Cactus Beach, Australia (Sept 25, 2000).
A NEW Zealand man on his six-month honeymoon around Australia was killed by a great white shark at a Far West Coast surfing beach yesterday.

Cameron Bayes, 25, of Auckland, was on his surfboard about 200m off Cactus Beach, near Penong, when the shark struck about 7.30am.

Witnesses described how the 4m to 5m shark "circled and thrashed" as it attacked the surfer several times.

"A really large shark just came in and attacked him, thrashing around in a circular motion around him," one witness said. Jeff Hunter, 44, of Port Lincoln who was on a camping trip with his two children said: "He seemed to get back on his board and was paddling back and it came in again.

"It was just horrendous – it totally took him out. It just seemed to roll on its belly then it thrashed around a bit more then it seemed to release the surfboard ... but there was nothing left of the guy."

The victim's wife, also from Auckland, was told of the tragedy by other surfers camping at the same remote site in the sand dunes. She was taken to Ceduna Hospital, suffering severe shock.

Fellow campers said the couple married in February. The pair – described as happy and easy-going – had planned to leave for WA in a few days to do some shearing.

Peter Ryan, 43, of Moana Beach, walked over a sand dune and saw the final moments of the 90-second attack.

"It didn't attack him from above, it just created a whirlpool which dragged him down," Mr Ryan said.

"I just saw a flash of red as the wave came over and then it was all over.

"We saw the last 30 seconds and that took forever . . . we were in disbelief that it could be that close.

"There was certainly a lot of force in it and it was very savage. The thing really wanted him and it wasn't going to let him go."

Camping ground owner Ron Gates, who has been in the area for 25 years, was "shocked, horrified, sick" when campers told him of the tragedy.

"This is the fourth attack since I've been here, so it's not the first, but it's the first fatal, so it makes a big difference," Mr Gates said.

Mr Gates immediately put up signs closing the beach while female campers comforted Mr Bayes' distraught wife until an ambulance arrived.

He said it was impossible to estimate how many great whites had visited the bay over the years as, unlike other sharks, surfers only saw them "once they've got a hold of you".

"Everybody's treating this totally differently to previous attacks, everybody's totally devastated," Mr Gates said.

Yesterday's attack was the second at Cactus Beach this year. In February Anthony Hayes was mauled by a 3m shark off Point Sinclair, at the eastern end of Cactus Beach.

In 1975, a 12-year-old boy was taken by a shark while swimming at Point Sinclair. Penong resident Max Scott, 45, yesterday said another fatal attack at Cactus Beach had only been "a matter of time".

"You have only got to think how many other sharks are on the coast and how many of my mates have had near-death experiences," Mr Scott said. Police yesterday managed to recover three parts of the mangled surfboard, which was taken to Ceduna with Mr Bayes' possessions.

Senior Sergeant Kym Thomas, officer in charge of Ceduna Police, said police officers and State Emergency Services volunteers would resume searching for the victim's body today.

Anthony Hayes survived the February attack because his lifelong friend, Steve Thomas, punched and poked the shark in the eyes until it let go of Mr Hayes.

"It sends a chill down your spine," Mr Hayes said yesterday after being told of the attack. "I don't think I will surf at Cactus this summer. "I would like to think I could surf there again, but time will tell.

"It seems to be happening a bit more often; I believe shark attacks are on the increase. They are coming closer to land, they are coming closer and closer."