Stunned community honours treasured teen shark victim
The Bribie Island community has gathered to pay tribute to a teenager who died after being attacked by a shark while swimming at a popular surf spot.
More than 2000 heartbroken members of a quiet beachside community have gathered for a vigil to remember a much-loved shark attack victim.
Charlize Zmuda, 17, was swimming off Woorim Beach when she was attacked, suffering injuries to her upper body and dying soon after being pulled from the water.
Parents hugged their children tight and school students embraced tearfully as they arrived at the beach at Bribie Island adorned with floral tributes on Tuesday.
âJust awful. An unspeakable tragedy,â a mother told AAP.
âI hugged my boys as soon as I heard the news.
âThe whole community is shell-shocked.â
A student in the same year group as Charlize said he was struggling to reconcile with the reality of it all.
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Charlizeâs father Steven Zmuda addressed the crowd from within a circle that formed on the beach, before laying the first of many candles.
Only the ocean waves could be heard as the big crowd stood silently.
Despite the tragedy, Zmuda has urged Australians to not be afraid of the ocean.
âSomething that my wife and I wanted to say is we donât want people to stop coming to the beach and enjoying our beach,â he told reporters earlier.
âItâs a big part of our lives.â
The grieving father fondly remembered his daughterâs passion for the ocean, joining the local lifesaving club aged eight.
She was vice-captain of her lifesaving patrol and competed in the Inflatable Rescue Boat world championships in 2024, her family said.
Zmuda hailed his daughterâs musical talents as he tried to keep his emotions in check.
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âShe could hear a piece of music and then pick up and play it at the drop of a heartbeat,â he said.
âTo have all that talent taken away right now that kills me.â
Charlizeâs family earlier issued a statement saying she was a shining light who touched everyone she met.
âShe loved the beach and it truly was her happiest place on earth,â it read.
âShe loved four-wheel-driving up the beach and anyone who went with her knew they would have to stop and pick up every piece of rubbish she saw along the way.
âPlease focus on the incredible life she lived and not the awful way she died.â
Surf Life Saving Queensland chief executive Dave Whimpey said it was shocking and confronting to hear they had lost one of their own.
âThese incidents do happen, theyâre quite rare, but it does happen to a lifesaver, a young girl and everything to live for doing what she loved,â he said.
âBut the family is saying âplease enjoy the waterâ.â
Tributes soon began flowing in for the teen both online and in the Bribie Island community.
âItâs the kind of heartbreak that shakes the very foundation of who we are, leaving us reeling in disbelief, grief and sorrow beyond words,â her Bribie Island swimming club said on Facebook.
âHer kindness, her laughter, her strength â these are all gifts she has left behind and they will live on in all who knew and loved her.â
Principal of her Caboolture college Michael Connolly said Charlize had served the school and local communities with distinction.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli added: âTo think that a young girl doing what she loves could have her life taken away is really, really troublingâ.
In the past decade there has been an average of 20 shark incidents nationwide every year, according to the Australian Shark-Incident Database.
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