--- title: 17-Year-Old Survives Shark Attack in Australia description: A 17-year-old surfer in Australia survived an attack from what appeared to be a great white shark on Monday. canonical: https://time.com/4507547/teen-survives-shark-attack-australia/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-26T13:53:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:48:15.297Z article:section: Sports og:title: Teen Survives Shark Attack in Australia og:description: It was the 17-year-old's first day of summer vacation. og:url: https://time.com/4507547/teen-survives-shark-attack-australia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt985fb79ca755b398/6988a776cf40a856f5c44f21/great-white-shark-attack-australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5459 og:image:height: 3071 og:image:alt: great white shark attack australia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Teen Survives Shark Attack in Australia twitter:description: It was the 17-year-old's first day of summer vacation. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt985fb79ca755b398/6988a776cf40a856f5c44f21/great-white-shark-attack-australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 00:38 video:published: 2016-09-26 section: world topics: shark attack, great white shark, surfing, beach safety, shark barrier, Australia, wildlife encounters genre: news report tones: urgent, factual, sobering emotions: fear (high), concern (medium), relief (low) sentiment: negative audience: general news readers, surfers, beachgoers, Australian residents people: unnamed 17-year-old surfer, Japanese tourist organizations: CBS News, Sydney Morning Herald, New South Wales state government content_suitability: violence [00:00-00:13]; death [00:17-00:24]; disasters [00:00-00:38] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Teen Survives Great White Shark Attack in Australia > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Teen Survives Great White Shark Attack In Australia [Watch (HLS stream): Teen Survives Great White Shark Attack In Australia](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vKLELTma.m3u8) (0:38)  _Published 2016-09-26. Onlookers say the shark appeared to be 10 feet long._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary A 17-year-old surfer in Australia was bitten by what onlookers described as a roughly 10-foot great white shark while surfing off a beach in Bellina. Other surfers helped him to shore, and he was taken to hospital. The video also recalls a fatal shark attack at the same beach last year and the state government's abandoned plan for a shark barrier. The teen is reported to be in stable condition. ## Key points - A 17-year-old surfer was attacked on Monday by what onlookers said appeared to be a 10-foot-long great white shark. (00:00) - CBS News reports the shark bit the teenager's surfboard, right hip and thigh while he was surfing off a beach in Bellina. (00:07) - Other surfers helped the teenager to the shore, where he was treated before being taken to the hospital. (00:13) - In February of last year, a Japanese tourist died after losing both legs to a great white shark while surfing at the same beach. (00:17) - Last month, the state government abandoned plans to build a 770-yard nylon shark barrier after trials revealed installation and maintenance issues. (00:24) - According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the teen is in stable condition. (00:34) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:13] Teen surfer bitten by great white shark. A 17-year-old surfer is bitten by an estimated 10-foot great white off Bellina and is helped to shore by other surfers. - [00:13 to 00:24] Previous fatal attack at same beach. The video recalls a fatal great white attack on a Japanese tourist at the same beach in February of last year. - [00:24 to 00:38] Abandoned shark barrier and teen's condition. The state government dropped its planned nylon shark barrier after trial problems, and the teen is reported stable. ## Key quotes - [00:00] CBS News: "A 17-year-old surfer in Australia survived an attack on Monday from what onlookers say appeared to be a 10-foot-long great white shark." - [00:24] state government: "the state government abandoned plans to build a 770-yard nylon shark barrier after attempted trials revealed installation and maintenance issues" ## Questions this video answers - What happened to the 17-year-old surfer in Australia? [00:00] - How big was the shark that attacked the teen, according to onlookers? [00:00] - Where did the shark attack the teenager? [00:07] - Has there been an earlier fatal shark attack at the same beach? [00:17] - Why did the state government abandon its planned shark barrier? [00:24] - What is the teenager's current condition? [00:34] ## Content suitability - violence [00:00-00:13]: Shark attack causing bite injuries to a teenager. - death [00:17-00:24]: Reference to a fatal shark attack on a Japanese tourist. - disasters [00:00-00:38]: Dangerous wildlife incidents at a public beach.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Sep 26, 2016 1:53 PM UTC Onlookers say the shark appeared to be 10 feet long.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Sep 26, 2016 1:53 PM UTC A 17-year-old surfer in Australia [survived an attack](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/australia-teen-surfer-shark-attack-10-foot-great-white-lighthouse-beach-ballina/) from what appeared to be a great white shark on Monday. The teen was surfing off a beach in Ballina during his first day of the summer holiday when a shark bit his board, right hip and thigh, said Ballina Mayor David Wright. Other surfers [helped him to shore](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/26/shark-attacks-australian-teenage-surfer-at-new-south-wales-beach/) where he was treated before being taken to the hospital, _CBS News_ reports. “The shark lacerated his leg in three or four places fairly deep,” Wright said. “He should be okay. It was very close to his artery.” > [](https://twitter.com/NSWSharkSmart/status/780218656433184769) Onlookers [estimated the shark](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/australia-teen-surfer-shark-attack-10-foot-great-white-lighthouse-beach-ballina/) was about 10 feet long, and said it looked like a great white. The teen was [able to joke](http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/man-bitten-by-shark-at-lighthouse-beach-in-ballina-20160925-groapc.html) with the respondents and ask them not to tell his mother about the attack, the _Sydney Morning Herald_ reports. He was in stable condition at the hospital. > [](https://twitter.com/helenlovesfood/status/780195793277898752) \[[_CBS News_](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/australia-teen-surfer-shark-attack-10-foot-great-white-lighthouse-beach-ballina/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4507547/teen-survives-shark-attack-australia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4507547/teen-survives-shark-attack-australia/"},"headline":"Teen Survives Great White Shark Attack in Australia","datePublished":"2016-09-26T13:53:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T06:48:15.297Z","description":"It was the 17-year-old's first day of summer vacation","url":"https://time.com/4507547/teen-survives-shark-attack-australia/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt985fb79ca755b398/6988a776cf40a856f5c44f21/great-white-shark-attack-australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt985fb79ca755b398/6988a776cf40a856f5c44f21/great-white-shark-attack-australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"great white shark attack australia","caption":"great white shark attack australia","creditText":"ullstein bild—ullstein bild via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4507547/teen-survives-shark-attack-australia/","name":"Teen Survives Great White Shark Attack in Australia"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Teen Survives Great White Shark Attack In Australia","description":"Onlookers say the shark appeared to be 10 feet long.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/vKLELTma/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-09-26T19:44:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vKLELTma.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4507547/teen-survives-shark-attack-australia/","duration":"PT38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4507547/teen-survives-shark-attack-australia/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```