49-year-old Ken Crew at Cottesloe Beach the WA government had introduced daily summer aerial shark patrols but these had failed to pick up this shark. Although sharks are protected by law, fisheries officers were given special permission to kill the shark if found.

Hardwicke Bay, South Australia, May 1999

Windsurfer Tony Donaghue, 22, disappeared off Hardwicke Bay in South Australia in May 1999. A shredded wet suit and mauled board were the only clues to his fate.

Kangaroo Island, September 2005

People get all sorts of things as birthday presents, but a shark attack? Josh Berris was surfing on his 26th birthday at Cape De Couedic on Kangaroo Island when a four metre great white bit him on his legs. Josh responded by shoving his hand in the shark's mouth, then the shark got hold of his surfboard and started dragging that away, but Josh undid his legrope and was free. A mate paddled out to him and took him back to shore, bystanders helped to slow the bleeding and help was called in. The area is a seal colony and was busy in mating season so the shark may have confused him with a seal as often happens. He was airlifted to hospital by a helicopter.

Kholo, near Brisbane, early 2005

Horse trainer Alan Treadwell had his horse swimming in the Brisbane river near Kholo. The 500 kg race horse suddenly went berserk when a 2 metre long bull shark bit him and the horse disappeared underwater. Alan had the horse on a lead and kept pulling and after about half a minute the shark gave up and let go and the horse ended up on dry ground with puncture wounds and some bruising around the leg.

Moreton Bay, Brisbane, September 2001

31 year old Matt George suffered back injuries but has survived after a great white shark attacked him as he paddled in an inflatable boat in Brisbane's Moreton Bay. The shark attacked his boat for about half an hour and deflated one side as he hung on to his boat and paddled 200 metres to safety.

Nambucca River, New South Wales, April 2001

A surfer had to undergo surgery after being attacked by a shark while surfing on the New South Wales mid-north coast. The 40-year-old man was surfing with a friend at the V-Wall, a local landmark near the entrance to the Nambucca River, when he was bitten on the lower right leg. The shark's teeth had torn through the man's calf muscle but he managed to escape the shark and his friend tied a surfboard leash around his leg to stem the flow of blood. The pair then drove to Nambucca Heads ambulance station where the surfer was treated by staff before being taken to Coffs Harbour Hospital where he remained in a serious but stable condition and was being prepared for surgery.

North Queensland, December 2004

Shark attacks are rare in north Queensland and usually happen further south in colder waters but a 38-year-old Clifton Beach man was on a spear fishing trip at Opal Reef, 40 nautical miles northeast of Cairns, when he was attacked by a shark. He was about 15 metres from the boat and others quickly swam to his recue but he suffered such severe cuts to his upper left leg that he died shortly after from severe blood loss, before the rescue helicopter arrived. He and his friends go to Opal Reef regularly and all were surprised by this attack. Vic Hislop had a different opinion (as usual) and said that reef is out of control and home to large tiger sharks and one of his friends had disappeared without a trace there.

New South Wales

A scuba diving couple in the 1980s had the honeymoon from hell when on their dive a great white charged at them, the husband managed to push his wife out of the way of the shark which saved her but he was taken and killed.

Perth, Scarborough Beach, September 2005

Surfer Brad Satchell escaped injury when he fought off a shark by punching it in the head at Perth's Scarborough beach.

Port Douglas, north Queensland, December 2005

44 Year old Glenn Simpson from Melbourne was snorkelling and spear fishing at St Crispins Reef near Port Douglas with his two sons in December 2005.
They had noticed some white-tippedreef sharks in the area but as they are a harmless type of shark this did not worry them.
Things changed when his son Luke speared a coral trout and half a dozen sharks went into a feeding frenzy on the injured fish. Suddenly there were sharks everywhere and in the chaos Glenn was bitten several times and ended up with a large chunk missing from his right elbow and 30 puncture holes in his arm. One shark went for his shoulder but he punched it and it went away. After the attack he was flown by helicopter to Cairns hospital.
His other son Dylan was about 100 metres away on another reef when the attack occurred and was not injured.
He said he would not give up snorkelling and spear fishing but would probably give it a break for a week or so.

Smoky Bay, South Australia

Paul Buckland, 23, a commercial abalone diver based in Port Lincoln, was surfacing from his dive when an 18ft long great white shark struck from beneath with terrifying speed and ferocity. He did not stand a chance, the shark was as big as the boat they were working from. His mate Jenzen managed to pull him out but by this time Buckland had lost his left leg and much of his torso.

Stradbroke Island, Queensland, January 2006

Brisbane woman Sarah Kate Whiley, 21, was staying on North Stradbroke Island with some friends and decided to go for a swim late Saturday afternoon at Rainbow Channel beach.
She was about 20 metres offshore when, according to police, a pack of three bull sharks attacked her. In no time at all they ripped both her arms off her body while she disappeared under water for a few seconds. When she resurfaced she screamed out "SHARK!!" but at first people thought she was joking.
Some of her friends were only metres away in the chest deep water and came to the rescue, but were also chased as they dragged her mauled body to shore. One of her relatives later said; "I went to grab her arm and her arm wasn't there..." After being pulled from the water bystanders tried to stop the flow of blood with their beach towels and she was flown by helicopter to a Brisbane hospital but she died 90m minutes after arrival there due to massive blood loss, having lost both arms and major injuries around the torso and legs.
Sarah was the first person killed by a shark attack at a protected beach in the 44-year history of Queensland's controversial Shark Safety Program.
Witness reports spoke of only one shark, and Shark Safety Program manager Tony Ham also believed that a bull shark about 2m long would have been capable of inflicting this amount of damage. The bull shark is particularly aggressive type of shark, and responsible worldwide for more attacks on people than any other shark species. Nobody had been attacked by a shark on North Stradbroke Island since 1973, 33 years ago, so don't let this put you off swimming on Stradbroke Island.

South Australia, September 2000

Although Australian statistics show an average of one death a year by shark attack in september 2000 two surfers were killed in separate shark attacks about 200 kilometers apart in the space of two days.
New Zealander Cameron Bayes, 25, was killed by a Great White about four meters (13 feet) long at Cactus Beach, about 600 km west of Adelaide, an area nicknamed Shark Restaurant because of the frequent shark sightings.
Local Jevan Wright, 17, was killed the following day, two friends who were out on the waves with him at Black Point, near Elliston, were uncertain what type of shark ripped the teenager from his board, seeing only the tail, but believe it was also a Great White, a protected species in Australia.
The most ferocious of the shark family, the Great White, also known as the White Pointer is often sighted in these waters. They can grow up to seven meters long and weigh up to four tons.
In both of the attacks only pieces of the mangled surfboards were recovered.

Sydney, March 2009

15 Year old Andrew Lindop was happily surfing at Avalon Beach in Sydney when a two metre long shark bit his leg early on Sunday morning in March 2009. His father was surfing there too and when he saw his son trashing about he dragged him to shore and other surfers helped to slow the bleeding with beach towels. It had all happened too quick to determine what type of shark it was. Andrew was taken to hospital by helicopter for surgery to his leg and was in a stable condition.

The beach and several others nearby were closed for the day but still only three hours later hundreds of swimmers took to the water in the Sydney Harbour Swim Classic, organisers decided to go ahead because the incident did not occur in the harbour.

A collection of international shark posters;

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