Irwin farewelled with joy and
tributes
The Age
Australians remembering Steve Irwin were today urged to
farewell the Crocodile Hunter in a joyful and not a mournful way.
The message came from actor Russell Crowe, in a taped tribute
from
More than 5,000 people crowded into the zoo's Crocoseum for a televised event which took on a carnival
atmosphere, with the crowd cheering and clapping.
Friends of the wildlife showman joined
His widow Terri, together with their children Bindi and Bob, watched as tributes poured in from around
the world for Mr Irwin, interspersed with clips of
his adventures in a show being viewed by an estimated 300 million fans
worldwide.
Crowe spoke of the loss of his mate.
"Your passing has suspended reality for all of
us," he said.
"It was way too soon and completely unfair on all
accounts.
"I know as humble as you always were, you would still
be pleased to know that the world sends its love and people all over this
planet have been grieving.
"We have all lost a friend we have lost a champion and
we are going to take some time to adjust to that."
Prime Minister John Howard paid tribute to a genuine and
authentic Australian.
"My fellow Australians, we gather in this special place
that Steve created to celebrate the life of a remarkable man and remarkable
Australian," Mr Howard said.
Mr Howard then directly addressed
remarks to Irwin's wife Terri, his father Bob, and Bindi
and Bob.
"Can I say to you Terri, to Bob and to Bob and to Bindi and to all the other members of the Irwin family, we
grieve with you but we celebrate this remarkable life," Mr Howard said.
"This life that projected
"And as we share this celebration and we honour this life can I say to you Terri, and the rest of
your family, there are 20 million pairs of Australian arms reaching out to
embrace you this morning.
"And to express our love and respect for what your
beloved Steve in his 44 years gave to
Australian music star John Williamson sang True Blue, the
Crocodile Hunter's favourite song, earning a standing
ovation from the crowd.
Children's entertainers The Wiggles also paid tribute to Mr Irwin, while
"People were just taken by him, they were just inspired
and in awe of his energy and how he actually went about putting himself forward
and what he represented," Diaz said.
"Every kid was in love with the idea of being able to
be him."
Mr Irwin's best friend Wes Mannion, who was saved by the Crocodile Hunter when a
crocodile attacked him in 2001, said he "found his calling" and his
best friend when he visited Australia Zoo as a young boy.
"I'd expected many things that day but nothing could've
prepared me for the man I was about to meet," Mr
Mannion said.
"His name was Steve.
"Steve's enthusiasm was instantaneously infectious. His
love and passion for wildlife was so enveloping that at the time I found it
difficult to breathe."
Mr Mannion,
now Australia Zoo's director, said they "hit it off immediately".
"And from that moment on my life became a montage of
adventure and excitement," he said.
Mr Mannion
said he would never forget the first time he fed his first crocodile at the age
of 15 and said if Mr Irwin was around, he felt he
could achieve anything.
"As the years have gone by I've watched Steve find the
woman of his dreams, seen the world fall for Steve's enthusiastic love of
wildlife ... seen Australia Zoo become one of the best zoos in the world but by
far Steve's greatest achievement has been as a dad," Mr
Mannion said.
"Steve has become my brother, mentor and best mate.
"To the world he was a hero, to me he was my hero, he
saved my life.
"I'll miss you mate."
"While not formally trained as a scientist he had all
the qualities of a great scientist," he said.
"He was driven by curiosity and he had an endless list
of questions that he sought answers to.
"In fact in recognition of his standing and
contribution to science the
In a taped interview, American talk show host Larry King
said he loved having Steve on his show, not just because it was
"terrific" television but also because it impressed his two young
sons, Chance and Cannon.
"I've interviewed presidents, kings and Oscar-winning
movie stars," he said.
"But once I talked to the real-life world famous Croc
Hunter, well that made me a hero.
"Steve's connection with kids will be one of his
enduring legacies," Mr King said.
"He took them to the animal world, up close and
personal.
"He gave them an education, as well as
excitement."
Introducing a series of videos, producer and best mate John Stainton said Mr Irwin was
"a true, fair dinkum Aussie".
"Today I want to share with you the way he changed my
life forever," he said, after being greeted with applause.
"From the time we first met we clicked. The khaki-clad
wildlife warrior and the city slicker became the best of friends over 20 odd
years, and they were odd."
