SHARK TRAGEDY

Hokitika Guardian, 28 December 1925, Page 4

SHARK TRAGEDY

MAN TORN IN HALVES

SYDNEY, Nov. 27. Every year when summer first lays her warm hand on Australia’s coast and bathers arc enticed into the surf, valuable lives arc lost through the depredations of sharks. Sometimes foolhardiness leads bathers into dangerous waters where the monsters lurk, as it did poor Jack Canning at Newcastle at the end of last summer, hut on other occasions a shark will venture daringly among a crowd of bathers, attack one, and make off for tho sea again after tearing his victim. It was in such circumstances that tho first shark tragedy of the 1925 summer was enacted last Sunday afternoon on tho Cottesloc beach, near Perth, Western Australia. For thirty years the beach

lias been a favourite resort for bathers, and until last Sunday Intel enjoyed immunity from sharks for the whole of that period. All last Sunday morning a hot easterly wind made tho Perth metropolitan area oppressive, and the Cottesloc beach was thronged. The water was unusually calm, ami hundreds of people were bathing. About -1 p.m.. a woman knee-deep in' water shouted, “Shark!” Swimmers close in rushed from the water, ami thousands oil shore echoed the cry, “Shark!’’ to warn swimmers further out. The life-savers’ boat was launched immediately opposite a- man about 30 yards out. The man suddenly disappeared, and the sea at the spot became tinged with red. The boat was paddled frantically to the spot. The man rose face downwards and was grabbed immediately Uy the three men in the liont. hut be-

fore he could he hauled aottrd. the shark attacked again, and practically severed tho unfortunate swimmer. 'Pile remains of the man were hauled on to the boat, lie was still alive, and groaned, “Oh. my God.” I hen he became unconscious. The shark rushed again, and passed under the boat, which was lifted about, a foot out ol lhe water. In a 1 ew seconds the boat was beached, but the victim was then dead. He was Simon Kttelton. aged 50 Years, a bookmaker’s clerk. ‘three sharks waiting. When El tel ton was carried ashore, the bathers were till out ol the water, and thousands of horrified people saw three sharks cruising about, just outside tho line of breakers. One ol these, probably the allaeker, pillowed the boat almost ashore, and continued to swim about near the beach until nightfall. Atlenipts to induce it to take a bait failed, and unsuccessful efforts were also made to kill the monster by exploding dynamite near it. The Fisheries Department’s launch remained near the beach all ltigbl, and on Monday morning, trying to catch the sharks', but although one of them took 1 lie bait twice, it escaped. The life-savers in the boat displayed line courage in their prompt, but fruitless endeavours to rescue Kttelton. M Item the slunk made its final rush, it hushed the three men with its tail, and they had to receive medical attention for minor injuries. Three other lilesavets tried to swim to the assistance of Kttelton. These diverted the attention of the shark. which chased them. One clambered into the boat and the others reached the shore, one of them just succeeding in escaping the monster’s teeth.