Rob Armstrong pays tribute to Shark attack victim wife Christine Armstrong

Aussie's Living and Dieing Down Under : Christine Armstrong, Tathra Shark attack.

Rob Armstrong spotted the shark that took the life of his wife Christine at Tathra Wharf

Geoff Chambers and Patrick Lion 
The Daily Telegraph

April 4,2014

FOR the past 14 years, Christine and Rob Armstrong made the short trek down to the Tathra Surf Club for their daily swim.

As they swam past the breakers yesterday morning on the 600m journey to the Tathra Wharf, the pair took their last few strokes together before Mrs Armstrong made the fateful decision to return to shore alone.

At the 200m mark, the 63-year-old had told the group she was not feeling well.Mr Armstrong continued towards the wharf as part of his morning routine — he would never see his wife of 44 years again.

47 DEATHS IN 100 YEARS: HISTORY OF NSW SHARK ATTACKS

FROM YESTERDAY: WOMAN KILLED BY SHARK AT TATHRA 

It was Mr Armstrong who spotted the shark — up to 4m long — lurking. As he made his way toward shore with the other swimmers they formed a huddle and kept a close watch for the shark.

Residents yesterday told The Daily Telegraph there was a resident great white shark that had been sighted near the wharf.

When Mr Armstrong could not locate his wife he started a frantic search — looking for her distinctive pink and orange cap.



At 8.40am police, ambulance and surf lifesavers were informed of a fatal shark attack — the second in NSW in less than five months.

An orange buoy was dropped on the spot where it was believed Mrs Armstrong had been attacked by the shark, likely to be either a great white or bronze whaler.

Late yesterday dye was dropped in the water to determine the currents as they continued searching for Mrs Armstrong’s body.

A witness has told police he saw Mrs Armstrong being attacked by the shark from nearby rocks but was too far away to help.

Inspector Jason Edmunds confirmed Mr Armstrong had seen a shark: “Rob was part of the group of five people. He did see a shape of a shark he described as three to four metres long and quite big.’’

As Mr Armstrong and other swimmers were treated for shock on the beach, the tight-knit town of Tathra, with a population of 1500, pulled together.

Mrs Armstrong, who helped run the surf club’s bronze medallion courses, was described as being “very loved by many people”.

“She has been swimming at Tathra Beach for 14 years and was an experienced and committed member of the surf club,” the club said.

“She was a senior surf club trainer for many years. Swimming brought her much joy and many friends.”

Her fellow clubbies from the Tathra, Narooma, Bermagui and Pambula surf clubs put aside their grief and jumped in five IRBs and two Jet Skis to search for the recently retired and popular member.

Far South Coast director of lifesaving Andrew Edmunds said club members were “extremely upset”.

He said Mrs Armstrong “was a capable, active lifesaver”.

“Our hearts go out to Christine’s family and friends and we are doing all we can to support club members at this time,” Mr Edmunds said.

Earlier this year Mrs Armstrong competed in the Wharf to Waves annual swimming competition and finished fourth in the 60 to 69 years age group.

Tathra Beach will remain closed today as the search resumes early this morning.

The Department of Primary Industries has appointed a shark biologist to assist investigators and attempt to identify what species of shark was responsible for the attack.

Mrs Armstrong is the 47th person to be killed by a shark in NSW waters in the past 100 years.

HISTORIC WHARF A BELOVED LANDMARK THAT’S SEEN SOME SORROW

THE Tathra Wharf is one of the Sapphire Coast’s best-known landmarks — but recently, it has become known more for tragedy than its historical significance.

On November 18, 2008, Shane O’Neill leapt from the 5m-high jetty into the ocean after his four-year-old son Riley and 15-month-old son Travis fell from the wharf.

Mr O’Neill, 28, struggled to find his boys in the darkness and himself succumbed to the water.

He was declared dead at the scene and his sons were located and taken to Bega Hospital but sadly did not survive.

The tragedy shattered the small town but the wharf remains an important part of the community.

Every year, more than 400 people compete in the 1.2km Tathra Wharf to Waves ocean swim. Construction of the wharf dates back to 1860 and it serviced the local farming industry before being decommissioned as a coastal steamer wharf in the 1950s.

After that, a push to pull the wharf down was defeated by the Tathra Wharf Action Group and money was raised to restore part of it. In the 1990s, the wharf came to prominence after shocking photos of shark fishing appeared.

