Great White Shark Attacks in South Australia

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tracking of 40 white sharks off southern Australia over nearly 20 years: lost of activity around the Neptune Islands and Kangaroo Island, with a few trips up into the gulfs, and two long migrations

The Great Australian Bight — an area of coastline in southern Australia — is a known haunt of great white sharks. A sailboarder was taken there in May 1999. In 1998 a man was killed while diving for abalone. Australian Diver Henri Bource lost his leg to a great white shark but kept on diving with a special fin attached to his knee and a pair of floating crutches to help him get in and out of the surf. In 1975 a local swimmer bled to death at Cactus Beach after a great white bit off his leg.

In 1963, while competing in a spear-fishing contest off Alding Beach south of Adelaide, Rodney Fox was nearly bitten in half by a Great White Shark. His wet suit was the only thing that held him together and kept his guts inside his body. Rushed to the hospital he was saved with the help of 462 stitches. Recalling how got a massive scar on the left side of his body, Fox told National Geographic. "I looked down and saw that great conical head raising at me through the a cloud of my own blood, and that's when I knew I was in trouble...I can't blame the shark. I'd been in the water with Great White's for years, and they never bothered me as long as I stayed quiet while they were around. But that day I was spearing in a big competition. With lots of fish in the water, it must have been too much for the shark. I'm just lucky he only bit me and let go. If he'd bitten down and shaken me in the feeding technique, I wouldn't be here."┡

In December 2004,18-year-old Australian surfer Nick Peterson was ripped almost in two by great white shark near Adelaide. Witnesses described the sharks as being "as wide as the boat". In March 2005 a snorkeler was ripped in half by a six-meter shark believed to be a Great White off the Albrolhos Islands about 400 kilometers north of Perth and 60 kilometers west of the coastal town of Geraldton. The victim was a deck hand on a pleasure boat. According to the police report: “the 26-year-old man was bitten in half by the six-meter animal and death seemed to be instantaneous.”

In May 2008, an Australian swimmer survived a great white shark attack by poking the predator in the eyes as it dragged him through the water after badly mauling his left leg. Reuters reported: Jason Cull was swimming off a beach on Australia’s southwest coast when the four meter (12 feet) shark attacked. “Initially I thought it was a dolphin,” Cull told The Australian newspaper. “I just remember being dragged along backwards. I was trying to feel its gills but I found its eye and I stuck my finger in and that’s when it let go.” The shark tore two chunks from Cull’s left leg, ripping off half his calf and leaving him with deep lacerations to his knee and thigh. A local surf lifesaver heard Cull, 37, screaming and raced into the surf to rescue him.[Source: Reuters, May 12, 2008]

In October 2017, 15-year-old Sarah Williams survived an attack from 4½-meter (15-foot great white shark while kayaking in Adelaide. The shark upended her kayak, but her father and brother pulled her from the water before she could be seriously injured. Williams only sustained some scratches and bruises.

Great White Shark Attack Kills Man on Honeymoon While Wife Looks On

Movement tracks of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in locations off eastern Australia. Numbers of white sharks tracked at each location are given in parenthesis. The righthand panel shows a scaled comparison of the approximate range of lengths of white sharks observed during this study. Source: “Assessing White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Behavior Along Coastal Beaches for Conservation-Focused Shark Mitigation” by Andrew P. Colefax, Brendan P. Kelaher, Daniel E. Pagendam and Paul A. Butcher, Sec. Marine Biology, April 28, 2020, www.frontiersin.org

In September 2000, a New Zealand tourist was killed by a massive white pointer, 14 to 17 feet long, at Cactus Beach in South Australia near Adelaide. The 25-year-old man was taken 50-meters from shore, where he was surfing, while his wife looked on in horror. The couple was sin Australia on their honeymoon. Rescuers found his surfboard but found no sign of the man. The attack was the second at Cactus Beach in 2000.

