Irwin’s legacy 10 years on

WHERE were you when you heard that Steve Irwin died?

It’s funny how you always remember whatever you were doing at the exact moment when someone famous — more so someone respected — passes away.

For most people, the news of The Crocodile Hunter’s death on September 4, 2006, would have come with some degree of disbelief.

Irwin was a man well known for flirting with danger. He made a living out of poking sticks at the world’s most deadliest snakes, for cuddling up to crocs, and side stroking next to sharks.

But no one could have imagined the humble stingray would be the animal to deal the death blow.

Yes, there was the disbelief, and then the realisation that the life of a man many had loved had suddenly ended.

As a nation we went through a lengthy mourning period.

There were eulogies from Canberra to Beerwah. There were TV specials, there were memorials. There was even national khaki days.

Even those, who thought Irwin was nothing more than a fameseeking “Crocodile Dundee” clone, acknowledged the utter tragedy that had befallen Australia.

For the larrikin in khaki shorts did something in his lifetime that not many people have been able to do at all: raise awareness about animal conservation on a truly global scale.

With his famous catchcry of “Crikey”, the wildlife warrior inspired countless others to do more to protect native animals, to take an interest in the great outdoors and to be mindful that we share this planet with more than just ourselves.

This is a legacy that still rings true a decade on.