The 33-year-old died after being airlifted to a mainland hospital, the national broadcaster ABC said.

The attack came less than two months after an Australian woman and a 12-year-old girl were bitten and seriously hurt by sharks within 24 hours of each other in the same area.

Those attacks in one of Australia's most well-known tourist areas led authorities to set out baited lines to capture and kill several sharks.

Shark attacks are rare in the Whitsundays -- a collection of spectacular tropical islands at the heart of the Barrier Reef -- with the last encounter reported to be eight years ago, according to the ABC.