Cameron Bayes, 25, was sitting on his surfboard waiting for a wave when he was attacked about 7.30am by a four-to-five-metre-long shark. Jeff Hunter, of Port Lincoln, who has surfed the beach for more than 25 years, was walking along the beach with his son when he saw the attack. "He was paddling, sitting just out the back of the break line," he said. [Source: Stephen Cauchi, the Age Company]

Hunter said he saw the shark quickly circle Bayes before knocking him into the water. He said Bayes appeared to recover and paddle a few meters back to shore but the shark attacked again and the surfer disappeared. "It looked like more than one shark, there was so much action going on," Mr Hunter said. "It was just a blur of shark and thrashing water... (then) we could see the thrashing going on under the water...It was just unbelievable. The shark was just totally going off... there was no hesitation. There was just no hesitation."

"It was a ferocious attack," Hunter said. "I saw the shark quickly circle the man before knocking him into the water. It took him in a circular motion." The shark released its victim but then took him under again about 60 yards offshore, said Mr Hunter. "It looked horrendous. There was blood and board everywhere. It was just a blur of shark and thrashing water." The shark then surfaced and appeared to spit out a piece of surfboard. Hunter said he considered donning his wetsuit and paddling out on his own board to help, but had no time. "It was over in five to six minutes," he said. Parts of the surfboard were later recovered on the beach, which was immediately closed.

Bayes' distressed wife, Tina was taken to a local hospital and treated for shock. She was at the camping ground and did not see the attack. Hunter said the shark's "big white belly" gave away its identity as a white pointer. "I have been surfing here for 25 years. I surfed at that very spot 20 times in the last week," he said. "It's just the best place to surf." The beach is about 100 kilometers from Ceduna, near the start of the Nullarbor Plain, and about 1000 kilometers north-west of Adelaide. Its reputation for the "perfect wave" has attracted surfers from all over the world.

Gates said Bayes was the only surfer in the water at the time and there were only a small number of people at the beach. The day before, dozens of surfers had hit the waves, he said. The only other white-pointer incident at the beach he could remember was a non-fatal attack in 1977. Bronze whalers had also been spotted, but they were generally harmless, Mr Gates said. "They're quite common," he said. "They're here all the time but they're not a problem."

The day after the New Zealand surfer was killed, another surfer — a 17-year-old boy — went missing, and was believed to have been killed by great white shark, off a South Australia beach, 120 miles from where the New Zealander was killed. Several witnesses were in the water off Black Point today when the boarder, believed to be local, was grabbed about 50 meters from the shore. A full-scale search was mounted with the help of local boats and emergency service volunteers. The teenager's surfboard was recovered but hours after the attack his body had not been found. Police were unable to confirm the type of shark responsible but it appeared likely that it was similar to the one which yesterday killed Bayes off Cactus Beach. [Source: Frank Thorne, Associated Newspapers]

Two Great White Sharks Rip Apart Young Australian Surfer

In December 2004,18-year-old Australian surfer Nick Peterson was ripped almost in two by great white sharks near Adelaide, South Australia. Witnesses described the sharks as being "as wide as the boat". A rescue team spokesman said: “He fell off the surfboard and the shark appeared and took him. It tore him apart...apparently it tore him in half and the other shark came in and took the rest.” Asked if there’s any chance the victim survived. He said “None whatsoever.”

Ian Sample wrote in The Guardian: A rare attack by two great white sharks claimed the life of a man off the coast of Adelaide. The 18-year-old was being towed on a surfboard by a speedboat about 300 meters (1,000 foot) offshore when the sharks attacked him. Three friends in the boat told police the first shark had grabbed the man by the arm and dragged him into the water. The second shark then apparently joined the attack. Police later closed an area of West Beach, seven miles from central Adelaide, and launched a search for the body. His friends were apparently being treated for shock.[Source: Ian Sample, The Guardian, December 17, 2004]

Michal Jones, who keeps a global log of shark attacks at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said the latest attack was extremely rare. "I don't know of any confirmed cases of these sharks attacking in twos. Great whites are usually solitary hunters," she said. "It's unlikely the two sharks were hunting together, but if there's another shark in the area when an attack takes place, it might well come in after the first strike to try and take advantage."

