GALLANT ENCOUNTER WITH A SHARK.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VII, Issue 1017, 18 May 1880, Page 2

GALLANT ENCOUNTER WITH A SHARK.

On Tuesday morning at 6. 30. a bath ing adventure occurred in Mechanics' Bay b Auckland in which a young man namec 3 Mr. William Joyner, an employee at th< - ftew Zealand Herald office showed i i presence of mind and cool courage bu< I rarely met with. The circumstances an l« as follow : — At that hour a son of Cap - tain R. Stevens, aged 14, was bathing r opposite Fraser and Tinne's about i i 100 yards out from the beach, wher - Joyner came along with the intention oi s bathing, but afterwards changed hii - mind. While standing on the bead i his attention was attracted to the lad : through his cries, and he then saw a 5 shark about a yard behind the boy, ' making attempts to seize him, while the 3 terrified lad was splashing to drive it . away. Seeing the boy's danger, Joynei 1 at once stripped, got a sailor's clasp r knife from a bystander, and leaping mll to the Bea, swam to the youth's assist' i ance. On swimming up to the spot he j told young Stevens to strike ou* 1 . for th( a shore without fear, as ho would settle s difficulty with the shark himself. The 1 shark was equally agreeable to the new - arrangement, and dived under Joynet r with the purpose of attacking him, onlj j to receive a Btab in the belly, as lv i passed under, for his trouble. In th< s second attempt the shark got the " cold % steel " behind the shoulder. Altering t his tactics the shark madeja flank movef ment, with the purpose of seizing Joynei , in the ribs or abdomen, but he throwing

out his arms round the foreqiiarfcers, jobbed the shark in the eye with the knife r sending it home to the hilt. The shark sheered off, carrying the knife with him as a souvenir of the little difficulty. Joyner swam ashore, and was subsequently thanked and rewarded by the grateful father of the lad. The Royal Humane Society's medal might very fitly be awarded in such a case, as there is little doubt that younsj Stevens owes his life to Joyner's gallantry and courage. There are scores of men who would leap into the sea to rescue anyone from drowning who would think twice before venturing in to deliberately encounter a shark.