The surfer killed by a shark at a beach near Esperance on Monday has been identified as Melbourne marketing director Steven Payne.
The surfer killed by a shark at a beach near Esperance on Monday has been identified as Melbourne marketing director Steven Payne.
By Heather McNeill
March 12, 2025 — 11.25am
The surfer killed by a shark at a beach near Esperance on Monday has been identified as Melbourne sales and marketing director Steven Payne.
The 37-year-old was surfing in chest-deep water about 50 metres from the shore at Wharton Beach with two others when he was mauled as horrified beachgoers, including his girlfriend, helplessly watched on.
Originally from New Zealand, Payne lived in Melbourne and had just embarked on a six-month trip around Australia with his girlfriend when he was killed.
Drone footage coincidentally taken in the moments after the attack confirmed Payne could not have survived, though his body is yet to be found.
“[The drone footage] shows a lot of blood, the shark and some other things in there I don’t particularly want to go into, and I don’t think anybody else needs to see, other than maybe the coroner and some other experts who will determine the type of shark and size,” Esperance Police Station officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Chris Taylor said.
Payne’s surfboard was recovered with bite marks in it and will be tested to determine the type of shark that attacked him.
His family has told police they do not support culling the shark, and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development on Tuesday confirmed there was no active search under way for the predator, which has not been spotted since.
It’s understood Payne’s family is on their way to Western Australia.
According to his LinkedIn, Payne is a sales and marketing director and volunteer firefighter. His social media profiles reveal he is an avid traveller, surfer and snowboarder.
The search for his body is expected to be called off on Wednesday, and the beach reopened.
Esperance has been the location of four of the state’s last seven fatal shark attacks, with locals in the area calling for more to be done to mitigate the risk of the predators interacting with water users.
There have been three other fatal shark attacks in the area in recent years; teenager surfer Laeticia Brouwer was mauled by a suspected great white shark in 2017 while in the water with her father; diver Gary Johnson, 57, was attacked by a great white while scuba diving with his wife in 2020; and surfer Andrew Sharpe’s body was never found after he was attacked in 2020.
There have also been many non-fatal attacks including in 2022 when a 20-year-old sitting in an inflatable pool ring was bitten about 200 metres offshore.
In 2014, Sean Pollard lost his left arm and right hand in an attack, and in 2006, teenager Zac Golebiowski lost his leg after being attacked while surfing.
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Heather McNeill is the deputy editor and chief reporter at WAtoday.Connect via Twitter.