Scallop Diver Killed by Shark as He's Being Pulled Into a Boat

In April 2002, scallop diver was killed when a shark dragged him from his friend’s arms as he was being pulled into a boat. The 23-year-old professional diver was attacked as he was working off Smoky Bay in the Great Australian Bight. His companion escaped injury but was taken to hospital for shock. [Source: Sam Lienert. The Herald Sun, April 30, 2002]

Sam Lienert wrote in The Herald Sun “The two men were diving for scallops off the small South Australian fishing port when the attack happened. An ambulance driver said he believed the victim was from Port Lincoln and he had been diving off a boat with another man. He said, “I understand he came to the surface, there was a cry for help. But as the other person tried to get him on board the shark grabbed him and pulled him underneath.” Residents said there had been two boats with scallop divers working in the area, with two divers on each.

South Australia Ambulance spokesman Lee Francis said the friend tried to pull the victim onto the boat but the shark pulled the man back into the water. ’Smoky Bay is known as a haunt of the great white shark. However, officials could not confirm what kind of shark was involved in the attack.

Pro Surfer Loses Three-Quarters of Thigh in Attack in Southern New South Wales

In March 2016, 22-year-old professional surfer Brett Connellan was attacked by a shark off a beach near Kiama on the south coast of New South Wales. He survived but was severly injured. The Guardian reported: The man was surfing with friends when the shark attacked, ripping into his upper left thigh and goring his hand at Bombo beach at 7:00pm. His friend, Joel Trist, swam to his aid and managed to get him to shore on the back of his board. Trist said he was about 50 meters down the beach from his friend when he realised his friend was in trouble. “The first thing I saw was Brett getting thrashed around in the water and a terrible scream,” he told reporters on Thursday. “Acting on instinct, I just paddled as hard as I could towards him and even lost sight of him at one stage.” [Source: Agencies, The Guardian, March 31, 2016]

“Trist then pulled his friend on to his board before heading to shore. “I just said to him, ‘what’s it like?’ and he said ‘it’s not good’ and at that point I knew something was horribly wrong.” Ambulance New South Wales district officer Inspector Terry Morrow said: “[Connellan] had lost a large proportion of his left thigh, and the quad muscle was torn away right down to the bone.” Morrow said beachgoers saved Connellan’s life by applying a tourniquet to his upper thigh. “He could’ve bled to death before we arrived on scene. He was very lucky the members of the public were there and acted as they did. They saved his life, to tell you the truth.”

“Connellan underwent surgery at Sydney’s St George hospital and remains in a critical but stable condition. He told emergency services he didn’t see the shark when it attacked him. A paramedic told Fairfax Media the surfer was “missing three-quarters of his thigh”. Shark expert Michael Brown from Surf Watch Australia has judged the shark to be either a great white or bronze whaler.“If we look at the horrific injury, it’s probably fairly obvious it’s a great white or a bronze whaler,” he told the Seven Network.

Great white sharks have been responsible for a number of attacks along the New South Wales coast in the mid 2010s. Connellan was surfing in the southern end of Bombo beach at dusk, which Brown said was the time sharks were most active and hunting. “Especially sharks like great whites. They have a greater ability to be able to see in low light,” he said. At least 14 shark attacks were recorded in New South Wales in 2015, nine of them along a 70 kilometers stretch of coast in northern New South Wales, from Evans Head to Byron Bay.

Surfer Swims Ashore, Walks 300 Meters with Big Chunks of His Body Taken by Great White

In December 2020, a 29-year-old surfer who was mauled by a great white shark in D’Estrees Bay, on Kangaroo Island, a fairly remote area in South Australia. After the attack he managed to swim ashore and walk nearly 300 meters (1,000 feet) to seek help — a “remarkable” feat, according to a paramedics who treated him. [Source: Anna Schaverien, New York Times, December 8, 2020]

The New York Times reported: “The shark took chunks out of the surfer’s back and thigh, as well as his surfboard, leaving the man with “serious” injuries, said Michael Rushby, a paramedic based on Kangaroo Island who treated the man before he was taken to a hospital. The surfer was able to paddle ashore still holding his board and walked about 1,000 feet along the beach to a parking lot, where he finally found help from another surfer. They drove toward a nearby hospital and ended up meeting the ambulance on the way.

