Abalone Diver Fatally Attacked by Great White off Tasmania

The victim was completely consumed — leaving only a glove and the recovered harness bearing serrated tooth marks — with no bodily remains ever found, and the attack was of such force that he was wrenched free of a weighted diving harness, making this a well-documented and unusually complete-consumption case supported by a detailed eyewitness account and published archival source.

On the afternoon of July 30, 1975, a fatal shark attack occurred at Fluted Cape, South Bruny Island, Tasmania. Bobby Ray Slack, a 37-year-old American immigrant and experienced abalone diver, was conducting hookah diving operations in calm waters anchored in the lee of coastal cliffs. The water depth at the attack site was approximately 40 feet, in an area where rocky reef transitions to sandy seafloor—a zone known to attract marine predators. Slack was wearing a wetsuit and a harness weighted with 30 pounds of lead. His deckhand, 22-year-old Tony Hitchens, was operating from a small dinghy, managing the air hose while Slack worked on the bottom. Conditions were relatively calm in the protected waters, though the weather outside the lee was blustery with grey skies and occasional rain. Without warning, the air hose suddenly became taut. When Hitchens turned to investigate approximately 50 yards away, he observed a large shark thrashing at the surface. He described the shark as measuring between 15 and 16 feet in length, with its dorsal fin and tail clearly visible above water. The entire incident lasted only seconds. When Hitchens retrieved the hose and equipment, he found only Slack's diving harness—still buckled—with serrated bite marks visible on the rubber backing. A single green garden glove and a hand net were recovered; the diver himself was never found. Serrated tooth marks on the harness and lead weights confirmed the involvement of a great white shark. The buckle mechanism remained intact despite the violence of the attack, suggesting the shark's force was sufficient to extract the diver from the secured harness. Three months later, a 5.4-meter great white was incidentally caught in a shark net 20 kilometers south of the attack site, indicating the presence of large white sharks in the region, though this individual was not confirmed as the attacker. Slack, who had immigrated to Australia approximately 10 years prior, was one of Tasmania's most successful abalone divers. He is survived by his wife, Donna, and two children.