Final Farewell To The Crocodile Hunter
Friends and fans, including Hollywood stars and Australia's prime minister, said farewell to "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin on Wednesday at a memorial service that veered from poignant tributes to belly laughs.
Irwin's 8-year-old daughter, Bindi, hailed him as "my hero." His father, Bob, asked people to end their grieving. And fans were invited to laugh at his television antics one more time.
The ceremony was carried live on three national television networks and at least one radio station. Flags on the Sydney Harbor Bridge and throughout Irwin's home state of Queensland flew at half-staff, and giant TV screens were set up for people to watch the service.
Prime Minister John Howard was among the 5,000 people who attended the ceremony at the "Crocoseum," the small stadium in Irwin's wildlife park where he regularly put on crocodile-feeding shows.
"Steve Irwin touched the hearts of Australians and touched the hearts of millions around the world in a very special way," Howard said. "He did that because he had that quality of being genuine, of being authentic, of being unconditional and having a great zest for life."
The teary-eyed actor addressed Irwin personally. "I'm in New York, mate. The big city and you were headline news on CNN for a week," he said. "There's not many zookeepers that would command that sort of attention, mate. And all that means is that you got your message across, you got the word out there, you were heard and you will be remembered."
Irwin, 44, died Sept. 4 when a stingray's barb pierced his chest while he filmed a TV show on the Great Barrier Reef. His family held a private funeral service for him Sept. 9 at the family-owned park, Australia Zoo.
As expected, there was one empty seat at Steve Irwin's personal stadium — symbolically set aside for the late conservationist himself. On the stage sat Irwin's widow, Terri, and their two children, Bindi, and Bob, 2 — all dressed in Irwin's favorite khaki. It was their first public appearance since Irwin's death. Terri did not speak at the public memorial, but could be seen wiping away tears and laughing with son Bob in her lap.
"Please do not grieve for Steve, he's at peace now," Bob Irwin said. "Grieve for the animals. They have lost the best friend they ever had, and so have I."
One of the more moving moments of the ceremony was when Bindi told the crowd at the ceremony that "my daddy was my hero."
"He was always there for me when I needed him. He listened to me and taught me so many things. But most of all he was fun," she said. After she finished reading her thoughtful speech off of a piece of paper, the crowd stood up and cheered.
Several video clips of Irwin's in-your-face antics drew laughs and applause from the crowd throughout the memorial.
Most popular were out-takes and bloopers from his TV program, showing Irwin falling out of boats, getting bitten by lizards and forgetting his lines.
At the end of the ceremony, Irwin's utility vehicle, packed with camping gear and his favorite surfboard, was driven from the stadium — through an honor guard of Australia Zoo employees.
After the truck left the stadium, a group of employees spelled out Irwin's catchword "Crikey" in yellow flowers on the ground.
As part of the public memorial titled "He Changed Our World," actress Cameron Diaz said in a video presentation that Irwin was incredibly popular in the United States.
"America just flipped for him," said Diaz. "Every kid was in love with the idea of being him."
Actor Kevin Costner said in the video that Irwin was "fearless ... He let us see who he was. That is being brave in today's society."
Fellow Aussie, Hugh Jackman, spoke of the croc hunter's legacy in a recorded segment. "I spoke with my son a few days ago and he said, 'Daddy, I think we should all be warriors like Steve.' And I just said to him, 'You're absolutely right,' " Jackman said. "So, whether it's for the wilderness, whether it's for the animals, for 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."
Separately from the service, marine explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau said that, while he mourned Irwin's death, he disagreed with the Australian's hands-on approach to nature television.
He said he respected Irwin's environmental message, but noted that Irwin would "interfere with nature, jump on animals, grab them, hold them, and have this very, very spectacular, dramatic way of presenting things."
"It sells, it appeals to a lot people, but I think it's very misleading," Cousteau said in Los Angeles. "You don't touch nature, you just look at it."
On The Early Show Wednesday co-anchor Rene Syler spoke with Michael Hornby, executive director of Irwin's charitable organization, Wildlife Warriors, who attended the memorial service Wednesday morning in Australia.
She asked Hornby how he will remember his friend. "To sum it up, he was a very passionate human being," he said. "But above and beyond, a very genuine person who believed in family, believed in people and believed in wildlife."
Hornby spoke of how Irwin's wife, Terri, and children Bindi and Bob are handling the loss. "Terri's a very strong woman and she's holding up reasonably well considering," Hornby said. "I think she's being strong for Bindi and for little Bob. But obviously she's a woman who's lost the love of her life and now she's got the whole world looking at her right now and she needs to come to terms with that. But under the circumstances, she's very, very strong."
Hornby spoke of Irwin's legacy as a conservationist. "He had a very simple strategy in place and that was basically get people to love the animals. To get people up close and personal, and get to relate to them. Because unless you love something it's very hard to protect it," he said. "That was his way of doing things, people will remember that. There will be people who try and do something very similar but there will only ever be one Steve Irwin."