Kruger may have been named after the South African President Paul Kruger, who successfully evaded capture by the British throughout the Boer War (1899–1902).
Growing notorietyOver the years, as Kruger’s notoriety grew, numerous attempts were made to capture him. Indeed, the announcements of Kruger’s return each summer in the columns of The Poverty Bay Herald, served as a call to arms for all those fishermen intent on landing the ultimate prize. But their opponent was formidable and unlike any other shark they had ever encountered.
Most of the fishermen used rod and reel, and the popularity of the hunt led to the formation of the “Kruger Shark Syndicate Company.”
But the most determined of all was Mr Charles Ferris, whose unorthodox methods made him well-known throughout the region.
He would wade into the sea armed with an old whaler’s harpoon. Once the water was up to his chest, he would throw pieces of stingray meat to the sharks to draw them in. Kruger and his cohorts would then begin to encircle him. As the dagger-like dorsal fins sliced through the glassy surface, Ferris would identify the largest individual.
But the crafty Kruger stayed just out of range, frustrating Ferris’ attempts to capture him. So instead, he would harpoon the largest shark within reach, before quickly retreating to the beach.
On shore, he and his companions then began to haul in the rope attached to the prize. The tug-of-war between the men and the shark only ended when the exhausted quarry was finally brought right up onto the beach. Afterwards, Ferris dressed and dried the meat.
Ferris’s successful capture of sharks in this manner attracted the admiration and interest of many Gisborne residents. After church on Sundays, they would make their way to Wainui beach to watch the spectacle from the sand dunes, which then overlooked the beach there. Today, erosion has altered the southern end of Wainui, but this stretch of water is still officially known as “Shark Bay”.
Unsuccessful capture attemptsUp to 1902, several unsuccessful attempts to capture Kruger had been made, but that summer the fishermen enjoyed some success as the battles intensified.
In early March, Ferris succeeded in harpooning one of Kruger’s comrades, which measured around 9 feet (2.7m) in length.
The following summer, a member of the syndicate caught another. It measured 10 feet (3m) in length.
But Kruger would still not take the bait. Days later, he was seen leaping about in Shark Bay. Attempts were made to catch him, but the clever Kruger proved too wary.
When Kruger returned in 1903, the local sportsmen again plotted against him but Kruger thwarted all of their efforts that summer too.
In 1904, Kruger turned the tables on the fishermen, when he forced a group of “natives” who were fishing from the edge of the reef in Sponge Bay, to flee when he began “jumping out of the water . . . [and even] . . . brushing against the rocks” where they were standing. Only the fearless or the very foolish, ever dared to enter the Court of King Kruger.
In January 1906, Ferris went toe to tail with Kruger once more, again unsuccessfully. Further attempts followed in 1907, but by then most of the frustrated fishermen in the syndicate had given up. Ferris was among those who persevered.
In 1908, picnickers in Sponge Bay landed a large stingray. But as they hauled in their catch, Kruger and his cronies appeared. They seized the ray and tore it apart between them like a rag doll. Understandably, Sponge Bay soon became known instead for a time as “Kruger’s Bay”.
Kruger’s fate remains unknown. The last confirmed sighting was in 1910, when he was once more patrolling the edge of the Sponge Bay reef. Although Kruger was never seen again, Ferris continued his shark hunting endeavours into the 1940s, when a stingray strike caused him to retire from the sport.
