The Perth teenager fatally mauled by a shark in the Swan River earlier this month was farewelled at a private funeral on Sunday.
Stella Berry, 16, was killed on February 4 while swimming near a pod of dolphins at the old Fremantle traffic bridge in North Fremantle.
Stella Berry: remembered by her family as their “darling girl.”
Her death sparked an outpouring of grief, with the tragedy touching students and teachers across four Perth schools: Shenton College, where Stella was a student; her former school, St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls; and Methodist Ladies’ College and Scotch College, where her parents are teachers and where two of her friends who witnessed the attack are students.
In a statement shortly after the tragedy, Stella’s heartbroken family remembered her as their “darling girl”.
“We are devastated and deeply shocked by the loss of our beautiful daughter who was a vibrant and happy girl with plans of living in Europe after school,” they said.
Mourners gather at the site where Stella Berry died after being attacked by a shark. Credit: 9 News Perth
“Stella loved creating art and spending times with her friends, particularly at the river and beach. She had her skippers ticket and often took her friends out on the river for a day of skurfing.
“She was a beautiful and loving big sister and the best daughter we could have hoped for.”
The teenager’s funeral was held at a school chapel.
A week after Stella’s death, the state government announced it would install its first swimming enclosure in the Swan River at Bicton Baths, about three kilometres up the river from where Stella was attacked.
The government will await the findings of a Fisheries report into the tragedy before it decides if any further action should be taken to reduce the risk of a shark attack in the river.
The fatal attack was the first in the Swan River in 100 years. However, it was the second serious mauling in as many years, with Bicton swimmer Cameron Wrathall nearly dying after being bitten on the leg by a bull shark near Blackwall Reach in 2021.
Wrathall has campaigned for greater protection for swimmers since his attack and supported the announcement of an enclosure at Bicton Baths.
Western Australia’s shark mitigation strategies to date have focused on ocean risks, with 19 out of the last 20 fatal shark attacks occurring in the sea.
River bull sharks are not part of the state’s shark tagging or patrol programs.
WA Fisheries Minister Don Punch said despite the species of shark which attacked Stella not yet being confirmed, authorities believed the predator responsible was a bull shark which had likely swum in from the ocean, some 2.5 kilometres away.
Experts said bull sharks were known to travel up the river to breed in the summer and could also be attracted by active marine life.
In the days after her death, two teenage boys reeled in a three-metre bull shark while fishing off a jetty in East Fremantle.