THU
Millions join last hunt of legendary croc man
By PAUL OSBORNE
Source: wire
EIGHT-year-old Bindi Irwin
received a standing ovation at Steve Irwin's memorial service yesterday after
telling the crowd, and millions of viewers worldwide:
``My Daddy was my hero.''
The confident little girl joined
Five thousand people at the zoo's Crocoseum,
and an estimated hundreds of millions of TV viewers worldwide, were urged by
actor Russell Crowe to remember the TV naturalist in a joyful, not mournful
way.
So there were both cheers and tears for the 44-year-old
environmentalist and television star, killed by a stingray barb on the
The only empty seat in the stadium, which
bore Irwin's favourite Australia Zoo hat, was next to
his wife Terri, who watched with her son Bob, 2, on her lap.
She did not speak but Bindi Irwin
was greeted with a standing ovation as she walked onstage in front of a large
photo of her father and, smiling, read her own tribute from a sheet of paper.
Bindi 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 end,'' 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,'' she said, before leaving the stage to another standing ovation.
The event began and ended with videotaped messages from
friend Crowe in
``We have all lost a friend we have lost a champion and we
are going to take some time to adjust to that,'' Crowe said.
Prime Minister John Howard paid tribute to a genuine and
authentic Australian.
He 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.
``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.''
Country music star John Williamson sang True Blue, the
Crocodile Hunter's favourite song, twice during the
event, tweaking the lyrics for the finale.
``True blue, is it me and you... is it Steve Irwin too?''
Williamson sang, as Mr Irwin's truck, packed with his
surfboard, bedroll and equipment, was driven away by Australia Zoo head
crocodile keeper Brian Coulter.
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.''
Stars such as Cameron Diaz, Hugh Jackman,
Kevin Costner and American talkshow host Larry King
paid tribute in video presentations.
``Every kid was in love with the idea of being able to be
him,'' Diaz 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.
Australian actor David Wenham read 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,''
part of the poem read.
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
Introducing a series of the videos, Irwin's producer John Stainton said his best mate was ``a true, fair dinkum Aussie''.
Steve'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.
``Steve's enthusiasm was instantaneously infectious,'' he
said.
``His love and passion for wildlife was so enveloping that
at the time I found it difficult to breathe.''