Farewell Steve Irwin. (February 22, 1962 – September 4, 2006)

THE Crocodile Man, Steve Irwin, is dead. He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said. It appeared that he was killed by a sting-ray barb that went through his chest, Queensland Police Inspector Russell Rhodes said.

-The Courier-Mail, September 4, 2006

Steve Irwin with his favourite subject.

 

The Crocodile Hunter is dead.

In light of this, I would like to comment on this as well. I’ll be honest here; I have never really been a fan of his shows. I’ve always found his commentary and banter during his shows to be obnoxious, incoherent as well as annoying. I always had this slight impression that he was a wee bit abnormal.

Though I will admit, that was probably just his television persona. Yet it is sad to know that that is probably the thing most people will remember him for, the psychotic, over the top, daredevil who seemingly enjoys manhandling live, dangerous animals for the entertainment of many.

My personal memory of Steve Irwin in this respect was my visit to the Australia Zoo in Brisbane, Queensland in the year 2003. It was really funny actually, though I had not met him nor saw him perform his crocodile feeding shows and such, it was almost impossible to not meet him. I mean, the whole Zoo was what I termed as the ‘Steve Irwin Propaganda Centre’. Everywhere you went in the Zoo, you would see his face plastered on all sorts of posters and banners that were strung up all over the place. Yet the one thing that surprised me the most during my visit was his ‘Wall of Fame’.

As aptly as it was named, it was technically one big wall that stretched to about 6-8 meters in length that was wholly dedicated to him. On that wall, there were numerous articles from magazines, newspapers and so forth, all chronicling the phenomena that he was. Heck, I even remember seeing one article on that wall highlighting Steve and Terri’s SWAT-esque training. Actually, now when I think about it, the wall in itself was kind of intimate as to its presentation.

Looking back, the wall itself did show to many his love towards his family as well as his enthusiasm towards his work. In many ways, I felt like I did indeed connect with this strange man, looking at his life not from his own words but from the words of many other observers.

At the end of the day, I did feel somewhat awed by it all. Funny how I feel now in comparison to the oddness I had felt when I first saw that wall. One’s perspective does change to reflect the circumstances at hand, doesn’t it?

Anyhow, though as odd as he seemed, I will admit that the Steve Irwin I saw that day was truly an Australian icon. He was atypical of the typical Australian stereotype to me, being truly somewhat of a wildman and extremely bold as well as adventurous. As silly as his antics got, I will admit, they were pretty funny.

It is a pity that his death came so sudden. I am sure many of us who knew him by reputation are probably more shocked at the suddenness rather than the actual cause of death. Still, I feel that Australia has truly lost someone special whom many, in the world over will admit, is irreplaceable in the dying breed of true, nature conservationist.

Farewell Steve Irwin.

You will be missed.

Source
Steve Irwin Dead (The Courier-Mail)
Stingray kills ‘Crocodile Hunter’ (CNN.com)
Steve Irwin (Wikipedia)