The older cousin of a teenage girl attacked by a shark in Tasmania paddled to the 13-year-old's aid and brought her safely to shore as the man-eater continued to circle.
The teenager was surfing with her male cousin at Binalong Bay, near St Helens, in Tasmania's north east when the 5m white pointer latched onto her leg about 3.45pm on Sunday.
The shark dragged the girl under the water twice before her cousin reached the scene on his surfboard and hit the animal, causing it to let go of the girl's leg, Senior Sergeant Jason Elmer of St Helens Police told AAP.
The cousin, a man in his 20s from Queensland, managed to pull the teenager onto his surfboard and began to paddle towards the shore.
But the shark followed and circled the frightened pair as they frantically paddled towards shore.
At one stage they caught a wave, but the shark was in the same wave, said Snr Sgt Elmer, who arrived on the scene shortly after the attack.
"They managed to get to shore," he said.
"There's a significant bite out of the surfboard.
"I understand there was a fair bit of blood in the water."
Despite the ordeal, Snr Sgt Elmer said the teenager emerged calm from the water.
"She was really clam, she was brave, probably in a little bit of shock. There was no tears," he said.
A third surfer who also saw the shark made it to shore safely but was pretty shaken up, Snr Sgt Elmer said.
He said the actions of the teenager's cousin had saved her life.
"He's done a magnificent job.
"He's extremely brave in his actions. He's probably saved her life," Snr Sgt Elmer said.
It was the second shark attack in Australia on Sunday, with a man surfing on the far north coast of NSW also bitten.
The man has been named by ABC Television as 31-year-old Jonathon Beard of Brisbane.
The man was in a stable condition after being bitten on the fleshy part of his left thigh while surfing about 70m offshore.
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