Henri Bource


Henri Bource was a Dutch-Australian scuba diver, underwater filmmaker, musician and shark attack survivor who lived and worked in Australia. He is best known for his film Savage Shadows in which he recreated the scene of a great white shark removing his left leg.

Shark attack

Bource was attacked by what is believed to have been a 2.4 metre long great white shark off Lady Julia Percy Island in Australia in November 1964. He was 29 years old at the time, and was living in Hawthorne East. He lost his left leg but survived the attack and went on to retell the story in his 1969 documentary film, Savage Shadows. He continued to dive, wearing a modified diving fin on the stump of his left leg. During the 1970s he made a short film for BHP and Esso called Reef of Steel and appeared in Island Treasure in 1981. He was interviewed at various times about his shark attack, including by Peter Luck in 1979.

Music career

Bource was a saxophonist and band leader of the Henri Bource Allstars. He also played with the Thunderbirds, The Planets and The Johnny Donohue Quartet.

Early life

Bource was born in Rotterdam and emigrated to Australia as a teenager in 1954. He learned to use an aqualung with his father and trained as a graphic artist.