Kelp Beds is unlikely to strike a visitor as a particularly dangerous place to surf.
The beach break, just east of Esperance on WA's south coast, is picturesque, uncrowded, and often very small.
But the place has a tragic history, which some believe tourists should be better warned about.
Four people have been attacked by white sharks in the past eight years at the break.
Sean Pollard survived when he was attacked in 2014, but teenager Laeticia Brouwer was killed in 2017, and Andrew Sharpe also died after an attack in 2020.
Last month, a woman holidaying in Esperance took a pool ring into the water at Kelp Beds.
She, too, was attacked and bravely swam to shore before being helped by locals and spent four days in a Perth hospital.
Esperance's only paramedic Paul Gaughan has been on the scene of many of those tragedies.
After last month's attack, he suggested that better signage could help.
'Lives have been lost here'
Tourists may notice some of the signs that mention sharks on their drive to Kelp Beds.
There is a passing mention on one of the signs at the entry to Wylie Bay — where they will head onto the sand for a few more kilometres of beach driving — and two signs in the dunes behind Kelp Beds say it is a high risk shark area.
They are also underscored by an ominous message: "Lives have been lost at this location".
After reading that, some might start to register the siren, the yellow buoy for detecting tagged sharks, and the crosses dug into the sand dunes overlooking the ocean.
But experts said the warnings could be a lot more obvious.
Any signs must be easily understood
Michael Blumberg believes an effective safety sign should be anything but predictable.
The advertising expert helped found the Site Safety Alliance, which aims to make construction sites safer, and has spent the past eight years trying to motivate tradies to access mental health support and do cancer checks, through posters his company designs for construction site lunch rooms.
He said a warning sign at Kelp Beds should be "visually arresting" and its message should be obvious to visitors from different language backgrounds and all age demographics.
"You want someone to actually notice the sign," he said.
"And always take into account that a minimum 30 per cent of people looking at that sign … English is not their first language."
He also suggested the inclusion of a QR code — which most people are familiar with post COVID — which could link people with articles or more information about the risks in a language of their choosing.
Concerns about impact on tourism
Kelp Beds remains a favourite place to surf for a handful of locals, who are well aware of its history.
The idea of more signage further entrenching the idea of Esperance as a dangerous, shark-infested location is likely to frustrate some residents, particularly those concerned of the impact on the tourism industry.
Simon Latchford is the newly appointed Esperance tourism development manager and said visitation numbers had not dropped in other places where attacks had also occurred like the Whitsundays in Queensland and nearby Margaret River.
But he also questioned how much more state and local government and community groups could do to warn people.
Already there were shark warning systems, a newly built shark-free swimming area, rebates on shark deterrent devices and promotion of coastal safety brochures.
"Where do we stop?" he said.
'More dramatic' ideas to be considered
But Shire President Ian Mickel said the council was considering improving signage.
He said shire officers would soon be sitting down with community representatives to explore their options.
"So people who visit the area and look to go for a surf … they can be made aware of the history."
