Newlywed Killed By Shark

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday September 25, 2000

Source: The Age

Surfers described their horror yesterday at witnessing the ``thrashing" shark attack which killed a New Zealand man on his honeymoon at a South Australian beach.

Beachgoers at the world-renowned Cactus Beach said they saw Cameron Bayes, 25, sitting on his surfboard waiting for a wave when he was attacked about 7.30am.

Jeff Hunter, who has surfed there for more than 25 years, was walking along the beach with his son at the time when he spotted the attack. ``He was paddling, sitting just out the back of the break line," he said.

Mr Hunter said he saw the shark, believed to be a white pointer, quickly circle Mr Bayes before knocking him into the water.

``I turned around and I just saw all shark. It was surrounding him, it was all over him. It kept doing it in an anti-clockwise direction," he said.

Mr Bayes appeared to recover and paddle a few metres back to shore, but the shark attacked again and he disappeared.

``It looked like more than one shark, there was so much action going on," Mr Hunter said.

He said he considered paddling out on his own board to help, but had no time. ``It was over in five to six minutes."

Mr Hunter said the shark reappeared a few minutes later and appeared to vomit fragments of surfboard. Parts of the surfboard were later recovered on the beach, which was immediately closed.

Mr Bayes's distressed wife, Tina, was at the camping ground and did not see the attack.

Mr Ron Gates, who runs a camping ground at the beach, said it was the first fatal attack that he knew of. He said the only other white pointer incident at the beach he could remember was a non-fatal attack in 1977.

The beach is about 100 kilometres from Ceduna, near the start of the Nullarbor Plain.