‘Be brave for Nico’: Family and friends paddle out for shark attack victim

It’s a scene commonplace at Bondi Beach of a weekend: groups of kids going out for a paddle or swim, rubbing saltwater out of their eyes. On Sunday, however, they weren’t there for fun, but to “be brave” for their mate Nico.

Hundreds of family and friends gathered at North Bondi to pay tribute to Nico Antic, who at just 12 years old lost his life to a shark bite while swimming at Nielsen Park.

“I’ve never had a tragic a loss as this,” Nico’s friend and rugby teammate Col O’Kelly, 12, said.

“He was a brave boy, so maybe let’s be brave for him and show the best qualities of him. I’ll try and do that for the rest of the year.”

As the crowd of Nico’s friends – his fellow nippers, rugby teammates, fellow students at Rose Bay Secondary College – took to the water, Nico’s parents Juan Pablo and Lorena looked on, embracing. Then they dived in.

The hundreds of swimmers and paddlers formed a circle in the water, surrounding Nico’s parents with applause and drumming on their surfboards. Overwhelmed with emotion, Juan Pablo held his fist to his chest and looked to the sky.

Back on the sand, the Antic family held each other, engulfing Nico’s parents in a group hug chanting Nico’s name.

“To all of you, for being part of this for Nico, thank you – we are forever grateful,” Juan Pablo told the crowd.

“We love this kid so much, our Nico, we’re going to miss him, miss him forever.”

Like everyone who remembered Nico, Easts Junior Beasties rugby club president Graham Jackson said the 12-year-old was a brave kid and a dedicated nipper at the North Bondi Surf Club, making the paddle out a fitting tribute.

“Here at Bondi it’s what we do to pay respect, unfortunately we had to do that before Christmas here and the beach is our place of joy and fun, it’s really important that we claim that back. This was all about the family and paying respect to Nico,” Jackson said.

Nico died in hospital last Saturday, a week after he was mauled by a suspected bull shark while jumping off rocks at Shark Beach in the eastern suburbs.

The attack was just the first in a series of incidents involving sharks in Sydney and around the state after heavy rainfall brought bull sharks closer to shore.

Musician Andre de Ruyter, 27, required a lower leg amputation after he was bitten by a shark at Manly’s North Steyne Beach. An 11-year-old was lucky to escape unharmed after a shark knocked him off his surfboard at Dee Why on the same day.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.