Historical reference record — not independently verified

Shark incident at Volupai Talasea West New Britain Province Papua New Guinea — 1954

ReportedUnprovokedNon-fatal

Original historical summary

The original reference is retained below. Supplementary source details appear in the fact panel; protected facts and unresolved differences remain unchanged.

A historical reference describes an event at Volupai Talasea West New Britain Province Papua New Guinea in 1954. Recorded activity: Swimming. Classification: Unprovoked. Outcome: Non-fatal.

Original reference details

  • Location recorded in the historical reference: Volupai Talasea West New Britain Province Papua New Guinea.
  • Date: 1954.
  • Activity: Swimming.
  • Classification: Unprovoked.
  • Outcome: Non-fatal.

Source limitations and unresolved differences

  • No shark species identification is supported by the retained evidence.
  • The date is intentionally shown with limited precision; no day is invented.
  • This restoration uses a supplied historical summary citing the general GSAF incident log, not a case-level primary document. It has not been independently verified.
  • The supplied source lists 1954-01-01; the existing reviewed date is retained pending case-level reconciliation.

Fact panel

Date
1954
Date precision
Year
Location
Volupai Talasea West New Britain Province Papua New Guinea
Country
Papua New Guinea
Activity
Swimming
Incident classification
Unprovoked
Area / state
West New Britain Province
Person / vessel
boy
Age
12.0
Sex
M
Outcome
Non-fatal
Species
Unknown
Species confidence
Unknown
Coordinate precision
Region

Incident location

Volupai, Talasea, West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea

Approximate area: West New Britain Province
The marker represents the named area, not the exact incident site.

The interactive map loads when it comes into view. Incident details remain available as text.

Location precision: Approximate area

Representative map position for West New Britain Province from Natural Earth. This marks the general area, not the exact incident site. This is historical location context, not live shark tracking or a measure of risk.

Sources and verification

Shark incident records can change as investigations develop. This page shows the current verification status and was last restored from supplied historical reference material on 2026-09-04.

Historical facts retain the provenance and uncertainty of the cited references. Source timestamps record when the supplied material was imported, not an independent source retrieval or verification.

Supplementary content updated: 2026-09-24. This does not change the original verification status or review date.