On a hot Sunday afternoon of November 22, 1925, a large shark killed a swimmer and charged rescuers in a 10-foot wooden dinghy at Cottesloe Beach. Attempts by Surf Club members to catch/shoot/blow-up the shark were unsuccessful.
However, on the following Wednesday, a 12 ft female white shark, believed to be the killer, was caught on a shark line by a Fremantle fisherman. The Cottesloe Surf Club displayed the captured shark on ice in the club rooms and charged an admission fee. When the shark became so noisome that people could no longer appreciate it, it was taken by the WA Museum. It was still there in 1962.
Newspaper journalist Athol Thomas covered the 1925 Shark Attack at Cottesloe in The West Australian on Friday January 5, 1962. See article below.
2025 Tiger shark attack at Cottesloe beach. West Australian Newspapers 5 January 1962.
A big thank you to former Cottesloe surfer Mark Paterson for sharing the article.
Bonus Image
Cottesloe surfer Theo Mathew (13) and two of his mates Michael Trindy (15) and Piers Ackerman (13) had a terrifying shark encounter at Rottnest Island in January 28, 1964.
Memories from 100 Years ago
On a hot Sunday afternoon of November 22, 1925, a large shark killed a swimmer and charged rescuers in a 10-foot wooden dinghy at Cottesloe Beach. Attempts by Surf Club members to catch/shoot/blow-up the shark were unsuccessful.
However, on the following Wednesday, a 12 ft female white shark, believed to be the killer, was caught on a shark line by a Fremantle fisherman. The Cottesloe Surf Club displayed the captured shark on ice in the club rooms and charged an admission fee. When the shark became so noisome that people could no longer appreciate it, it was taken by the WA Museum. It was still there in 1962.
Newspaper journalist Athol Thomas covered the 1925 Shark Attack at Cottesloe in The West Australian on Friday January 5, 1962. See article below.
2025 Tiger shark attack at Cottesloe beach. West Australian Newspapers 5 January 1962.
A big thank you to former Cottesloe surfer Mark Paterson for sharing the article.
Bonus Image
Cottesloe surfer Theo Mathew (13) and two of his mates Michael Trindy (15) and Piers Ackerman (13) had a terrifying shark encounter at Rottnest Island in January 28, 1964.
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