The Last Crocodile Hunter

by Bob Irwin

  Steve, when he was awarded an Honorary Senior Fellowship by the University of the Sunshine Coast. IRWIN FAMILY PHOTO

  One of the elephants sporting a new boot that Trevor designed. These elephants were part of the Bullen’s family circus animals that were retired to Australia Zoo. They had all been together for many decades. A favourite animal of mine at the zoo. IRWIN FAMILY PHOTO

  I’ll always remember him as my best mate. I consider myself to have been a very privileged father. IRWIN FAMILY PHOTO

  Steve touched people from all over the world. Tributes over-flowed at Australia Zoo’s front entrance. GETTY IMAGES

  Speaking at Steve’s memorial service, held in the Crocoseum. GETTY IMAGES

  Steve’s truck in the centre of his beloved Crocoseum at the memorial service held for him at Australia Zoo. GETTY IMAGES

  Steve was the kind of guy who wore his heart on his sleeve.

  Steve and his beloved companion, Sui. He loved his little mate. GETTY IMAGES

  The old sign from Cattle Creek that I made for Steve when Chilli died is now hanging up in the woodshed I built on our new property, called Camp Chilli. I treasure this gift from the Accornero family. PHOTO COURTESY OF GREGORY JOHNSTONE

  Wildlife in abundance at Camp Chilli. PHOTO COURTESY OF GREGORY JOHNSTONE

  Tucker time for a koala undergoing rehabilitation with us before release back into the wild. IRWIN FAMILY PHOTO

  Some friends found this sign in some long grass near Australia Zoo and gave it to me for my 70th birthday. It’s the original roadside entry signage to the park. We now have this relic on display at Camp Chilli. IRWIN FAMILY PHOTO

  Camp Chilli is a beautiful place to call home, with koalas and an abundance of native wildlife that comes and goes. PHOTO BY AMANDA FRENCH

  Talking to local media in Gladstone about the threats facing the Great Barrier Reef. PHOTO BY AMANDA FRENCH

  Out at Camp Chilli with a gorgeous baby wombat. PHOTO BY CLARE GOVER

  Trevor, from the old croc crew, and me on a cattle station in Cape York. One of many adventures that we share today out in the bush. PHOTO BY AMANDA FRENCH

  A highlight for me whenever I am in Cairns is checking in with the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. Pictured here with the amazing co-founder Jennie Gilbert and her team of volunteers. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN MILLER

  Bob and Amanda on the road. Pictured here with Buddha, a green sea turtle ready for release after some time undergoing rehabilitation with the dedicated volunteers at the Whitsunday Turtle Rescue Centre.

  Bob and Amanda on the road. Storytelling in Cape York. PHOTO BY BRENDAN GRAY

  Digging for wombats that had been buried alive in South Australia. PHOTO BY BRIGITTE STEVENS

  Young people are the future. That’s been our philosophy from day one. Presenting an educational crocodile demo for the little ones at Wildlife HQ in April 2016. This amazing wildlife facility reminds me of the early years of the reptile park. PHOTO BY AMANDA FRENCH

  Dropping in on the incredible Libby Edge and her remarkable project Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. This project has removed over 200,000 kilograms of rubbish from the marine environment of the iconic Whitsundays. PHOTO BY AMANDA FRENCH

  Imagine if we lost the Great Barrier Reef. That’s something that I think we should feel profoundly ashamed of as a species: if we were responsible for the destruction of the largest living structure on the planet that is home to the most diverse communities of animals. Here, I’m at a rally in the Whitsundays as a proud spokesperson for the Fight for the Reef campaign. PHOTO BY AMANDA FRENCH

  With Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s Australian Director, Jeff Hansen, after the naming of their flagship vessel the MV Steve Irwin used in their direct action campaigns against illegal whaling and fishing activities. PHOTO BY TIM WATTERS

  Visiting Margit Cianelli on the Atherton Tablelands who raises Lumholtz tree kangaroo orphans. Pictured here with Kimberley, a juvenile tree roo, wearing a radio-tracking collar for a day out in the rainforest. PHOTO BY AMANDA FRENCH

  Working with Dan Mead and Brett Mostyn in Mission Beach in 2015 on a cassowary research project. It’s been nice working with some of the old crew again. I feel proud to see them still in the field of wildlife management. PHOTO BY AMANDA FRENCH

  Returning to Cattle Creek 30 years on, to reunite with property owner, and good friend, Stephen Accornero. The old lean-to I built for Steve has since blown down, as you can see behind us. PHOTO BY AMANDA FRENCH

  I can see a good future now, whereas I couldn’t before. There’s so many young Australians out there now with the environment in their heart. PHOTO BY BEN DESSEN

  Two Bob’s worth

  Sitting out the hottest part of the day in his favourite camping chair, cup of tea in hand, and mints in his top pocket where his cigarettes used to be (because this year he’s finally given up the smokes). Bob took some time out to share his free-flowing thoughts on a range of life lessons acquired from his own personal journey. At seventy-seven years old, this is how Bob sees it.

