Jellyfish stings in Australia
Jellyfish stings in Australia can cause pain, paralysis and death for swimmers with exposed skin. Numerous venomous species of jellyfish occur in Australian waters, including the box jellyfish and Irukandji Jellyfish. Box jellyfish are believed to have caused at least 69 deaths since record keeping began in 1883. Although they are commonly mistaken for jellyfish, bluebottles are actually siphonophores.
Numbers of stings
Irukandji are rarely found outside Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Between 1985 and 1997 from cases of Irukandji sting where location was recorded, there were 83.4% in Queensland, 9.1% in the Northern Territory, and 7.5% in Western Australia; 81.5% of cases occurred in the afternoon. In a fourteen-year period there were 660 Irukandji stings in Australia, which were recorded by Dr Fenner, a medical officer with Surf Lifesaving Australia. There were 159 Irukandji stings reported in Broome in a five-year period with 25% of those stung being hospitalised but no recorded deaths. There were 62 people reported being stung by Irukandji in Cairns in 1996; of these more than half occurred in December, 92% were stung on hotter than average days, with 63% occurring while swimming inside a stinger net enclosure on the beach. In summer 2001-02 there were 160 people stung by the middle of February, with around 100 of these in Cairns, and between 10 and 20 in Townsville, the Whitsundays, Great Keppel and Agnes Water.Northern Territory hospitals report approximately 40 jellyfish stings annually.
List of fatal stings
This is a list of fatal jellyfish stings that occurred in Australian territorial waters by decade in reverse chronological order.21st century
| Name, age | Age | Year | Month | Species | State or Territory | Location; Comments |
| 74 | 2016 | November | Irukandji | Queensland | Michelmas Cay. Two French tourists died within 10 minutes of each other. Hypothesis formed by cardiologist. Dismissed as speculation by tour operator. | |
| 76 | 2016 | November | Irukandji | Queensland | Michelmas Cay. Two French tourists died within 10 minutes of each other. Hypothesis formed by cardiologist. Dismissed as speculation by tour operator. | |
| Boy | 6 | 2007 | November | Chironex fleckeri | Northern Territory | |
| Girl | 7 | 2006 | January | Queensland | Umagico Beach near Bamaga, | |
| Boy | 7 | 2003 | March | Chironex fleckeri | Queensland | Wongaling Beach near Cairns, stung on chest and neck. Allegedly the 68th person in Australia known to have died from a chironex fleckeri sting since records began in 1883. |
| Male | 44 | 2002 | April | Queensland | Port Douglas | |
| Male | 58 | 2002 | January | Irukandji | Queensland | Hamilton Island, Whitsunday Islands |
| Male | 5 | 2000 | January | Chironex fleckeri | Queensland | Yarrabah, near Cairns |
20th century
| Name | Age | Year | Month | Species | State or Territory | Location; Comments |
| Boy | 5 | 1987 | January | box jellyfish | ||
| Boy | 6 | 1984 | January | box jellyfish | Queensland | Lockhart River, north of Cooktown. |
| Boy | 5 | 1980 | December | Queensland | Wongaling, near Tully. Animals were observed by victim's older brother. | |
| Woman | 26 | 1971 | November | Queensland | North Mission Beach. Investigated by Dr J. S. Barnes of Cairns. | |
| Gregory Noel Jarrot | 12 | 1971 | January | Queensland | Seaforth Beach, north of Mackay. | |
| Terence Barney | 5 | 1965 | January | Queensland | Mornington Island, Gulf of Carpentaria. Aboriginal boy was pronounced DOA at hospital. | |
| Paul Haritos | 6 | 1964 | Chironex fleckeri | Northern Territory | Mica Beach, four miles from Darwin. Victim was standing in calf-deep water. Collapsed instantly and died quickly. | |
| Girl | 1963-64 | Chironex fleckeri | Queensland | Occurred "a few months earlier" than the Paul Haritos incident. | ||
