A surfer was knocked unconscious by a whale at Australia's famous Bondi Beach on Sunday (July 7), local media reported.

Australia's Seven Network captured aerial vision, shot from a helicopter, of a whale swimming in the waters off the shore of Bondi Beach shortly after the attack took place.

Bishan Rajapakse was surfing with a friend at one of Sydney's most popular city beaches on Sunday morning when he saw a whale near him in the water, local media said.

The 38-year-old told reporters he was stunned being so close to the marine mammal, adding the next thing he remembered was waking up on the sand.

"I just remember this magnificent whale slowly coming to the right of me and coming for another look, and, you know, I just kind of felt like talking to it like a dog or an animal, and say 'hey', you know, that was it. Maybe it was giving me 'high five', I don't know," he said.

Rajapakse was dragged to safety by fellow surfers and lifeguards, local media said.

He was then taken to local St Vincent's Hospital where he was being treated for head and shoulder injuries, local media added.

Rajapakse said it was the biggest whale he had ever seen.

"I certainly thought it was like a little minibus size. It was big, it was the biggest whale. I've seen a few whales in Bondi before, you know, just walking, but this was the biggest I've seen. And we were so close to it. So it looked massive. It looked like an alien to us, you know, like one of those alien spacecraft or something. It was amazing," he said.

Several people witnessed the incident from the beach. Rajapakse was released later on Sunday, local media said.

Presented by Adam Justice