General News
17 December, 2021
Yarrabah man survives an encounter with a bull shark
Yarrabah man Phillip Brown says he thought his life was going to end when he saw a bull shark headed straight for him.
But his quick actions in stabbing the shark’s head and his friends coming to his rescue is what saved him.
Mr Brown survived what could have been a lethal bull shark attack while diving with family and friends on Rocky Island about 300m offshore of Yarrabah on Sunday.
An experienced diver and fisherman, Mr Brown is now in the Cairns Hospital waiting for surgery on his knee but with a favourable prognosis from the doctors, he is shaken yet in high spirits.
Mr Brown recounts the event with vivid detail and said the moment he saw the shark, he knew it would be coming for him.
“Me and my mates and two nephews went diving just off the beach of Yarrabah. There’s this little island called Rocky Island and we were chasing barras. There are a couple of caves, my mate went one way, and I went the other,” Mr Brown said.
“We had a shot at a few barras, but we missed, so they went back the opposite way, so we chased them up. At that point, my mate and my nephew went inside (of the cave), and I went outside.
“I was down looking for a barra when I popped my head back out, and there was the bull shark, coming straight in for me.
“But I was still a long way from the rocks, so I tried to swim a bit faster. As I just grabbed the rocks, it came up from behind and grabbed my leg and twisted - it popped my knee out of the socket, so I quickly signalled to my mate and nephew to hurry up and get out of the water.
Mr Brown managed to keep his head despite the obvious threat from the shark.
“When the shark got my leg, I grabbed my little spear gun and stabbed him on top of the head with it,” he said.
“After that, the shark took off, but he kept circling around because all the blood was still there in the water – he came back two or three times trying to have a go, but my feet were already off the water,” he said.
The rest of Mr Brown’s friends and nephews were in the boat fishing and immediately came to help. They quickly improvised a tourniquet with a shirt and helped him get on the boat then brought him to edge of the bank where they transferred him into a truck and drove him to the Yarrabah Hospital. From there, he was flown to the Cairns Hospital.
With tears in his eyes, Mr Brown said he did not think he would make it out alive.
“The shark was very big, at least three metres long,” he said.
“We both got a big fright when we saw each other, but he came onto me, and I just knew – he’s got me. It was just a case of the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I just thought it was my last day. Thank God I had them there (friends and family) with me.”
Mr Brown is well aware he escaped lightly from the attack.
He suffered a big gash to his leg, had a dislocated knee which will require surgery in a couple of days as the inflammation goes down, but was fortunate not to lose his leg.
Although Mr Brown has a long recovery ahead, he is glad to be safe and sound with his wife and son.
