Surfer Killed In Shark Attack
Newcastle Herald
Monday September 25, 2000
SURFERS yesterday described their horror at witnessing the shark attack that killed a New Zealand man on his honeymoon at a South Australian beach.
Beachgoers at Cactus Beach described how 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 the beach for 25 years, was walking along the sand with his son when he witnessed 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,' he said.
`It was surrounding him, it was all over him.
Mr Bayes appeared to recover and paddle a few metres back to shore but the shark attacked again and the surfer disappeared.
`It looked like more than one shark, there was so much action going on,' Mr Hunter said.
`It was just a blur of shark and thrashing water ... (then) we could see the thrashing going on under the water.
`It was just unbelievable.
`The shark was just totally going off ... there was no hesitation.'
Mr Hunter said he considered paddling out on his own board to help but had no time.
`It was over in five or six minutes,' he said.
The shark appeared again a few minutes later and seemedto vomit fragments of surfboard.
Parts of the surfboard were recovered on the beach.
Mr Hunter said an ambulance was called to take Mr Bayes' distressed wife to hospital.
She was at the camping ground and did not see the attack, he said.
`She was cut, man, it was horrendous,' Mr Hunter said. `It sounds like he was a fun guy, they were talking about having kids.'
Mr Hunter said other campers had rushed to console Ms Bayes, giving her warm drinks and packing up her camping gear.
He said the shark's `big white belly' gave away its identity as a white pointer.
`I have been surfing here for 25 years ... I surfed at that very spot 20 times in the last week,' Mr Hunter said.
The beach is about 100km from Ceduna, near the beginning of the Nullarbor Plain and about 1000km north-west of Adelaide.
Mr Ron Gates, who runs a camping ground at the secluded spot, 20km from the town of Penong, said the couple were due to stay overnight.
He said they were heading to Western Australia to do some sheep shearing.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald
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