Torres Strait Diver Severely Bitten by 14-Foot Shark During Trochus Dive

The incident features a documented act of heroism — crewman Gobi threw a spear at the shark mid-attack to break its grip — combined with a two-day journey to reach medical care, and the case is well-sourced across multiple period publications including Coppleson's foundational shark-attack research.

On February 15, 1933, Tumia, a Torres Strait Islander working as part of a trochus fishing crew, experienced a life-threatening encounter with a large shark off Barrow Point, approximately 100 miles north of Cooktown, Queensland. The fishing cutter had anchored on a reef, and Tumia proceeded with two fellow divers in a support dinghy to harvest trochus shell from the surrounding waters. While ascending from a dive in several fathoms of water, Tumia was attacked by a 14-foot (4.4-meter) shark when he was approximately two fathoms (12 feet) below the surface. The shark seized his arm in its jaws, but one of the dinghy crew members, Gobi, quickly responded by hurling a spear at the animal, causing it to release its grip temporarily. The shark launched a second attack, and Tumia managed to fend it off with his arms before managing to reach the support dinghy. Tumia sustained severe injuries including a three-inch square wound on his shoulder, three deep wounds to the muscles of his arm, a wound on the elbow, and additional minor wounds to his chest. He was immediately attended to aboard the cutter with basic first aid—iodine and bandages—but due to unfavorable weather conditions, it took two days to transport him to Cooktown Hospital. He was subsequently transferred to Torres Strait Hospital on Thursday Island, where he recovered from his injuries. This incident demonstrates the inherent risks faced by divers working in Australian tropical waters and the critical importance of vigilant crew members in emergency situations.