Historical reference record — not independently verified
Shark incident at Samarai Island South End Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea — December 25, 1956
What happened
A historical reference describes an event at Samarai Island South End Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea in 1956-12-25. Recorded activity: Spearfishing. Classification: Unprovoked. Outcome: Fatal.
What is known
- Location recorded in the historical reference: Samarai Island South End Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea.
- Date: 1956-12-25.
- Activity: Spearfishing.
- Classification: Unprovoked.
- Outcome: Fatal.
What remains uncertain
- A tiger shark was reportedly caught later; this does not independently identify the shark involved.
- 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.
Fact panel
- Date
- December 25, 1956
- Date precision
- Exact
- Location
- Samarai Island South End Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Activity
- Spearfishing
- Incident classification
- Unprovoked
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Species
- Tiger shark
- Species confidence
- Reported
- Coordinate precision
- Unknown
Location context
Historical locations can be approximate. No coordinates have been assigned from the place name, and this record does not imply a map marker or a current risk estimate.
Sources and verification
- Historical incident log (general reference) — Global Shark Attack FileSupports: General reference cited by the supplied historical summary; not independently checked against a case-level record.
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 This page shows the current verification status and was last restored from supplied historical reference material on 2026-09-04.
The cited incident log is a general reference, not a linked case-level primary document. Source timestamps record when the supplied reference was imported, not an independent source retrieval or verification.