BAITING BAN WAS AIMED AT SAFETY Geoff Chambers

TATHRA lifeguards raised concerns about fishermen setting illegal baits and attracting big sharks close to the beach.

In 2012, Tathra Surf Life Saving Club surf boat captain Sharon Clarke expressed concern for a group of 20 swimmers — including Christine Armstrong — who swam 1.2km between the beach and the wharf every morning.

At the time, the surf club found a black balloon floating 150m off the beach, which was holding bait to lure in sharks.

“We all swim in the ocean knowing there are sharks, but you don’t like the idea that there are people luring and attracting sharks in so close,” Ms Clarke said at the time.

For decades, fishermen from across the country would come to Tathra wharf to catch great white sharks and bronze whalers hunting bait fish in the cool channels off the coast.

In 1996, after a push by locals, Bega Valley Shire Council banned shark fishing from the wharf and a sign was erected on the edge of the wharf. Off the wharf, fishermen would place a perimeter of bait settings between 600m to 1000m.

The Daily Telegraph has been told there is still some shark fishing but that it was smaller sharks being caught. A Department of Primary Industries spokeswoman said the fines for illegal shark fishing vary from $500 to $220,000 and possibly a two-year prison sentence if a threatened shark is caught.

Local oyster fisherman Brad Ellison said he did not think anyone fished for sharks from the wharf anymore after it was previously banned.

New Zealand Man Torn apart by Five Sharks

Man dies in shark attack at Muriwai Beach, north of Auckland

Daily Telegraph
February 27, 2013 5:54PM

A MAN is dead after a Great White shark attack at Muriwai Beach, north of Auckland.
Emergency services rushed to Muriwai, a popular west coast surf beach just before 11.30am today following reports of a shark attack.
A student said police officers fired 20 shots at the 3.7-4.3 metre long Great White Shark, which has not been retrieved from the sea, Stuff NZ reported.
Newstalk ZB reporter Juliette Sivertsen said the attack was very aggressive, with the shark refusing to let go of the man's body until police shot at it.
Fisherman Pio Mose told APNZ that he saw a man swimming nearby.

"All of a sudden ... we saw the shark fin and next minute, boom, attack him then blood every where on the water," he said.
He called 111 while his mate ran to get help.
"He was still alive, he put his, head up, we called him to swim over the rock to where we were.
"He raised his hand up, and then while he was rising his hand up we saw another attack pull him in the water.

"He came back up, his head was on the water ... then we notice he was already dead."
He said as the blood covered the water more sharks started swimming around the area.
Mr Mose and the other fisherman watched as the shark took the man's body out to sea and when lifeguards eventually arrived they directed them to where the group of sharks were.
"It's awful - it's scary like a nightmare to me. I was shaking, scared, panicked," said Mr Mose.

He said he had never seen sharks in the area in the three years he'd been fishing in that spot.
"All I was thinking was I wanted to jump in the water and help but I didn't want to get attacked by a shark too."
Mr Mose said those who went out to retrieve the man's body fired about six shots at the shark.
Stef McCallum, 18, of Wellington, said they were first aware something was wrong when a man ran across to the surf club to get help.

A woman told us a man had just been killed by a shark, she said.
"She said there was a big pool of blood in the water."
McCallum said they saw a police officer go out in a surf boat and shoot the shark.
"He fired about 20 shots."

Around 200 people were on the beach and people quickly ran.
"Everybody was evacuated from the water. Word of mouth, 'shark', and everybody left the water."
A witness told 3 News NZ that he spotted the lone swimmer while he was out fishing at the beach.
The distressed man signalled for help when he was attacked by a shark, before he was pulled underwater.



At this point, the witness said three or four other sharks appeared in the area.
The victim was aged 47, from Meriwai.
Police Inspector Shawn Rutene said the man had been swimming alone from Maori Bay to Muriwai Beach, several hundred metres from shore when he was attacked by a 4-metre shark, described as broad.
Insp Rutene said the man's wife and family were distraught. It took police and Muriwai lifeguards about 30 minutes to recover the body as two sharks circled, with police shooting at the sharks.
The three lifeguards recovering the body knew the victim.
His family gathered at the scene, with people seen embracing in the surf club car park and being escorted into the club, New Zealand Herald reported.
Auckland Council has closed Muriwai Regional Park and expects it to be closed for the next few days. All beaches north of Manukau Harbour, including popular Karekare and Piha, are also closed.
Lifeguard presence will be increased on the beaches, as well as mobile patrols in the water until Friday when the situation will be reassessed.
Earlier this week surfer Bourne Nobel Buiski posted on Facebook that there had been a "massive" shark spotted near surfers on Monday at Piha, 14 kilometres south of Muriwai.
He said that a local man ran out of the water "white faced and terrified".
"He was saying that a great white, a massive great white had just swum right beside him," Buiski said.
No one believed him, he said.
"As they are so rare here. There were about 60 people there, and no one came in." 

