Dale Carr thanks "accidental heroes" for saving his life after Lighthouse Beach shark attack

IF you’re ever going to be bitten by a shark then Port Macquarie is the place to do it.

That’s Dale Carr’s verdict – and he should know.

He came face-to-face with a 350kg great white shark on Lighthouse Beach late on the afternoon of August 22 this year.

And, for a man who has faced mortality with just a bodyboard as a shield, the fact he oozes selflessness and sheer gratitude should not be a surprise.

On Saturday he paid tribute to the spider web of people who ensured he made it to his 37th birthday last week. The mates, the complete strangers who just happened to be on that beach, the medical and nursing fraternities all received a shout-out.

But the man who had two people clamp his backside to his body until paramedics arrived is adamant he could not have recovered as well anywhere else.

“I would not be here without the medical people at Port Macquarie Base Hospital. Fullstop,” Mr Carr said.

“The decision to keep me in Port Macquarie is a testament to the hospital. And without the staff, I would not have been in the psychological mindset to be ready to get back to normality.”

Remember, normality is a fair way removed from having a 2.7m great white shark tear through your upper leg and thigh, inflicting enormous trauma on what, his wife Trish once called, “his best asset” – his backside.

The civil engineer’s history with the hospital is a long and now intimate one.

Back in 1992 he worked on the slab as the hospital was being built from the ground up. More than 20 years later, flat on his back in an ambulance having lost 2.5 litres of blood, Mr Carr knew he was “safe” when he recognised the trees at the entrance of Wrights Rd.

But before the miracle medical work, there were the “accidental heroes”.

The “first responders”, Mr Carr calls them: his surfing buddy Shane De Roiste who dragged him to the shoreline; Lachlan Smith, who was beachcombing with his family when all hell broke loose in the water and who phoned triple 0; Andrew Lavers, who made the decision to wear shirt which was turned into a life-saving tourniquet; and Dr Jan Snow, a GP who just happened to be walking on the beach.

Then there’s the crew at Port Base – from intensive care specialists John Roberts and Bill Lancashire to doctors Rashini Kulatunge, Jean-Yves Kanyamibwa and Shatwell, the ever-vigilant nurses and the man who first welcomed Mr Carr on that Saturday evening, Nathan Carney.

Now, two months down the track, it is their emotions and reactions, and those of the hospital staff involved in his treatment, that Mr Carr wants to understand better.

“A shark attack in Port Macquarie does not impact one person. It just doesn’t affect my family but everyone on the beach that day, their families, the paramedics, the doctors, the nurses …”

Not two weeks after that fateful afternoon surf at Lighthouse Beach, Mr Carr was back at his day job.

“And as much as I won’t let a shark attack define me, I don’t want it to be for nothing.

“We need to work with the scientists, the support groups, the doctors, the physios – everyone – to make sure our experiences mean something for the people who come next.”

THE first rule of Fight Club is you don’t talk about Fight Club.

Bite Club, well, it’s different.

The first rule is you have to talk.

Bite Club is a shark attack survivors’ group. And on Saturday night two members joined Port Macquarie’s Dale Carr at Tacking Point Surf Club.

All three men have been attacked on Mid-North Coast beaches – Dave Pearson at Crowdy Head in 2011, Bruce Lucas at Saltwater Beach in May this year and Mr Carr, barely a kilometre from the surf club, a couple of months ago.

It’s not necessarily a club you want to join, Mr Pearson said.

“But, as weird as this sounds, sometimes sharks bite the right people – the people who are able to make a difference.”

The man who has made it his mission to touch base with victims the world over believes Mr Carr will do just that.

“He doesn’t mind a chat and already he has offered a different way of thinking to us,” Mr Pearson said. “We’re not going to always agree.”

Unlike some Bite Club members, Mr Carr refuses to be dragged into the “shark debate”.

“It’s not for me. As far as the water goes, my biggest concern for people is drowning,” he said.

“I’m a life saver and I’ve saved many people – including a naked surfer in 3m swell on Mad Monday. That’s what it’s all about.”

Three days after his attack Mr Carr posted a comment on Facebook taking responsibility for his actions. It’s one he stands behind today.

The real story, he wrote was “not the culling, not those who think i should be culled for being there in the first place. Don’t lose sight of human nature people . The strong urge to help someone who needs it whether they are trapped in a car, house fire, held against their will and calling out for help, that’s the real story.” 

Bite Club is all about keeping it real.