January 23, 2026 — 7:08pm
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It has been quite a week for Sydney.
Our city was just starting to show some signs of recovering from the shock of the Bondi attack in December, with chinks of normal summer life peeping joyously through the cracks.
Then, after a weekend deluge of rain, the fragile peace was shattered by news of a shark attack at Nielsen Park on Sunday.
Swimmers briefly go into the water on Tuesday at Manly Beach, where signs warn of a shark sighting and that the beach is closed following Monday’s attack.Kate Geraghty
Nico Antic, 12, and his mates were doing what kids have done in our harbour city for decades, using their holiday downtime to take a plunge into Sydney Harbour at a popular jump rock west of Shark Beach in Vaucluse.
Tragically, Nico was bitten by what is believed to be a bull shark. His friends pulled him from the water and a quick-thinking police officer applied tourniquets to his severely mauled legs before he was helped onto a police marine boat. Officers performed CPR and Nico was rushed to Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, where he remains in a critical condition. A friend of the family has started a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $220,000 from 3500 donations.
This was the start of a horrendous 48 hours of shark attacks.
First responders at Manly performed CPR on a shark bite victim.James Brickwood
Surfer Andre de Ruyter was mauled at North Steyne Beach on Monday evening. The severely injured 27-year-old was dragged to the shoreline by two surfers before a group of bystanders used leg ropes as makeshift tourniquets to stem the bleeding from his calf. He was rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital, where he remains in intensive care after having his right leg amputated.
Surfers were also attacked at Dee Why on Monday and on the Mid North Coast on Tuesday, but escaped serious harm.
These attacks, coming so close together, spooked the city. By Wednesday, we published an article explaining that bull sharks come closer to shore for as long as eight days after heavy rainfall, and experts warned of a heightened risk of shark attacks going into the long weekend.
Then, on Thursday, we had the National Day of Mourning to honour the victims of the Bondi shootings. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave an emotional speech at the Opera House at night, apologising to the Jewish community for not protecting them from the attack. The poignancy and dignity of the occasion, which marked an emotional release for many friends and relatives of the victims, was somewhat overshadowed by the appalling insensitivity of the National Party, which chose the day before, of all days, to spit the dummy and formally walk away from the Liberal Party, blowing up the Coalition. Earlier today, we published a compelling inside story of the events that led to this split.
Scenes from Bondi Pavilion on Thursday evening.Dean Sewell
We also got news last night of the horrific triple killings in Lake Cargelligo. The alleged shooter is still on the run.
So, not the quiet week you might expect at the tail end of the summer holidays leading into Australia Day.
Our newsroom has been operating on a skeleton staff over the holidays but this week, many of our journalists returned. We have some terrific investigations, data journalism pieces and insightful stories about Sydney coming up over the next few days, including a significant story to be published tomorrow – keep an eye on our homepage and tomorrow’s newspaper.
Editor’s pick
Amid the grim news of the week, we were delighted to announce that we have appointed Audrey Richardson as our new photographic trainee, in partnership with Canon. Audrey is an extremely talented young photographer with a portfolio many veterans would envy. She was attracted to the Herald by the opportunity to work with our more experienced photographers and photo editors, who will mentor her over the next year. The sight of her chatting to chief photographer and veteran of covering international conflicts Kate Geraghty made me feel very proud of our newsroom. Keep your eyes open for Audrey’s work over the coming months – she is a talent to watch.
Rabbi Yacov Harkham and his son, Ariel, embrace among thousands during a candlelight vigil at Bondi Beach on December 21.Audrey Richardson/Getty Images
Given how awful the past few weeks have been for so many people, I hope and pray for a more peaceful holiday weekend. With any luck, you will get the chance to spend some time with friends and family before the city gets back into the full swing of work on Tuesday.
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