{"id":750159,"date":"2026-06-21T04:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T04:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/750159\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T04:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T04:49:16","slug":"coogee-shark-attack-community-returns-to-the-ocean-in-honour-of-attack-victim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/750159\/","title":{"rendered":"Coogee shark attack: Community returns to the ocean in honour of attack victim"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bevan<\/p>\n

June 21, 2026 \u2014 12:36pm<\/p>\n

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Even though the ocean nearly took so much from them, the family of Coogee shark attack survivor Leah Stewart can still appreciate its wonders and rewards.<\/p>\n

In a message read aloud to 1000 swimmers at Coogee Beach on Sunday, Stewart\u2019s family encouraged them to look out for and wave to blue gropers, Leah\u2019s favourite underwater sight, as they returned to the water en masse for the first time since the primary school teacher was attacked by a great white<\/a> last weekend.<\/p>\n

\"SwimmersSwimmers make their way into the ocean at Coogee on Sunday.Bevan Shields<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old mother remains in a critical condition at St Vincent\u2019s Hospital. Surgeons have amputated one arm, and she faces a series of other serious procedures over coming days and weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeah is a survivor,\u201d her family said in a statement read by Coogee Surf Life Saving Club president Ben Heenan. \u201cShe draws her strength from the love and care she has surrounding her. It\u2019ll be a long, painful, difficult road to recovery, but the support of her family, friends and community will help her as she fights to come back to the life and people she loves so deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s fundraiser, designed to help ease the post-attack psychological tussle between the lure of the ocean and a fear of its most dangerous predators, was the sort of event Leah would have loved to be part of.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the community Leah loved, and it\u2019s amazing to see you all have her back,\u201d her family said.<\/p>\n

\"SwimmersSwimmers listen to a message from Leah Stewart\u2019s family.Edwina Pickles<\/p>\n

Nearly 30 paddleboarders, five boats, lifeguards and a drone patrolled the beach to help encourage swimmers back into the water. The heavy patrols provided much-needed reassurance, especially as word spread quickly that nearby Maroubra Beach had been temporarily closed earlier due to a shark sighting.<\/p>\n

Camilla Martin, a Coogee regular, said Sunday\u2019s swim was her first there since last weekend\u2019s incident. \u201cStatistically it\u2019s super-rare, but attacks do happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s mother nature out there, and it\u2019s humbling. The more we can do to co-exist the better, but it can be scary. We all just have to figure our way through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SwimmersSwimmers return to the water on Sunday.Edwina Pickles\"AA shark-spotting drone hovers about Coogee Beach.Edwina Pickles\"MoreMore than 1000 people entered the water at Coogee for Sunday\u2019s event.Edwina Pickles<\/p>\n

Paddleboard world champion Charlie Verco, who helped save Leah\u2019s life<\/a> after last Saturday\u2019s attack, was repeatedly stopped by crowd members who thanked him for his bravery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to lots of people who have felt a lot more resistance to getting in the water after this incident,\u201d Verco told the Herald.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think it is important to try and get back in the water. It\u2019s such an important part of my lifestyle and if that was interrupted, the rest of my life would be changed and I don\u2019t want that to happen. It provides me so much joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re always aware of the risks, but this was such a freak incident that I don\u2019t want it to change the way I feel about the water and my appreciation for how great the ocean is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"BevanBevan Shields<\/a> is a senior writer, and former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"June 21, 2026 \u2014 12:36pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":750160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-750159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=750159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=750159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=750159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}