59 years have passed since last week’s fatal shark attack in Sydney and the previous one in 1963

The fatal shark attack at Little Bay last month – the first in Sydney waters for 59 years – sent a shockwave through local swimmers.

A shark caught at Manly in the early 1900s. Photo Northern Beaches Library

The fatal shark attack at Little Bay last month – the first in Sydney waters for 59 years – sent a shockwave through local swimmers.

And it would have jolted the memories of local residents old enough to remember the last fatal attack, which happened in Middle Harbour in 1963.

But peninsula residents have always possessed a keen awareness of the dangers that lurk beneath the surface of our coastline and of the toll that sharks have taken over the years.

The shark menace has always been there, as the many Aboriginal engravings of sharks in the area, particularly around Pittwater, attest.

In the 1800s, sailors shipwrecked or lost overboard were often taken by sharks and occasionally people would simply disappear from shallow water, as is thought to have happened to a boy at Queenscliff in 1897.

A warning sign at Pittwater in the 1970s. Photo Manly Daily

But with the introduction of daylight bathing in the early 1900s and its rapid growth in popularity, the chances of shark attacks increased markedly.

In 1907, Henry Jones was killed by a shark while he was swimming in Sugarloaf Bay in Middle Harbour.

The first recorded attack on a peninsula ocean beach in the 1900s was in November 1914, when a young man, Albert Rebecchi, was attacked at Manly.

Rebecchi survived but not so lucky was 41-year-old William German, who was killed by a shark while swimming in Middle Harbour in December 1916.

As with so many attacks over the years, the attack on German brought out astonishing courage from those nearby, despite the immense risk to themselves.

Although Mrs German couldn’t swim, she went to her husband’s aid and, with the help of another woman, dragged him to the shore, where he died.

Between 1922 and 1929, there were eight shark attacks on the southern beaches of Sydney – five of them fatal – but none along the northern beaches.

Then, suddenly it was the turn of the peninsula.

In the space of two years, there were five shark attacks on the north side – four of them fatal – and all occurred in front of hundreds of horrified onlookers.

On January 7, 1934, 22-year-old lifesaver Colin Grant was attacked by a 4m shark at Queenscliff.

A shark caught off Castle Rock in 2007. Photo News Corp

Partly under his own steam and with the help of some mates, he made it to the shore and was taken to Manly Hospital, where he recovered but with the loss of a leg.

Just two months later, on March 12, 17-year-old Frank Riley was attacked by a shark while swimming with friends at Dee Why.

Despite the shark’s presence, Riley’s friends dragged him to the shore, where he

died.

Only 20 days later, on April 1, 1934, 15-year-old Leon Hermes was attacked by a shark while swimming at North Steyne.

Hermes was dragged from the surf by a friend but died in Manly Hospital.

Then, 11 months later, on March 2, 1935, 22-year-old Herbert McFarlane was attacked by a shark at North Narrabeen.

Rescuers dived into the blood-stained water to rescue him but he later died.

Juts a week later a boy was attacked by a shark at Maroubra and died.

Then, 11 months later, on February 4, 1936, 14-year-old David Paton was taken by a shark at South Steyne and his body was never recovered.

That was the last fatal attack on an ocean beach – until last week – but 10 fatal attacks in 13 years were more than the public could bear and, after a government inquiry, meshing was introduced to Sydney beaches in September 1937 and later extended to the Hunter and Illawarra beaches.

In response to the fatal shark attacks, Warringah Council built a shark-proof enclosure at Dee Why Beach that caused far more injuries than it might have saved in its short life while being battered to oblivion by the ocean.

The enclosure at Dee Why comprised a net running from two piles about 220m apart on the beach to a buoy anchored in the water, with the net suspended from a wire-hawser and weighted at the bottom, forming a triangular enclosure.

The shark-proof pool was to have been officially opened on March 7, 1936 but heavy seas delayed its completion.

And even before it was officially opened, the net caused five accidents, including two that could have been fatal to members of Dee Why SLSC.

In one, a club member was knocked unconscious when his head hit the wire hawser and he was found floating face down in the water.

A shark warning sign at Manly Beach. Photo Manly Daily

Another club member was severely cut when his surfoplane crashed into the net while a third was injured when his surf ski crashed into it.

The most serious occurred when a surf boat crashed through the net and under the wire hawser, damaging the boat and the net.

One of the surfboat crew was knocked unconscious and was rushed to Manly Hospital suffering concussion and a possible fracture of the skull.

A week later another surf boat crashed into the net in shallow water when a heavy wave pushed it against the net.

The “safety device” was proving to be anything but.

By the end 1936, the shark net and its reputation were in tatters and by January 1937, the surf club was asking the council to remove the poles on the beach because they were a danger to bathers.

By the end of 1937, all traces of the well-intentioned but poorly-informed shark net had been removed.

While the public now believed the ocean beaches were safe due the shark nets, the harbour was not – between 1942 and 1963 there were six fatal shark attacks in Middle Harbour alone.

On January 4, 1942, while standing in waist-deep water in Bantry Bay, 28-year-old Zita Steadman was attacked by a shark.

The search for the body of Zita Steadman in 1942

A friend repeatedly bashed the shark with an oar to free her from its grasp but only part of her body was recovered.

On Boxing Day the same year, also in Bantry Bay, 15-year-old Denise Burch was attacked in shallow water and later died from her injuries.

Thirteen years went by until the next attack on January 17, 1955, when 13-year-old John Willis was attacked while spearfishing off Wyargine Point in Middle Harbour.

Although his rescuers brought him ashore, he died soon after.

Just three weeks later, on February 15, 1955, 25-year-old Bruno Rautenberg was killed by a shark as he swam in Sugarloaf Bay.

Then, on January 16, 1960, 13-year-old Ken Murray was attacked by a shark while skin-diving near the Roseville Bridge.

Although he was rescued, he later died.

The final fatal attack in Middle Harbour was on January 28, 1963, when 32-year-old actress Marcia Hathaway was attacked as she stood in 30cm of water in Sugarloaf Bay.

Marcia Hathaway. Photo News Corp

Marcia Hathaway. Photo News Corp

Her fiancée, who was standing next to her, beat and kicked the shark, even straddling it at one point as he fought to free her from its grasp.

He managed to rescue her but she died soon after from her injuries.

Twelve fatalities in the waters around the peninsula in just 47 years is a sobering statistic but another, more optimistic statistic is the 59 years that passed between the death of Marcia Hathaway and the death last week of Simon Nellist at Little Bay.

Some ascribe the second statistic to the shark meshing program but closer analysis shows many of the hundreds of sharks that have been caught were caught on the inside of the net.

And the nets are not set all the time, although every beach is meshed at weekends, and they are only set between September 1 and April 30.

Each net is 150m long and 6m deep and is bottom set in about 10m of water within 500m of the shore, so there is plenty of room for sharks to swim over or around the nets.

The nets also catch whales, dolphins, turtles and other harmless species.

What all experts agree on is that the chance of being killed by a shark is still smaller than the chance of dying after being stung by a bee or taken by a crocodile, let alone the chance of being killed on the road.