He said Irwin had been not only active in front of the
camera but behind it.
"You could always rely on Steve to get the best shot
and the dangerous ones at that," he said.
"But in front of the camera Steve was the ultimate
professional."
Movie legend Kevin Costner also paid tribute to Mr Irwin in a taped message.
"His son and daughter and his wife can be very proud
that not only was their father seemingly to the rest of the world fearless when
we was around these animals," he said.
"Where he is the most fearless is that he let us see
who he was and that's being brave in today's society because ... you show
yourself to so many people willing to mimic you and mock you.
"He was unafraid of that because he knew his idea and
his truth was a lot bigger than the aside joke."
Mr Irwin's father Bob choked back
tears as he briefly thanked well-wishers for their letters and gifts on behalf
of the family.
"Please don't grieve for Steve - he's at peace
now," he said.
"But I would like you to grieve for the animals - the
animals have lost the best friend they ever had, and so have I.
"I was fortunate to just recently spend three or four
weeks with Steve on crocodile research and he was the best he'd been for many
years and I'll certainly treasure that."
Lightening the mood, the crowd was shown humorous footage of
Mr Irwin falling out of boats, getting bitten by
crocodiles and lizards, messing up his lines and being chased by cassowaries.
They were also shown clips of his journey "from the
outback to
The crowd enthusiastically jumped to its feet and clapped
along as Williamson sang a spirited version of Home Among
the Gum Trees from the back of Mr Irwin's ute, accompanied by Australia Zoo staff.
Clark Bunting, executive vice president of Discovery
Networks, said he first met Mr Irwin as the head of a
cable channel Animal Planet in the
He said when he saw a "very rough" video of the
Crocodile Hunter's exploits, "his passion, sincerity and knowledge were
obvious".
"I still remember thinking to myself, if this guy is
for real we have to work with him," Mr Bunting
said.
"Anyone who spent any time with Steve knew that above
all else he was real."
Mr Irwin's eight-year-old daughter
Bindi was greeted with a standing ovation as she
walked on to a stage in front of a large photo of her father and, smiling, read
her own tribute from a sheet of paper.
"My daddy was my hero - he was always there for me when
I needed him," she said, tracing the words on the paper with a finger.
"He listened to me and taught me so many things but
most of all he was fun.
"I know that Daddy had an important job. He was working
to change the world so everyone would love wildlife like he did."
She said her father built a hospital and bought land to give
animals a safe place to live and she wanted to continue his legacy.
"I don't want Daddy's passion to ever end," she
said.
"I want to help endangered wildlife just like he
did."
Bindi said she would miss her
father.
"I have the best Daddy in the whole world and I will
miss him every day," she said.
"When I see a crocodile I will always think of him and
I know that Daddy made this zoo so everyone could come and learn to love all the
animals.
"Daddy made this place his whole life and now it's our
turn to help Daddy."
Australian actor David Wenham paid his tribute by reading a
poem by Rupert McCall.
"My daughter broke the news to me - my six year-old in
tears.
"It was like she'd just turned old enough to show her
honest fears.
"I tried to make some sense of it but whilst her Dad
was trying.
"His little explained it best...she said: `The
Crocodiles are crying'.
"Their best mate's up in heaven now - the crocs up
there are smiling!"
US pop star Justin Timberlake and Australian actor Hugh Jackman also delivered video messages to Mr Irwin.
"To Terri and Bindi and Bob
and Steve's family and friends, I may have only really spent a day with you
guys but it was a day I'll never forget, and I'll never forget what I learned
just by being around Steve," Timberlake said.
Jackman said everyone should
become wildlife warriors like Mr Irwin.
"Whether it's for the wilderness, whether it's for the
animals, his family, whether it's for just the planet, or just life in itself,
Steve showed us that we can live like warriors, and we can make the world a
better place," he said.
Mr Mannion
later returned to the stage, telling the crowd that while Mr
Irwin had a passion for all wildlife, he had "fallen in love with
elephants".
His three "favourite
girls" at Australia Zoo were
"He loved them so much that they could do no
wrong," Mr Mannion
said.
"When they walked through the zoo, if there was a few
palm trees, the elephants would rip them apart and start eating them and Steve
would go `na, na, it's OK,
they can have them'."
"The gardeners would just go crazy."