History of Brisbane River shark attacks and sightings
Wild weather has seen Brisbane River bull shark numbers surge, with fears it is only a matter of time before another attack.
Brisbane City
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Spikes in wild weather with the emergence of La Nina has bull sharks coming closer to shore and an increase in sightings.
The Brisbane River has a long history of sightings and attacks.
More than 50 attacks have happened in the Greater Brisbane area, with 15 in the Brisbane River, three of which were fatal.
The last attack occurred in 2005.
East Ipswich teenager Nathan Shaxson was the last person to be bitten in the river on his head and finger while he was swimming with a friend near a boat ramp.
The first attack goes all the way back to November 30, 1847, when James Stewart was bitten on his thigh and calf swimming in the Brisbane River.
Over the years there have been many fatal attacks, including one where Herbert Jack and his son George were swimming at Gay’s Corner, Bulimba, on November 27, 1921.
The Morning Bulletin reported the shark bit Mr Jack’s thigh while his son was clinging to his back.
George was dragged under the water and never seen again.
While no attacks have occurred since 2005, there have definitely been many sightings and catches.
Toowong resident Dean Pettie said he would often fish in the Brisbane River and see hundreds of sharks.
“Near St Lucia, there were so many you could catch,” he said.
“I would fish there for 11-12 hours.”
Mr Pettie said no matter what time of day he went out he would see sharks at the Brisbane River.
“I hooked a few big ones, the bigger ones would break off my line,” he said.
“If it’s a big one, they just decide where they want to go.”
Mavrick Currie, just 14-years-old, goes shark hunting once a fortnight. His father Jay Currie said it was difficult to see them swimming because of murky water, but they were definitely there.
“I think the best we’ve done is seven in one day,” he said.
“Once they turn up, they are very easy to catch, there’s a lot of them. I think the biggest is 1.3m.”
Over the past couple of years, swarms of sharks have been seen closer to the shore. In January, bull sharks were seen swimming metres from Howard Smith Wharves.
Australian Marine Conservation Society shark scientist Dr Leonardo Guida said rain was a factor behind a surge in sharks in Queensland waterways.
“We don’t have a handle on the exact number of bull sharks but given what research is showing particularly with La Nina is we know their presence spikes near rivers and coastal systems,” she said.
“There’s also some research that has come out of University of Sunshine Coast, showing bull sharks have been coming closer to shore.
“What could potentially be happening over the past few years particularly with La Nina weather is people could be seeing sharks more often as opposed to more sharks around.”
But it isn’t just the Brisbane River.
Bull sharks have been sighted at the Carbook Golf Course since 1996.
It is understood, the sharks found their way into the lake during the 1996 floods and had grown and bred there.
“With flooding it allows animals to use additional habitats, particularly in built up areas, it’s not exactly uncommon to find bull sharks in rare places,” Dr Guida said.
Carbrook Golf Course general manager Scott Wagstaff said in the first four or five years they started to realise shark fins were a regular occurrence.
He said in 2009 there were about six and over the years there were more but since the floods in 2022 he had no clue how many sharks were there.
“At this point we don’t know where we are at with shark numbers, most likely we might have some little ones in there, but haven’t seen any big ones in the last year,” he said.
“I’ve seen them more than 100 times, I used to feed them regularly, I had some place where I’d put meat in the water, they were almost like my pets.
“That was for a few years I had that happening.”
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