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'Second chance at life': Sydney shark attack survivor Leah Stewart speaks publicly

Leah Stewart, 34, has spoken publicly for the first time since surviving a great white shark attack at Coogee Beach in June. In a heartfelt post on her GoFundMe page, she credited community support and donations for her remarkable recovery, while authorities announced new safety measures.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 1 article Version 1 Coverage Aug 23, 2026 Published 5d ago

A Mother's Public Thanks

Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old Sydney mother, has spoken publicly for the first time since surviving a shark attack more than two months ago, according to a report by SBS Australia. In a post on her GoFundMe donation page, Stewart described her recovery as "remarkable" and credited community support with helping her "get better, not bitter".

"A huge part of that is because of the absolute army of love, support, prayers and encouragement surrounding my family and I from all over the world," she wrote. "That means more to me than I can say, and I truly believe it's played a huge role in my recovery."

The Attack and Recovery

Stewart was swimming between the flags close to shore when she was attacked by a great white shark at Coogee Beach on 13 June. She was rushed to hospital in critical condition, placed in a coma, and underwent multiple surgeries, including the amputation of one of her arms. Her brother Joshua later detailed on the fundraising page that she was bitten multiple times on her arms and legs during the attack.

Stewart, who is a mother of one, said she had been focused on her recovery and had "progressed enough to build some independence, and I can finally see some light after all of this".

"I want you to know that I feel like I've been given a second chance at life, and I'm not going to waste it. As I get better, I know I'll make something of this second chance and aim to give back even more in generosity, care, and love. I will forever be grateful for everything, and everyone, I've been given," she said.

Community Support and Fundraising

Her GoFundMe campaign raised over $558,000, and donations have since been turned off. Stewart said the money was sufficient to allow her to recover, stay in her home, and fund further medical treatment.

Recent Shark Attacks in Sydney

Her attack followed a spate of shark incidents in Sydney earlier this year. On 18 January, 12-year-old Nico Anticu was critically injured and later died after being attacked by a suspected bull shark while swimming off rocks in Vaucluse in Sydney Harbour. The following day, 27-year-old Andre de Ruyter was attacked while surfing near Manly, suffering boss blood loss and undergoing surgery to have one of his legs amputated. On the same day, an boy's surfboard was bitten at Dee Why Beach, but he escaped injury.

Government Response

Following Stewart's attack, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announced an extra $34 million investment in drone coverage across NSW beaches. He also acknowledged the protected status of the great white shark population, which he said could not be culled. In the immediate aftermath, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority granted a temporary exemption for aerial surveillance of Coogee Beach. Shark nets, temporarily removed during the winter whale migration season, are scheduled to be reinstalled at the start of September.

How this outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

SBS Australia — Leah Stewart, 34, attacked by a great white shark at Coogee Beach on 13 June while swimming between the flags close to shore.

SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC

Framing: Our reading sympathetic and hopeful, e.g., 'recovery has been remarkable' and 'I’ve been given a second chance at life'.

Facts Included:

Leah Stewart, 34, attacked by a great white shark at Coogee Beach on 13 June while swimming between the flags close to shore.
Stewart spoke publicly for the first time via a post on her GoFundMe donation page.
She was induced in a coma and underwent multiple surgeries, including amputation of one arm.
Stewart credited community support and said she was given a 'second chance at life' and aimed to 'get better, not bitter'.
GoFundMe raised more than $558,000; donations have been turned off.
Stewart said the money was enough to recover, stay in their home, and fund further medical treatment.
Context of other shark attacks: Nico Antic (12-year-old, died after attack on 18 January), Andre de Ruyter (27, leg amputated after attack on 19 January), and an 11-year-old boy's surfboard bitten at Dee Why Beach on the same day.
NSW Premier Chris Minns announced an extra $34 million investment in drone coverage across NSW beaches after Stewart's attack.

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What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimLeah Stewart, 34, was attacked by a great white shark while swimming between the flags close to shore at Coogee Beach on 13 June.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC, PerthNow as of Aug 24, 2026, 1:49 AM UTC
ClaimLeah Stewart spoke publicly for the first time since the attack via a post on her GoFundMe donation page.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC, PerthNow as of Aug 24, 2026, 1:49 AM UTC
ClaimLeah Stewart was induced in a coma and underwent multiple surgeries, including the amputation of one of her arms.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC, PerthNow as of Aug 24, 2026, 1:49 AM UTC
ClaimLeah Stewart credited community support with helping her recovery and said she was given a 'second chance at life' and aimed to 'get better, not bitter'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC
ClaimThe GoFundMe fundraiser for Leah Stewart raised more than $558,000, and donations have been turned off.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC, PerthNow as of Aug 24, 2026, 1:49 AM UTC
ClaimLeah Stewart said the money raised was enough to allow her to recover, stay in her home, and fund further medical treatment.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC, PerthNow as of Aug 24, 2026, 1:49 AM UTC
ClaimOn 18 January, 12-year-old Nico Antic was critically injured and later died after being attacked by a suspected bull shark while swimming off rocks in Vaucluse in Sydney Harbour.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC
ClaimOn 19 January, Andre de Ruyter, 27, was attacked while surfing near Manly, suffering extreme blood loss and undergoing surgery to have one of his legs amputated.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC
ClaimAn 11-year-old boy's surfboard was bitten at Dee Why Beach on the same day as the attack on Andre de Ruyter, but the young surfer escaped injury.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC
ClaimNSW Premier Chris Minns announced an extra $34 million investment in drone coverage across NSW beaches after Leah Stewart's attack.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via SBS Australia as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:18 PM UTC
ClaimLeah Stewart's brother Joshua said on the fundraising page that she was bitten multiple times on her arms and legs during the attack.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via PerthNow as of Aug 24, 2026, 1:49 AM UTC
ClaimNSW Premier Chris Minns said the great white shark population was protected and could not be culled.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via PerthNow as of Aug 24, 2026, 1:49 AM UTC
ClaimThe Civil Aviation Safety Authority granted a temporary exemption for aerial surveillance of Coogee Beach in the wake of the attack.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via PerthNow as of Aug 24, 2026, 1:49 AM UTC
ClaimShark nets, which are temporarily removed during the winter whale migration season, will be reinstalled at the start of September.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via PerthNow as of Aug 24, 2026, 1:49 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 1 article consulted: SBS Australia 14 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-24