Fatal Dee Why shark attack memory hasn’t faded for 101-year-old Merton Cooke

In 1934, a young man was killed by a shark at Dee Why. Merton Cooke, was a lifesaver at the time and remembers the day vividly.

EIGHTY years ago this week Merton Cooke was a young lifesaver at Dee Why and that week in 1934 is one he will never forget.

On March 12 Dee Why teenager Frank Riley was fatally mauled by a shark at Dee Why in front of horrified onlookers.

Read about the fatal shark at Dee Why in 1934

“Laurie O’Toole and I were beach inspectors and we had switched shifts that day,” Mr Cooke said.

“The attack happened during Laurie’s shift, which would have been mine.

“But I heard the shark bell and raced down to the beach but it was all over.”

Dee Why's 1934 R & R team, with Laurie O'Toole second from left and Merton Cooke on the right.

Riley, 18, of Tasman Rd, was swimming with his friend Laurie Shields and were among 50 or 60 bathers in the water at the time when the shark attacked, tearing away his left leg.

Mr O’Toole threw caution to the wind and dived into the water in a bid to save young Riley.

Mr Cooke, now 101 and living on the Central Coast, said another Dee Why lifesaver, Alan Nelson-Slee also dived in and tried to secure young Riley’s femoral artery to stem the flow of blood.

Newspaper headlines in the wake of the death of Frank Riley

But with his leg taken by the shark, there was no way his rescuers could stop Riley bleeding to death.

“Dr Richards from Oaks Ave arrived but he said it was no use – Riley had lost too much blood in the water,” Mr Cooke said.

A local fisherman laid baits from kerosene drums off the beach and a large shark was caught in the following days, although no one could be certain it was the killer.

“It was about 22 feet long and had a girth of about 8 feet,” Mr Cooke said.

Dee Why Beach in the 1930s. Courtesy Warringah Library

“It was cut open but there was no sign it was the one that killed Riley.

“But it was put on display and we raised more than £200 for the family.

“It was an absolute tragedy and the whole of Dee Why was affected by it.

“No one went into the water for ages and the place went dead for about three months.

“As lifesavers we continued to compete but it was as if Dee Why was just shut off.”