‘Minnie crew’ rocked by shark tragedy

Tucabia-Wooli Bears (renamed Yuraygir Bears in 2016) won the North Coast Football 3rd Division grand final against Maclean Bobcats at Rushforth Park South Grafton on Saturday, 5th September, 2015. Several members of the team are Minnie Water residents with a close association to Mani Hart-Deville and his family. Photo Debrah Novak / The Daily Examiner Debrah Novak

DEAR valued subscriber,

The absence of fatal shark attacks along the 80km stretch of the Clarence Coast was quite the tourism advertisement for the region, much like the Whitsunday Islands until recently.

It's been something of a security blanket for myself, as someone living here who loves to bodysurf.

A wreath laid at Wilsons Headland where 15-year-old Mani Hart-Deville was killed by a shark while surfing with friends on Saturday, July 11, 2020.

Indeed, the last time I swam in our waters, eerily enough was at Wilsons Headland on May 17. That once 'unreasonable fear' of what was lurking beneath did enter my mind on that occasion, alone amongst the waves that Sunday afternoon two months before last Saturday's tragedy, to such an extent that on the drive home I recorded the initial lyrics that later that week would become a new song about the broader subject of facing your fears called (I'm sorry, look away now!) Swimming With Sharks.

An extract of a song written by Bill North in May 2020.

That's no joke. And I'm sorry if that coincidence shocks you. I tell you, it does my head in just thinking about it. But it feels therapeutic to finally get that off my chest. It reminds me that I'm also a real person. That's what all the mental health advocates are telling us to do, right? To talk about what's eating you up inside instead of bottling it up?

RELATED ARTICLES:

• Help available for people affected by shark tragedy

• 'This may be their first experience dealing with loss'

• VIDEO: Start a conversation on men's mental health

There's a lot of grief in the Clarence right now. And sometimes talking about it can be the best tonic. Sharing the story of 15-year-old Mani Hart-Deville would be a beautiful starting point.

The original context of that song is now null and void. It's no longer an unreasonable fear. And there's no escaping the fact it will change the ball game for many, myself included, when weighing up the motivation to go for a surf, or deciding maybe not today.

The most courageous response is to carry on putting fate in God's hands, knowing the odds are overwhelmingly stacked in your favour. But that is easier said than done.

Just why tragedy hadn't struck any of our numerous popular surfing spots and beaches before now is a mystery. It's surely an anomaly, and we've just been very lucky.

But that's no longer the case, and while any shark attack death is among the most tragic and inconceivable, the region's first is particularly heartbreaking.

15-year-old Mani Deville has been described as clever, artistic and individual.

Tributes have flowed for Mani, described as a free-spirited individual, who was in Year 10 at South Grafton High and had only recently started working at the Minnie Water General Store.

As the local media there is a fine line to tread between allowing the family and community to have their space to grieve, and our responsibility to ensure Mani's death was not in vain, and that he is given the tribute he deserves to be remembered by.

When I first moved to the Clarence Valley in 2013, the first group of people around my age that I met were the Minnie Water six-a-side soccer team who kindly accepted me into their team.

The Daily Examiner editor Bill North playing for Yuraygir FC Utd Bears during the 2016 North Coast Football 2nd Division North grand final against Majos Thunder at Wajard Oval in Coutts Crossing on Saturday, 17th September, 2016.

As a player for the next five seasons for Yuraygir FC United, with whom Mani was a junior at one stage, I called Wooli Sports Ground home. I enjoyed plenty of highs and lows including two premierships, forged friendships for life, and rocked out to multiple gigs of Minnie Water's favourite sons The Ninth Chapter at the community hall.

It's a tight knit community, full of friendly, worldly people, who value their independence and the solitude it provides away from the mundane machinations of mainstream society, the media included. And despite my connections I know I'm not a bona fide local, not just because I've only lived here for seven years, but because of what my profession represents.

Grafton became the centre of global media attention over the weekend after the revelation that Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant grew up in the city.

There have been similarities this past week, on a smaller scale, to when the world's media descended on Grafton after the Christchurch massacre, and unscrupulous investigative journalists doorknocked, turned over every stone and invaded people's privacy on the hunt for the best scoop.

ALSO BY THIS AUTHOR: Grief-stricken city caught in media crosshairs

It makes it difficult for the regional news teams, who consider respecting the communities they live in as part of their job descriptions, and essential for their longevity. Severed ties are often never repaired, so maintaining a mutual bond with the community is an imperative role of a regional journalist.

A lot of family and friends are hurting right now, and to those people my thoughts are with you.

For the greater Clarence Valley public, there's shock from the absolute realisation of what can happen in familiar waters.

We do have a responsibility to discuss shark attacks as an issue. We don't have to - and we won't - dehumanise Mani in order to do that.

There are also stories to tell about heroes in the water and on the beach last Saturday and their valiant attempts to save Mani's life.