Fatal Great White Shark Attack at Brighton Pier

A prolonged, multiple-bite attack witnessed by 80–100 spectators on a public pier — including the victim's fiancée — during which the 18-year-old was seen fighting the shark with his bare hands across several resurfaces before being taken; the incident is exceptionally well-documented for 1930, cited by Coppleson and multiple contemporaneous newspapers, and was described as the first such fatal attack in Melbourne Bay since 1876.

On Saturday, February 15, 1930, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Norman Clarke, an 18-year-old excellent swimmer and diver, entered the water off the end of Middle Brighton Pier in Port Phillip, Victoria. The beach was crowded with spectators who had gathered to watch a boat race. Clarke dove into the water and was treading water approximately nine feet from the pier in deep water when the shark attacked. Local fishermen had been warning residents for weeks about shark activity in the area. As Clarke swam, a man on the pier shouted a warning, but Clarke apparently did not hear it. The great white shark, estimated at approximately 4.9 meters (16 feet) in length, glided through the water and struck the young man. During the initial contact, Clarke was seized by the leg. He surfaced briefly, punching the shark repeatedly with both hands as the predator held him across its snout. The struggle was witnessed by between 80 and 100 people on the pier and surrounding beach. After briefly releasing Clarke, the shark charged again with greater force, impacting him with enough power to lift him partially out of the water before seizing him around the chest. The shark then submerged approximately 50 feet from the pier, taking Clarke with it. Neither resurfaced. The water around the struggle site became stained with blood over a considerable distance. The incident was the first fatal shark attack in the Port Phillip area since 1876. Clarke's body was never recovered. The attack occurred under a full moon on February 13, 1930, and was documented by contemporary newspaper accounts and later included in comprehensive shark incident archives.