Simon Nellist: Flowers left for Little Bay fatal shark attack victim
Flower bouquets have been perched on the fence of Sydney’s pristine Little Bay following the tragic shark attack death of Simon Nellist.
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Flower bouquets have been perched on the fence of Sydney’s pristine Little Bay following the tragic shark attack death of Simon Nellist.
The two bunches of floral tributes, one pink and white and the other red, were tied to the wire at the top of the path leading down to the bay beside the fatal rock site.
Several residents paused to look at the flowers and expressed sadness at the tragedy.
On Wednesday afternoon, Nellist was attacked in the water at Buchan Point, just north of Little Bay.
The 35-year-old was due to marry the “girl of his dreams” before he was mauled to death.
He was just 150m away from the beach at Buchan Point when the shark struck in Sydney’s first fatal shark attack in 60 years.
Other friends having been paying tribute to Mr Nellist on social media, describing him as a “big softie” and “such a lovely guy”.
FATAL SHARK ATTACK TRAGEDY IN DEADLY SPOT
The devastating fatal shark attack at Little Bay is the latest in a long line of emergency incidents at the spot which has become notoriously known for water tragedies.
Just a fortnight ago, father Peter and 10-year-old son Mahan drowned after a freak wave washed them off the rocks.
A year ago, two swimmers were caught in rough waters and had to be rescued. In 2018, a rock fisherman nearly drowned on New Year’s Eve and was found about 20 minutes after being swept out to sea.
NewsLocal recently revealed Randwick LGA – where Little Bay is located – was the coastal drowning capital of NSW with 34 deaths in the ten years to 2021.
Between 2004 and 2022, Little Bay itself recorded nine drowning deaths – the second highest number in the Randwick area behind Maroubra. Of those nine, six were rock fishing, one was taking photos on the rocks, one was swimming and one was snorkelling. All were male, aged between seven and 60.
Statistically, the coastline of the Randwick LGA is the most dangerous area in the country for rock fishing.
The fatal shark attack has reignited discussion around what could be done to make Little Bay safer – with Surf Life Saving New South Wales having responded to 18 emergency incidents there in the past three years.
Professor Rob Brander, of the UNSW beach safety research group, previously lived near Little Bay for years and said there were a few factors which contributed to the area’s over-representation of coastal deaths.
He stressed he was not referring to freak accidents like shark deaths, but was responding specifically to the data on drowning deaths.
“A rocky coastal environment is inherently more dangerous but there’s nothing physically more dangerous about [Little Bay], even with the rocks as we have a rocky coastline [throughout NSW], but it is very remote,” he said.
“There are no lifeguards. So it is really the combination that it is a remote location, plus close to a large population, a very popular fishing spot and a very long coastline which means it’s difficult to get somewhere quickly if they’re in trouble.”
Professor Brander praised the work of lifeguards at Randwick City Council in working to make coastlines safer, but said he would like to see the area patrolled more heavily.
“Of course, I don’t think with shark attacks having a lifeguard on that beach would’ve helped that incident, but in terms of someone falling from a rock, it’s the best thing you can do to make someone safe.”
“It’s a cost and logistics issue, but you balance that by asking ‘what is the cost of a human life?’”
A Randwick City Council spokesman said council was dealing with a horrific tragedy and was focused on supporting the people involved and searching for any shark activity.
“Council is reviewing our lifeguard services which currently patrol Coogee, Maroubra and Clovelly,” he said.
“Lifeguard services are funded by local councils and any decision to extend our services would ultimately need to be made by council”.
Randwick City Council was the first in NSW to mandate life-jackets for rock-fishers, but many of those who have died recently were not wearing them.
The spokesman said the council was reviewing the impact of signage surrounding the compulsory wearing of life jackets, as well as ‘shock’ signage showing the number of deaths in the area.
“We are also considering developing additional education and communication material targeting rock fishing safety,” he said. “This is something we’ve run successfully in the past to help educate rock fishers on how to fish more safely.”
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