Steve Irwin
22nd February 1962 - 4th September 2006
Australia has lost it’s favourite son Steve Irwin in a rare and freak incident.
On the 4th of September 2006 Steve Irwin was killed by a Stingray barb which pierced his chest and punctured his heart. Steve had been making a film documentary titled “Oceans Deadliest” at Batt Reef off the resort town of Port Douglas when the incident happened.
Steve decided shoot some film for a new tv show he was doing with his daughter Bindi, and with a cameraman went to Batt Reef to film a segment on Stingrays.
He snorkeled over a Bull Stingray in shallow water and the Stingray went into defence mode reacting by quickly raising it's tail equipped with a large sharp barb that went up and into Steve Irwin's chest putting a hole in his heart......a freak, unfortunate result of being hit by a Stingray barb.
Video footage of the tradgedy showed that Steve died almost instantly. Mr John Stainton said the footage showed that Steve pulled the Stingray Barb out of his chest and then he was gone.
Steve Irwin’s team responded quickly and got him back to his boat Croc 1 and then traveled to the Low Isles to meet an emergency team. CPR was constantly performed and but Steve Irwin was pronounced dead about 10 minutes later at 12.00pm by the emergency team.
A personal friend Mr John Stainton made the following statement.
"Today the world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest Dad's on the planet. He died doing what he loved best, he left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind, he would've said 'crocs rule'," he said.
Mr. Stainton believes that the poor weather experienced in the far north may have been, in part, the cause of Steve Irwin's death.
"One problem Steve had was that he couldn't sit still for five seconds and because the weather was bad today and for the last couple of days, he'd been like a caged lion because he hadn't really been able to do anything too much and he said 'look I might just go off and shoot some segments'... anything that would keep him moving and his adrenaline going and that's what happened... and the next thing I heard on the radio was that there was a medical emergency and the little dinghy was bringing him back with the crew... everyone tried absolutely tirelessly to revive him, to keep him alive."
Australia has much to thank Steve Irwin for. One of our greatest Australian icons if not the greatest, Steve Irwin showcased the Australian spirit to the world. His enthusiasm and passion for nature was well known.
His cheeky good humoured manner and use of the old Australian vernacular using words such as “strewth” and “crikey” (when the rest of Australia had all but forgotten these words), stirred the Australian pride. Steve once explained that he didn’t use these words for showmanship it was simply the way his family used to talk when he was being brought up.
Not satisfied with just talking about conservation Steve Irwin actively pursued conservation projects that would be of benefit to Australia, Australians and the world for generations to come. Steve had a dream of using the money he was making from royalties and his Australia Zoo to buy large tracts of wilderness land to create wilderness reserves that could never be bought by developers thereby creating a lasting environment for our wildlife.
Steve and Terri Irwin also founded their organisation Wildlife Warriors which actively promotes conservation of animals not just in Australia, but overseas as well. You can make a donation to Steve's organisation by going to the website.
At Australia Zoo (founded by Steve's father and mother in 1970) Steve started with around 20 staff in 1991, he met and married Terri who came to the park as a tourist that year.
Today there is a staff of around 500 people. Steve and Terri have the respect and friendship of their staff. They have always treated them with respect and staff feel they are more friends than workers, Steve and Terri's enthusiasm would rub off on everybody and the family of workers at Australia zoo all share their passion for the welfare of all the animals there.
As the news of his death spread it was met with shock. This author felt a stirring in the pit of his stomach. Having visited Australia Zoo I personally could see Steve and Terri's passion at work. Their zoo is unique and his presentation of the animals they have there was so passionate and sincere. You could see the genuine love for his animals.
Australia reacted, turning Steve's Australia Zoo into a shrine, large crowds gathered there laying flowers and openly expressing their grief. Children especially, had trouble coping with the loss of Steve with television morning shows offering advice to parents on how to help their children understand and cope with the loss of one of their favourite characters.
What you saw on tv was not a showman, it was not fake. The way he presented himself was exactly the person he was. Many of us always thought that one day something would attack him and hurt him, a crocodile, a deadly snake perhaps a shark but not in our wildest dreams did we ever think a Stingray would take him out.
Australia gave the world the Crocodile Dundee movies with actor comedian Paul Hogan portraying a crocodile hunter with powers over animals. Steve Irwin was not an actor like Paul. Steve Irwin was the "real deal" and wrestled with crocs for real usually for the crocodiles own welfare to remove it to a safer location instead of shooting it.
In an interview Steve Irwin was asked what he wanted to be remembered for, he said he would like to be remembered for his passion and enthusiasm for the conservation of wildlife and his love of all animals. There is no doubt that this is one of the main things he will be remembered for. Once in another interview Steve stated that if he were ever to be killed in the course of his work that he hoped his death would be caught on film.......and of course this is exactly what happened.
Steve is only the third person in Australia to ever be killed by a Stingray in recorded history.
The Queensland State Government offered the Irwin family a state funeral but this offer was rejected by Steve's father, he stated that "Steve was an ordinary bloke, he wouldn't want a state funeral".
The Queensland Government responded by saying a permanent memorial would be built to honour Steve instead.
To explain the two words he is so well known for using.
“Strewth” (pronounced Sta – ruth) and “Crikey” (pronounced Cry – key) are Australian slang words that can express many things depending on the tone of voice used. They can express shock, amazement, enjoyment, surprise, sadness or humour depending on the situation they are used in.
The words date back decades and were quite common in their day. Steve Irwins use of the words has brought them back to us today.
The death of Steve Irwin is not only Australia’s loss it is a huge loss to the world community. Steve brought us humour, he brought nature right into our lounge rooms and with his documentaries he taught us much about the world we live in.
Oz Magic offers our heartfelt condolences to Terri, Bindi and Bob Irwin, Steve’s family, friends and staff. The entire Australian nation and the international community is grieving with you.
Steve and Terri Irwin run the most successful crocodile and wildlife park in Queensland Australia. You can read the Steve Irwin Biography by going to his web-site at: www.crochunter.com.au the website has gone down frequently since the death of Steve Irwin due to the massive volume of visitors. The day after Steve Irwin was killed the web site received over a million hits in one day.
Steve Irwin - The Crocodile Hunter - The Legend
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