The man killed by a shark at Byron Bay joked with his parents about the risk sharks posed during their last conversation.
Paul Wilcox, 50, bled to death after a large shark, possibly a great white, took off part of his right leg as he swam about 15 metres off Clarkes Beach on Tuesday.
His grieving parents Bryan and Marie Wilcox, who live in northern Wales, have revealed they spoke to their son about sharks soon before he set off on the final swim of his life.
"This subject came up in a joke when we last spoke to him," Mr Wilcox has told the Welsh newspaper, the Rhyl, Prestatyn and Abergele Journal.
"But he said there had only been three shark attacks in the last 12 years. It's just extraordinary."
Mrs Wilcox said she was devastated by her son's death, but took some comfort from the fact it would have been quick.
The IT contractor had only just moved to Byron Bay, from Sydney. He'd been living in Australia since he was 22.
Clarkes Beach remained closed on Wednesday morning, but it could be reopened as early as later in the day depending on risk assessments.
The shark suspected of the attack hasn't been spotted since it disappeared into deeper water on Tuesday.
Helicopters are monitoring the Byron Bay coast and life guards are patrolling local beaches to warn swimmers.
Mrs Wilcox said her son was living a dream life in Byron Bay.
"He died doing what he wanted to do ... it's not as though somebody attacked him in the street. It's not as though he was shot in Afghanistan, which mothers have had to go through," the BBC quoted her as saying.
"I had a happy, well-adjusted, lovely, lovely son talking to me the day before - 24 hours later he's dead and I still can't take it in."
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