Shark hunter Vic Hislop revealed as new owner of North Qld hotel

An infamous Aussie shark hunter has snapped up a North Queensland pub and will use the space as a private holiday house for fishing and camping in calmer waters with friends and family.

Property records show that Vic Hislop is the mysterious new owner of the Commercial Hotel in Halifax, a small town outside of Ingham.

He purchased the watering hole, which includes a bar, commercial kitchen and hotel accommodation, for $350,000 last month.

Hislop made a name for himself capturing and killing sharks, and ran Shark Show, a museum in Hervey Bay, for 30 years.

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He also appeared on television documentaries in the 1980s, and was sometimes referred to as ‘Rambo of the seas’ due to his dangerous encounters with Jaws.

Several shark species, including the Great White Shark, are now considered a vulnerable species, and are protected in Australia, according to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.

The Australian Shark Incident Database, which is maintained by Taronga Conservation Society Australia, shows there have been 68 shark attacks in Queensland waters since 2003, and 100 known fatal attacks since records began in 1836.

Queensland Government data shows 416 sharks have been caught in nets and drumlines so far this year, with 752 snared in 2022 and 798 in 2021.

Of those caught so far this year, 126 have been located in nets off the Capricorn Coast, the highest of any region.

Since 2001, 14043 sharks have been caught in control nets of Queensland, with 2432 found in nets off Townsville, the highest of any region, followed by the Capricorn Coast (1849), Mackay (1718) and the Gold Coast (1254).

Hislop’s Hervey Bay museum closed its doors in 2016.

Now retired, Mr Hislop said the hotel would be used for private purposes only.

“The fishing and camping up there is great and this has plenty of room for my family and friends,” he said.

“It will just be a holiday house and I have just been up there tidying it up, putting the bar mats down, the stools in, making the tables. I love the atmosphere.”

Explore Property Cairns agent Belinda Andersen, who sold the property to Mr Hislop, said there was “huge interest” in the property from interstate, with inquiries from people looking to use it as a holiday base or as a hotel.

“I wish I had 10 of them,” she said.

As for sharks, Mr Hislop said those days were done.

“I’ve had a lifetime of rough seas,” he said.

“This will be for relaxing and fishing.

“I just want to enjoy the calm waters of the creeks these days.”