| Lynette Mary Starkey | 11 | 1957 | Queensland | North Mission Beach, Queensland. Stung on the legs while bathing with other children in shallow water. Collapsed on the beach and died. Weals visible on her legs. | ||
| Boy | 1955 | box jellyfish or sea wasp | Queensland | Cardwell | ||
| Clarke William Currow | 8 | 1954 | February | Northern Territory | Darwin, close to Larrakeyah army barracks, three yards from shore. Died a few minutes after being stung. | |
| James Ernest Lane | 33 | 1953 | July | box jellyfish | Queensland | Saltwater Creek, Townsville. Victim experienced severe pain, paralysis and frothing at the mouth. |
| 1951 | box jellyfish | Queensland | Kissing Point Baths, Townsville | |||
| Wojcik Czestaw | 31 | 1950 | Physalia utriculus, also known as Portuguese Man o' War | Northern Territory | Mindil Beach, Darwin. Died within minutes of being stung. Specimen was collected and identified by Frank McNeill, curator of invertebrates at the Australian Museum. Victim's name was also reported as Wokeik. | |
| Brian Andrew McNamara | 10 | 1949 | December | box jellyfish | Queensland | North Mission Beach near Tully. |
| Man | 1944 | January | sea wasp | Northern Territory | Victim was a serviceman. | |
| Robert Ernest Day | 8 | 1941 | Queensland | Rowe's Bay, Townsville. Boy died en route to hospital. | ||
| 1939 | Portuguese Man o' War | Queensland | Googarra and Proserpine, | |||
| Thomas "Tommy" Frederick Chandler | 11 | 1938 | March | sea wasp | Northern Territory | Lameroo Beach, Darwin. Government baths. Stung on chest, body and face. Jellyfish specimen was collected for analysis. Victim's name was also reported as Robert Chandler. Chandler died 15–20 minutes after being stung. A boy called Bennie Babun who went to his rescue was also stung and hospitalised. Others stung during prior fortnight were treated with morphine. |
| David William Taylor | 19 | 1937 | box jellyfish | Queensland | Bramston Beach near Babinda, Cairns. Stung while in waist-deep water. Assisted from the water by George Giffin but collapsed and died thereafter. | |
| Salvatore Cantarella, male adult | 1934 | box jellyfish | Queensland | Googarra Beach, near Tully. Marks on right leg and left foot. Believed to have died of shock and heart failure after the sting. Post-mortem conducted by Dr. A. R. Townsend. | ||
| Maurice Woods | 7 | 1930 | January | Portuguese Man o' War | Queensland | Magnetic Island, near Townsville. |
| 1923 | box jellyfish | Queensland | Proserpine | |||
| Charles Trenaman | 15 | 1916 | March | Portuguese Man o' War | Queensland | Rowes Bay, near Townsville Stung on neck, body, shoulder and legs. Died about 10 minutes later from "nerve shock from pain". |
| Albert George, boy | 1911 | May | Queensland | Cannon Valley beach, Pioneer Bay, near Mackay. Arms attached to the boy's belly, torso and arms. Victim lost consciousness and died within half an hour. Open bathing at this location was prohibited after this second death within 6 months. | ||
| Gould, boy | 1910-11 | Queensland | Occurred during Christmas holiday period. Cannon Valley beach, Pioneer Bay, near Mackay. |
19th century
| Name | Age | Year | Month | Species | State or Territory | Location; Comments |
| Fred Harwood | 14 | 1892 | Northern Territory | Sea baths, Darwin | ||
| 1884 | December | box jellyfish | Queensland | Ross Creek, Townsville |
Non-fatal stings
Some jellyfish attacks which have appeared in reliable sources are listed below.| Gender | Age | Year | Month | Species | Location; Comments |
| F | 3 | 2008 | December | Milingimbi, girl almost died, said to be lucky to survive. | |
| M | 13 | 1968 | box jellyfish | Bramston Beach, Babinda, boy saved by CPR | |
| M | 24 | 2003 | November | box jellyfish | Sydney, NSW, man almost died, treated days later. |
Too numerous to list. Virtually every person living on the coast in North Queensland knows of someone who has borne the scars and debilitating pain from Box Jellyfish stings. These scars often remain for the rest of the victims life.