Father Attacked While Wading with Son in Brisbane River

A father carrying his eight-year-old son on his back was attacked twice in the Brisbane River — a known bull-shark habitat — sustaining multiple severe bites while attempting to shield the child; the boy was lost and his body never recovered, and the father's documented heroic effort to protect his son while under sustained attack gives the incident both strong archival detail and a particularly poignant human dimension.

On the morning of November 27, 1921, Herbert Jack, a 40-year-old waterside worker from New Farm, Queensland, set out with his friend Thompson and their young sons for a fishing expedition on the Brisbane River. The group planned to reach a dinghy moored approximately 15 yards from the shore at Gay's Corner on the Bulimba Reach. As Jack waded into the river carrying his eight-year-old son, George, on his back, a large shark attacked in water approximately one meter deep. The shark seized Jack's right hip and thigh, but he managed to maintain his grip on his son and strike at the animal with his free hand. Thompson, witnessing the attack from the bank, moved to assist. During the ensuing struggle, the shark attacked again, this time seizing Jack's right arm and causing severe lacerations to his elbow, forearm, and wrist. In the chaos of the attack, young George either slipped from his father's back or was pulled underwater by the shark. For a brief moment, the boy's head surfaced several yards away, but he disappeared before rescuers could reach him. His body was never recovered. Jack was immediately transported to Brisbane General Hospital, where he received emergency treatment for multiple severe bite wounds. Medical staff documented a 12.5-centimeter laceration on his right buttock and severely lacerated wounds at the back of his right elbow, with the radio-ulnar joint opened. He underwent initial surgery on November 28, with a second operation performed on December 6 to address infection and insert drainage tubes. Despite a fever that persisted for over a week, Jack gradually recovered and was discharged on February 21, 1922. The shark species was never identified. The Brisbane River was known at the time for its substantial shark population, particularly bull sharks up to six feet in length that patrolled the city reaches year-round, often feeding at night near bridge pylons and similar structures.