“The stars aligned for this gentleman,” Rushby said in an interview with 9News Adelaide, who identified the surfer as Dion Lynch. “He had good bystanders; he had an off-duty paramedic on the scene. He had a full crew of air ambulance officers.” Speaking to a South Australian newspaper, The Advertiser, Rushby added that Lynch was “very brave,” noting that with the extent of his injuries, being able to walk away from the attack was “remarkable.” Lynch was coherent throughout, Rushby said, and maintained conversations with him and the other paramedics. After receiving medical treatment at a hospital on the island, Lynch was then airlifted to Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide, on the mainland.

Recovering from emergency surgery in his hospital bed, Lynch wrote a statement thanking emergency medical workers and saying that he felt “incredibly lucky and grateful.” “I was sitting on my board when I felt a hit on my left side — it was like being hit by a truck,” he said. “I got a glimpse of the shark as it let go and disappeared.”

Attacks by Great Whites in South Australia in 2023 and 2024

In 2023 and 2024, there were six great white shark attack in eight months, with three being fatal On January 9th, 2024, 64-year-old schoolteacher Murray Adams was non-fatally attacked but severely bitten in the leg while surfing in Elliston; two before that, 15-year-old Khai Cowley was killed while surfing on the nearby Yorke Peninsula at Ethel Beach. In May of 2023, another Eyre Peninsula schoolteacher was attacked and he did not survive. [Source: Dashel Pierson, Surfer Magazine, January 16, 2024] 7:21

In January 2024 Tod Gendle, 55, was fatally mauled by a great white shark at Granites off South Australia. Gendle was one of about a dozen surfers in the water at Granites, which is a known breeding ground for great white sharks when he was pulled down into the depths. Despite a widespread search, only parts of his board and a piece of his wetsuit were recovered.

The Telegraph reportedly: Khai Cowley, 15, was described as a ‘‘talented young surfer’’. He was attacked while surfing off the beach on the Yorke Peninsula, west of Adelaide, at about 1.30pm. The conditions were said to be favourable to great whites, who often hunt in murky waters. Ryan Valente, a local skipper with Reef Encounters, a fishing charters company, who is familiar with Marion Bay, said that conditions were “very grim”. He told ABC Radio: “Lightning, strong winds and it was quite a dark day ... It’s [the] stuff nightmares are made of.” [Source: George Styllis, The Telegraph, December 29, 2023] at 1:05

Andrew Fox, a researcher at the Rodney Fox Shark Museum, said that the rough weather may have increased shark activity in the area. “They’re more motivated – bigger swell, dirty water,” he told ABC Radio. “Anything that increases the chances of an ambush predator.” Large shark sightings are not uncommon in Adelaide waters, a local fisherman told The Advertiser, adding: “We’ve seen some pretty big bronzies [bronze whaler sharks] in the area, but that’s normal here.

Pieces of Wetsuit, Surfboard Found after Surfer Attacked by Shark off South Australia in 2023

In May 2023, 46-year-old school teacher Simon Baccanello was killed by a great white shark while surfing near his home along a coastline in Elliston in southern Australia. Extensive searches turned up be pieces of his wetsuit and surfboard. Local State Emergency Service manager Trevlyn Smith told News Corp the surfboard had “one bite in the middle.” [Source: Associated Press, Mon, May 15, 2023]

Elliston has a population of about 1,000, and is about 650 centimeters (403 miles) south of the Adelaide. It is known for its nearby rugged coastline and surfing spots. Associated Press reported: South Australia Police said that searchers had found “items of interest” near Walkers Rock where the attack occurred. “One item appears to be a piece of wetsuit material and the other items appear to be small pieces of white polystyrene (possible surfboard material),” a police statement said. The evidence would be sent for forensic analysis. In consultation with Baccanello's family, police would continue to search Walkers Rock and surrounding beaches for a number of days after high tide, the statement said. Searchers say any remains are more likely to drift ashore rather than out to sea.