  A message to my grandkids

  The most frequent question I am asked wherever I go is about my relationship with Steve’s children, Bindi and Robert. And while I haven’t seen them now for a number of years, I will always feel proud standing on the sidelines and watching them succeed at whatever path they choose to follow.

  Steve was the proudest dad going around. Above all else, even wildlife, his favourite job was bringing into the world his two kids. He had the highest of hopes that because of their start to life, and all that he would teach them, they would become the greatest voice for animals. Almost from the day they were born Steve was out in the bush with them at every opportunity he got, teaching them about what’s important, how it all fits together, how it all works. Of course the sad part about it is that Bindi and Robert don’t have him around anymore to educate them as he had intended to do. I know Steve would have loved to be there to guide them in that way. He would have loved nothing more. It was the most important job in the world to him. His family always came first.

  Going back to those very early days, I took a lot of pleasure in watching Steve with Bindi out in the bush; he was just so thrilled to teach her as she grew more inquisitive. He would have felt exactly the same way about teaching Bindi those kinds of things as I did about teaching him. He imparted as much knowledge as he could about understanding animals, tracking them, seeing how they lived, and just about respecting the environment in general. When you go out into the natural world, you might not see the animals that you expect to see, but it doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. It just means that you’re not equipped with the knowledge to understand what’s happening in their world. Steve would have thoroughly enjoyed sharing his knowledge with Bindi and Robert as they got older. It would have been a very nice time for him. Both of them are now at the age where they can understand and digest that kind of information enough for it to be really quite profound.

  Because of who they are, Bindi and Robert have the power now to make a real difference. They have the ultimate opportunity to get in front of every person on a couch watching television. As Steve showed, that is such a valuable platform for raising awareness about something as important as fighting for the survival of our environment.

  My hope is that Bindi and Robert will never stop learning about and teaching others what’s important to get back to a healthy planet. They’ve already got an influential name that will open a lot of doors for them—they’ve got a head start that Steve worked a lifetime to build up. And if their knowledge, and the information that those children have got or had access to over the years is used to continue to positively influence people whether that be governments or corporations that have the opportunity to make decisions for everybody else, that would be my greatest optimism that they can make an impact in that arena just like their dad.

  It would be really nice to think that both of them could follow in their father’s footsteps. When you are a parent, you have certain opp
ortunities to bring your children up in the way that you feel is the right way to do it, and to encourage them in whatever they want to become. But you can only influence them up to a certain point.

  We all have our own ideas about what we want to do, where we want to go, where our passion lies or how we want to make an impact in our time here on this earth. While they might have that feeling now, that’s not to say that it will carry on, but I certainly hope that it will. They have obviously got a little bit of their dad like that, I’d like for them of course to have a lot of that because his heart was the biggest gift that he had to give to the world. It was in the right compassionate, generous place. You can only hope that is the way that it works out for them too. Everybody’s different. Our lives change as we go along. Different things influence our lives.

  And while I hold these hopes for Bindi and Robert, I also have lots of other grandkids who the same advice applies to. It might not be in wildlife, or in fighting for the environment but whatever the direction is that you want to go, you have to believe that it’s possible to achieve what you set out to achieve. And whether they are my grandkids, or any other young Australian out there, that’s my greatest bit of advice.

  ‘Whatever you want to do in this world, it is achievable. The most important thing that I’ve found, that perhaps you could use, is be passionate and enthusiastic in the direction that you choose in life, and you’ll be a winner.’

  —STEVE IRWIN

  Passion and enthusiasm

  You have to believe that it’s possible to achieve whatever you set out to achieve. When I gave up life as a plumber I made a really clear and definite decision that I wasn’t going to live a life I no longer had a passion for. Some people make that decision at eighteen, and some people make it at eighty. The saddest thing is when people have a dream but never act on it at all.

  If you have a dream, you should try to achieve it as much as possible. Everybody has that ability. It doesn’t have to begin with a drastic change as it did for me, and it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from or what your background is. If you give it all you’ve got then anything is possible. Begin with just a firm personal agreement with yourself and one simple step forward in the direction that you want to go.

  Fathers and sons

  I get really embarrassed when people write to ask my advice about how they should raise their children, because I made mistakes just like everybody else. I may have been the catalyst for getting Steve involved with wildlife, but it was something that came so naturally to him. His interests were aligned with mine and that made it a lot easier to encourage and nurture his aspirations. The moments that Steve and I had together were certainly special and I’ll treasure them for as long as I live. But I was no different from any other dad. In those really early years, I could have done a lot better—I should have spent more time with my kids. I was so focused on work and my other responsibilities. I was just an ordinary dad raising a son the way I thought I needed to.

  The Australian bush

  The most rewarding and exciting part of my life has been the Australian bush. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but for those who do get out into remote parts it can be very rewarding. You see life stripped back to its simplest form, see how nature is intricately interconnected and where we fit as a species within that interlocking jigsaw puzzle. I wish all Australians reconnected with the natural environment as often as possible. The bush opens up our eyes to the fact that everything in nature is a living entity fighting for its survival. Observing the world around you is a very gratifying way to link your soul to the earth.

