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Amazing Australian shark attacks
The Shark Institute of Australia is an organisation which manages a shark attack database recording details of shark attacks in Australia, visit their site for accurate up to date statistics of shark attacks in Australia, and for a list of recommendations to avoid a shark attack. 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. 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. Larger boats and yachts, such as the newest Nimbus boats for sale, are much safer in shark infested waters. 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. Abrolhos Islands, March 2005Geoffrey 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 2005Two 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 200418 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 1991In 1963, Rodney Fox was competing in a spearfishing contest in Australia.
Bronte Beach, April 2005Early 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 2001Mark 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 200446-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 QueenslandFishing 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.
Cairns, North Queensland, December 2002Dutch 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
. Caves Beach, near Newcastle, New South Wales, February 200422-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. Cottesloe Beach, Perth, October 1997In 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.
Darwin, Northern Territory, May 200220 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 WalesIn 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. Esperance, Western Australia15 year old Zac Golebiowski was surfing with his 18 year old brother
at Wharton Beach near Esperance, Fishery Bay, South AustraliaOn 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 2008A 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 2004On 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 1999Windsurfer 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 2005People 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 2005Horse trainer Alan Treadwell had his horse swimming in the Brisbane river
near Kholo. Moreton Bay, Brisbane, September 200131 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 2001A 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 2004Shark 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 WalesA 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 2005Surfer 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 200544 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. Smoky Bay, South AustraliaPaul 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 2006Brisbane 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. South Australia, September 2000Although 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. South Australia, February 201150 Year old balone diver Peter Clarkson was diving about 25 km. off the
bottom of Eyre Peninsula the South Australia was attacked while surfacing
after a dive by two great whites who dragged him out to sea and he was
never seen again. Sydney, March 200915 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. Townsville, July 1983 Shark attacks in north Queensland are rare, but in cases like this sharks
are attracted to the dead and injured fish that get thrown out from commercial
fishing boats. Western Australia33 Year old Peter Kurmann was diving from a boat in April 2012 off Stratham
Beach, 230km south of Perth, when a great white shark about four metres
long attacked him. Have you survived, or know of a shark attack? Then contact ![]() |
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