“Avoid water at dawn and dusk”: Sydney Harbour swimmers warned after woman attacked by a bull shark.

By ANNA USHER

Marine experts have advised swimmers to avoid early morning and dusk dips in Sydney Harbour following a shocking shark attack on an eastern suburbs woman.

Elizabeth Bay woman Lauren O’Neill was swimming near a private wharf where neighbours said she had recently bought an apartment when she was bitten on the right leg by a bull shark.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries confirmed the species responsible on Tuesday morning.

“Each shark has a distinct bite pattern, and we can look at the spacing of the teeth and the nature of the bite pattern,” Dr Amy Smoothy said, “and based on our investigation of the images provided to us, we can confirm that the species involved was a bull shark.”

The terrifying incident has raised questions about why Ms O’Neill was swimming in the harbour as night fell, when Sydney Harbour is thriving with shark species.

Michael Porter, who helped rescue Ms O’Neill, told reporters he heard a “soft yell” for help outside his window around 8 pm on Monday.

He looked outside to see her, hanging on to a ladder on the wharf in Elizabeth Bay.

“She was trying to climb in, and behind her was her leg, which was completely open and full of dark red blood behind her,” Mr Porter said.

He credited the “heroic” effort of fellow neighbour Fiona, a vet who bandaged Ms O’Neill’s wounds.

“Fiona is an absolute hero. I believe she saved her life,” he said.

“Everyone worked together to make sure she was all right. She was extremely brave.

“It’s incredible how lucid Lauren was throughout the whole thing.”

One witness told the SMH she regularly sees sharks swimming under the jetty.

“I always thought it was a matter of time,” she said.

Bull sharks are a tropical species that travel from Queensland in the warm months to utilise east coast waterways when the temperature is above 20 degrees.

Tagging and tracking over the past 15 years has revealed the apex predators use all areas of the harbour, from Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers to Middle and North Harbour.

“Bull sharks are more active during low light levels, especially at dawn and dusk,” Dr Smoothy said.

“We know they occupy deeper water during the day and come out of the deeper holes into shallow areas during the evening, so we advise avoiding areas adjacent to steep drop-offs.”

People should also take extra care in murky, dirty water after high rainfall or floods, where many baitfish and diving birds are around and within one kilometre of a river.

Monday night’s attack came months after fisherman James Murray reeled in a massive three-metre-long bull shark from the harbour at Birchgrove.
The catch was tagged before being released back in the harbour.

In 2022, Mosman teen Addi Hodge made headlines worldwide when he reeled in a 2.8m bull shark in Middle Harbour.

“It was a massive catch, that’s for sure,” he told Mosman Collective exclusively at the time.

“I guess it’s proof of how healthy Sydney Harbour is. The warm currents have brought so many sharks into the harbour this year; they are everywhere.”

Addi’s catch came just a week after Simon Nellist was killed by a great white shark in Little Bay.

He was the first confirmed fatal victim in Sydney in 60 years.

In January 1955, 13-year-old John Willis was attacked while spearfishing at Balmoral Beach. Although rescuers brought him ashore, he died soon after.

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

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

The final fatal attack in the years before 2022 was on January 28, 1963, when 32-year-old actress Marcia Hathaway was attacked as she stood in 30cm of water in Middle Harbour.

Dr Smoothy said bull sharks are one of the few species capable of living in fresh water environments, “making us potentially more likely to encounter them because they can use the brackish waters that people in Sydney often have as their backyard.”

“People don’t need to be terrified,” she said, “our coastal waters are the shark’s domain.”

“January and February are peak months for bull sharks, they are in Sydney Harbour to forage in warm water, and people should be reminded of that.”