Wharton Beach fatal shark attack: Coronial inquest into surfer Steven Payne’s death reveals tragic details

The devastating circumstances of a great white shark attack on a surfer who was fatally mauled in front of his girlfriend at an Esperance beach have been revealed for the first time. Melbourne man Steven Payne, 37, was on the trip of a lifetime caravanning around WA with his partner Catherine Birch and dog Poppy when he was fatally attacked at Wharton Beach, 93km east of Esperance, on March 10. Mr Payne’s body was never found, sparking a mandatory coronial inquest into his death. The inquest was told Mr Payne had been in remission for testicular cancer for three years when he died. Mr Payne owned a shark deterrent device but he was not wearing it on the day, because, tragically, he thought it was not needed after leaving South Australia. And just days before the attack, Mr Payne and his partner made the decision not to surf at South Australia’s Granites Beach after speaking with locals about a fatal shark attack there in January. After arriving at Wharton Beach on March 10, Mr Payne entered the water with two other surfers about 10.15am. Catherine, who was relaxed on shore, reading a book and sitting with their dog, noticed commotion 60m from the shore about 90 minutes later. She ran to the water’s edge and shouted trying to alert the group of the shark’s presence. At first, she had no idea Mr Payne, who was attacked from behind without warning, had been bitten by a shark. “Catherine then realised that the commotion was where she had last seen Steven and the victim of the attack was wearing the same distinctive sun hat that he wore,” Acting Sergeant Craig Robertson said. “From what she witnessed, Catherine immediately knew that Steven was dead.” Horrifying drone footage of the attack, which was taken by an unsuspecting tourist trying to capture the picturesque coast, led the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Dr Steven Travers to conclude the shark was between 3.2-3.5 metres in length. Sgt Robertson said the species of shark, following DNA testing taken from his damaged surfboard seized at the scene, returned a 100 per cent match for a great white. The conditions were described as sunny, with crystal clear waters. The majority of the people at the beach on the day were tourists from interstate or overseas. There was just one Esperance local present, who eventually handed Mr Payne’s damaged surfboard, which had made it to shore, to responding police. Esperance police Sergeant Harriet Collins was the first police officer on the scene. She testified that after speaking with witnesses and watching the drone footage, she instantly knew it was a recovery mission and not a rescue. Sgt. Collins said it took emergency services 40 minutes to reach the remote beach after two ambulances and a police car were dispatched from the Esperance townsite. Sgt Robertson said the two other surfers in the water could do nothing help Mr Payne, with each of them swimming to a nearby rock and the shore. “The attack concluded by the shark dragging Steven down into the large circle of blood-stained water that surrounded them,” he said. “He was never seen to resurface following that.” The drone footage led investigators to conclude that “the images show Steven sustaining injuries and blood loss which are incompatible with life”. Deputy State Coroner Sarah Linton said Mr Payne’s death would likely be ruled a fatal accident. A search for Mr Payne proved unsuccessful, which was called off after two days. The conditions were too dangerous for police divers to search the depths for his body, but teams of police scouring the coastline managed to located his sun hat, two pieces of his torn wetsuit and foam believed to be from the damaged nose of his board. Police believe his body could have been taken away from the site of the attack by the shark. Mr Payne’s brother, Matthew, was in attendance on Tuesday, listening to the details of the fatal attack. Both Steven’s family and his partner have said they don’t support the culling of sharks.