  Respecting apex predators

  The biggest animals, like the crocodile, that you most fear are in fact the very animals that we rely on the most. On our planet today, sixteen of twenty-two species of crocodile are skinned for leather. Every year over eighty million sharks are finned alive, and one-third of species are now endangered, many of which are endemic to Australian waters. Big cats, bears and seals are hunted and turned into clothing, aphrodisiacs and trophies—they too are just one step away from extinction.

  These animals are the heads of the food chain and as they’re driven closer and closer to extinction, every other living thing on this planet will be adversely affected—including us. We can all make a difference by simply not purchasing any wildlife products, no matter how they are packaged or marketed. Next time you see someone wearing seal-fur boots, shark-tooth jewellery or carrying a designer crocodile-skin handbag, think to yourself how much more valuable that would have been to the wild animal who owned it.

  Every single animal in the wild is part of a balanced system. Take out the dominant croc, and catfish numbers explode. Animals regulate our environment, which provides us with the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat. They are the natural filters of our very delicate climate.

  Steve’s catch-cry ‘Crocs rule’ was so important because it’s true. Crocs, sharks, tigers, lions and bears rule their environments and we need them to. When we interfere with that balance and promote ourselves to the top of the food chain, we are playing a dangerous game. They are keystone species and their very role is to create stability in the ecosystem. Right now the most dangerous animal on this planet is you.

  Leadership

  The most important asset to any business, big or small, is its staff. You can’t be successful without competent, passionate and dedicated people. Invest above all else in the training of your staff and you will not only have willing and dedicated employees, but will be helping to create empowered people who will contribute to the future. Nourish the training and experience of a good leader well enough that they can leave, but also respect them enough that they don’t want to. Corporate history is vital to the longevity of any business, wildlife group, sanctuary or workplace anywhere. The most important thing that I’ve found is that if you lead by example you’ll have willing and hardworking employees who’ll go the extra mile.

  Motivation

  What keeps me going is knowing that the people who’ve gone would expect you to. They’d still want you to achieve what they would have wanted you to achieve when they were alive. That’s not always easy, not when you’re reminded what might have been. It’s important to remember that although you can eventually learn to accept what’s happened, because you can’t change it, that pain can resurface at any given time. It never goes away.

  At those times, motivation comes from the acceptance that soon enough our time will be up too and that our goal isn’t in fact to live forever but to leave something vital behind. Leaving the world in a better state than you found it has got to be the ultimate purpose of our existence. We’ve got to place the highest value on leaving behind a better future for our children.

  Friends

  True friends are like finding a piece of gold. It’s absolutely essential, from time to time, to surround yourself with like-minded people who harbour similar passions. True friends challenge you and prompt you to strive for your dreams. Steer clear of people who try to hold you back or bring you down. You have absolutely no ties to people like that and always have a choice to simply walk away. Life’s too short to worry about bullies.

  A letter to my dad

  Mandy Irwin

  When I was in high school, I had to do an English assignment on someone famous.

  ‘Why don’t you do it on your dad?’ my teacher asked.

  ‘Huh? He’s not famous!’ I said, amused at the thought that he could be labelled as anything but plain old Dad, who sported a very daggy white towelling hat wherever he went and rarely wore a shirt.

  ‘Yes, he is. He owns a reptile park, and he’s a very interesting person indeed.’

  I couldn’t for the life of me work out what was so exceptional about that. But I did what she asked and I based my project on my dad: Bob Irwin, Proprietor of Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. Dad then packed me off to school with a freshwater, nonvenomous keelback snake in my school bag, which to me seemed like a perfectly normal t
hing to do.

  ‘What are you doing bringing a snake to school?’ my teacher asked, startled at the sight of a pillowcase with a knot tied in the end writhing around on her staffroom desk.

  ‘It’s part of my assignment,’ I replied, puzzled by her alarmed reaction.

  It took a lot of persuading her that I could confidently handle a snake before I was eventually allowed to use it in my presentation. The rest of the class sat around enthralled to see a snake at school as I rattled off every known fact about them. If I knew any subject, I knew my snakes, because my dad taught me to know all about the kinds of things that slithered and hissed.

  At the time, I didn’t see that my childhood was different from anyone else’s. It is only fairly recently that I have figured out how much both Dad and Mum shaped me into the person I am today because of the journey they took us on when they gave up the security of a successful business in Melbourne to dedicate their life to wildlife. In hindsight, I most certainly had the best upbringing a kid could ask for. What other children get to play with and learn about nearly every Australian animal imaginable? We had emus, brolgas and an assortment of snakes. Mum and Dad treated them no different to how they treated their own children. We were one big eclectic Irwin family, and no two days were ever the same in our household.

  I instinctively trusted whatever Dad said. Like going swimming in the newly tiled saltwater crocodile pool, one of the first cemented ponds Dad built at the park. There was a female salty in there called Sweetie. It was the middle of summer, stinking hot, and in those days we didn’t have a swimming pool for humans.