The Sydney Morning Herald reported that a 35-year-old man from Wolli Creek was attacked by a great white shark. He was reportedly a regular swimmer at Little Bay and will be remembered by his friends as “one of the people who make this earth lighter.”
Beaches were shut down and authorities searched the coastlines after Simon Nelist was mauled by a great white shark around 16:30 at Little Bay in East Sydney on 16 February.
This is the first fatal shark attack in 59 years in the city.
“First fatal shark attack off Sydney in 60 years reported. There’s a horrifying video of the attack by a large great white that’s doing the rounds, not in the video below. Tragic, truly scary,” read a tweet.
Simon was a regular diver at the Little Bay in East Sydney. He diver was a British expat who moved to Australia after falling in love with the country. He was previously a British Royal Air Force (RAF) serviceman before he moved to Wolli Creek in southern Sydney.
Simon was engaged to an Australian woman named Jessie Ho. The pair were supposed to tie the knot last year but postponed their wedding due to COVID-19.
The diver was rumoured to be training for the five-kilometre Malabar Magic Ocean Swim but the event had been cancelled due to his death.