Australia,Nari the Dolphin taken into care after Shark attack

Shark attack Dolphin Nari taken into care by Gold Coast Sea World

Australia :SHAAARRRRKS !!!!!!! and more SHAAARRRRKS !!!!!!! How many do ya want ? cause we have all ya need Down Under!!! and they are ready to EAT ya

Come on Down!!!! RAG HEADS the reception committee is a ready and a waiting!!!!!

Two More Shark attacks in Australia

Fries with that Sir?

Tasmanian shark attack 'like a scene from Jaws'

ABCNews

A surfer has told of his horror as he watched a five-metre white pointer shark repeatedly attack a teenage girl this afternoon on Tasmania's east coast.

The 13-year-old girl was surfing at Baileys Rocks at Binalong Bay when the attack happened.

Ian Hollingsworth was surfing 20 to 40 metres away and saw the attack, and the efforts of the girl's male cousin to protect her.

"It was basically a scene out of 'Jaws'," he said.

"The shark went around and I saw it actually come out of the water and hit her.

"It then went around, I believe I saw her going backwards, and she was screaming.

"The guy was just fighting to save her. All the time the shark was circling."

The girl has injuries to her lower right leg, but they are not believed to be life-threatening.

She has been flown to Hobart for treatment.

It's true there are more fricking Great Whites and Tiger Sharks now on the Australian East Coast than there were on the first day of creation!!!
I have seen these Bastards of things from my earliest of days (6-12 years of age, roughly ten or so years ago) of surfing on Sydney's Northern Beaches and in Queensland.
The earth worshipers / Enviro Nazi's decreed that no SHARK should be killed, some ten years ago in the state of New South Wales, It's like saying that Lions in Africa need to be protected from Gazelle because there are some occasions when a Gazelle can manage to escape from the jaws of a Lion / Great White or Tiger Shark, or closer to home in Sydney Harbour Bull Sharks, as per the incident just prior to the Sydney 2000 Olympics where Olympic gravy train hangers on witnessed from a trendy shore line restaurant, a man knocked from his surf ski by a Bull Shark, clinging to a channel marker for dear life as his attacker circled waiting for his grip to fail.
As a result of these Loon Nut Job Green / Enviro Nazi's any Australian living within 5 miles of the coast is constantly checking their Toilet Bowls for Great Whites and Tiger Sharks before they comfortably allow their arse to "rest in peace" before opening their favourite edition of Penthouse or Cosmo on the toilet seat to do the job at hand.

I have personally had to engage at least 101 times, in a life or death battle with what PETA has now demanded be classified as "sea kittens" simply to be able to do, in a civilized and hygienic manner what nature intended, that is to say a # 2, Thank God I am still "intact" or as a Vet would describe me as "entire", however it is only due to my never ending diligence.

Rag Heads the world over Come on Down!!!!!!!!!!!! and swim in our Oceans (fully clothed of course) and meet Australia's Islamic, Politically Correct, Multicultural, non Judgemental, Sea Kittens.
I have so much more to say here however I gotta go as in "I gotta go!!!" and I cant remember where I left my spear gun, Oh jeeeze that's right, that, French prick Jacques Cousteau borrowed it,It could be any where, so where is my cricket bat? steak knife? Kangaroo Paw bottle opener?..... geeeee I need to go quick, maybe I can engage the sea kitten in some "non violent conflict resolution" tactics ? here goes .........
We have fricking Sharks falling out our Arse here we are not considered well dressed without a fricking Great White snapping at our heels on our way to to the super market.
Feeling sorry for KILLER Sharks don"t have enough on YOUR Beach? How many dozen ya want?

Thankfully,most Australians have our very own Australian Heinz White Pointer Terrier attack dogs and position them alongside our Toilets to warn us of any stray White Pointers before we sit down on the can.