Jaiden Millar was one of around a dozen surfers in the water with Baccanello when the shark attacked. “I saw his board tombstoning, which means he’s underwater and his board’s getting dragged under ... trying to fight his way back to the surface,” Millar told News Corp.

Mayors Calls of Termination of Great Whites After Attacks in South Australia in 2023 and 2024

Afterwards a local mayor said he wanted to "terminate" great white sharks responsible for that attack and others.Dashel Pierson wrote in Surfer Magazine: Following a spate of shark attacks in the region a local mayor is calling for the big fish responsible to be killed. Elliston Mayor Andrew McLeod is leading the charge, urging the state government to address the issue. His solution? An eye-for-an-eye approach, targeting and killing the sharks responsible for human fatalities. "If fisheries officers were able to attempt to terminate a shark following an attack, that would be a targeted approach … trying to terminate the shark responsible for the attack would not risk the survival of the species as a whole," McLeod said, per ABC. [Source: Dashel Pierson, Surfer Magazine, January 16, 2024]

Mayor McLeod himself had an encounter with a shark while surfing in Elliston in 2014. “It is an absolute fluke that I didn’t get killed because if it had taken any of my flesh, I think it would have come back for more,” he told Yahoo! News. “It is ridiculous that they’re classified as endangered and they should be harvested like every other resource.”

However, shark experts argue that culling is ineffective and inhumane. "You could go out and kill a bunch of sharks and you will never know if you got the one which is responsible … there is no real justice at that point," said Dr. Chris Lowe, Director of the Shark Lab at Cal State University Long Beach. "If you look at all the places where shark control has been used successfully … you're taking out hundreds, if not thousands of sharks to do that. In the process of doing that, you kill lots of other things too, which means you're going to have ecological effects."

Surfer Killed After Fisherman Warns of ‘Big Angry’ Shark in the Area in 2025

In early January 2025, experienced surfer Lance Appleby went missing near Streaky Bay on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula just after 7:00pm local time after an apparent shark attack. His board was discovered with a bite mark. A fisherman tried to warn surfers that a “big, angry” great white shark was circling near Granites Beach hours before a 28-year-old was mauled in relatively shallow water. [Source: Samuel Montgomery, The Telegraph, January 3, 2025]

Samuel Montgomery wrote in The Telegraph: Jeff Schmucker, a friend and fisherman who runs Seafood on Stanley, said Mr Appleby had been dragged underwater by a great white. “He caught a wave and flipped off the wave and proceeded to paddle back and he was attacked,” Mr Schmucker told 7NEWS, adding that a jet-skier had found a board with “a bite mark in the bottom and the rope severed in half”.

Mr Schmucker recalled reports of a fisherman having “an interaction with an angry, very voracious” 16 foot great white, six miles north of Granites Beach on Wednesday.“I was out crab fishing at the time and I heard that and I thought this is a recipe for disaster – this week with the looming swell,” he said. Mr Schmucker said he had spoken to a fellow fisherman who, after a great white became tangled in his long line gear, knew he needed to sound the alarm. “He went to Granites and alerted the surfers that were in the water. As he went past in his boat, he said: “Guys, there’s a big angry shark very close, you really should get out of the water.’” A warning to the South Australian West Coast shark alert forum on Facebook was also posted by Ben Schultz: “Large great white sighted acting aggressively near Granites, Streaky Bay,” he wrote. It remains unclear whether Mr Appleby had been aware of the warnings when he entered the water on Thursday evening.

Search teams scoured the coastline on Friday looking for Mr Appleby. A South Australia Police spokesman said: “The man’s body is yet to be found and an air, land and water search will be conducted early this morning with resources from police, SES [South Australian State Emergency Service] and local volunteers assisting.”

Image Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Mostly National Geographic articles. Also the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Natural History magazine, Discover magazine, Times of London, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated September 2025