The carcass had been left to rot for almost two weeks.

The dead whale attracted a feeding frenzy of sharks in the shallow waters and caused a "disgusting odour" to plague the beach.

Local Dirk Morris said a small group of residents banded together to remove the whale from the beach last Thursday morning.

"A local resident had a big enough tractor and with the help of a few other locals, he was able to take it off the beach and bury it on a vacant part of his land," Mr Morris said.

"The beach was pretty much impossible to use. There was a disgusting odour that you could smell from the car park and all along the beach.

Read more: Dead whale washes up on beach near Crescent Head

"The whale was rotting and the sharks were smelling it and attracted to it but they were no longer eating it.

"You couldn't walk the dog or enjoy the beach at all. It might have been like that for months if these people didn't step in and remove it themselves."

Mr Morris said the smell had improved drastically, but while he hasn't noticed as many sharks close to shore, the avid surfer admits he won't be entering the water anytime soon.

"It's really mitigated the smell. There's still a bit of an odour but it's nowhere near as bad," he said.

"I can't see the sharks in the shallows any more but it's hard to tell because they might just be a little further out.

"I won't be going in the water any time soon and definitely not in the mornings or evenings. When a whale was beached up near Ballina, there were three shark attacks in a short period of time afterwards."

The Big Hill beach remains closed.