Streaky Bay residents mourn women after Back Beach drowning

Australia Broadcast Center

14-05-2025

The deaths of two women at a popular fishing beach has left the small South Australian community of Streaky Bay reeling.
The bodies of a 67-year-old from Sturt and a 65-year-old local were recovered from the water near Back Beach on Tuesday afternoon.
It is a situation all too familiar to residents of Streaky Bay, where there have been two fatal shark attacks in recent memory, including in January when Lance Appleby was taken at Granites, south-west of the town.
"We can't take a trick at the moment, can we?" Mayor Travis Barber said.
"We seem to be getting our fair share of incidents, so unfortunately we're not unfamiliar with this.
"With some of the shark incidents, I've been speaking to our [council] CEO and we'll look at doing what we can to help people get through.
The local woman was well-known in the community and at least one of the volunteers involved in the effort to recover the bodies knew her well.
"The volunteers – SES and ambulance, plus police who mightn't be volunteers, but they know people – they were on the job in five minutes and were able to recover the bodies," Cr Barber said.
"I feel for them.
"This is one where people are familiar with each other and I understand one of the recoveries was a close friend.
"We will rally and get around each other and push on."
It is believed the two women were fishing along Back Beach, about 10 kilometres from the town, when one of them got into trouble near a spot well-known to anglers called Salmon Hole.
It is believed one woman tried to save the other.
"This heartbreaking event serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable and unforgiving nature of the ocean and beach environments," Sean Faulkner of Surf Lifesaving SA said.
"We are also very mindful that the Streaky Bay community is still mourning the loss of another member of their close-knit community earlier this year.
"While offering some of South Australia's most stunning beaches and popular tourist destinations, this area also poses risks such as rip currents, sudden weather changes, marine-related dangers and challenges due to its remote nature."
Local fisher Jeff Schmucker said Back Beach was "dangerous" and that the superficial calm of the conditions on the day of the drownings may have given off a "false sense of security".
"The ocean's very calm, with an offshore wind and relatively small swell running, [but] combined with big moon tides, you get a big push of water onto the beaches," he said.
"In this particular case at the Salmon Hole, there's a big hole next to the beach and with the high tide and the surging swell, there's a big release of water, which creates a rip and that rip is hard to navigate.
"You get a big push up the beach [and] a lot of water can grab someone unsuspecting and pull them off their feet and drag them into the water, the water is so strong.
"It's a dangerous beach. People are upset.