This came to our attention via Past Tense—which, by the way, is a great Tumblr blog that regularly explores Vancouver’s fascinating history and you should check it out.

Eighty-six years ago, a diver with the City of Vancouver encountered a six foot shark in the Second Narrows. A Jan. 8, 1925 issue of the Vancouver Daily Province tells the tale of the man’s 20-minute throw down with the beast:

Encumbered by his heavy diving suit and at a depth of 95 feet below the surface of the water, Jack Bruce, a city diver, yesterday fought and killed a shark six foot two inches in length which attacked him again and again at the bottom of the Second Narrows. He is back on the job today.

Yesterday’s adventure started a couple of minutes after Bruce had reached the bottom. He noticed the enormous fish, not realizing at first what it was. Then it made for his legs and Bruce realized that it was a shark. He had an iron bar with him and prodded the fish with it.

From then on the struggle became a furious one. Bruce did not dare pull his signal cord so that he would be pulled to the surface for fear the shark with seize him by the leg.

Again and again the shark circled around and made sudden dashes for Bruce.

Apparently Bruce’s defensive tactics angered it for it became more and more vicious. Finally Bruce’s stabs with the iron bar took effect and he killed the shark. 

See, that sort of thing would never happen now because over-fishing (and I suppose, death matches) have depleted marine predator populations across the globe.

If you take a look at the day’s paper you will see lots of other interesting items from 1925. There is even one note that mentions then Vancouver mayor L.D. Taylor’s plans for a “Greater Vancouver through amalgamation of adjoining municipalities”, however, details are scant.