What did you think of Steve Irwin

[Jeffro]

Seems another thread has gone a bit of topic so I thought I'd start another one to see different peoples opinions about it.

personally I liked him

[Coach]

Just for the record , I liked him as well , but he was doomed to go the way he did . You play with fire long enough , you are bound to get burnt . End of story .

[excelpoint]

Great bloke and a great conservationist. Wish he was still around. His passion for what he did was inspiring.

[longbowinfected]

Like most folk, much to like and some bits I did not love.
I met him at an international pest control conference in QLD when he was a keynote speaker. I won a pick of the table raffle and left all the really expensive toys there [computers, TVs etc but made a bee line for his book. He asked why and when I told him that my daughter loved his show and that I would get neutered if I did not grab the book and get his autograph....about 50% of the 400 people there nodded and understood. We talked for a fair while on the stage and he quickly understood that we really did know a bit about him.
The next day we received a handwritten pass for the whole family and $500 in spending money.
He was never perfect and never pretended to be. People like him burn the candle at both ends and apear larger than life. Yes I could find a lot of negatives and yes I reckon he was a lovable larrikin but he did me no harm nor ill and went out of his way to guide my family and friends who came along the next day [we bought tickets for our mates and left enough to take the sting out of the food costs....didn't need to our money was not good enough on the day.

I can understand though that others might have other info/knowledge / experience but mine was positive. The only other two blokes/celebrities I had a heap of time for were Johnny O'Keefe and Dick Smith, both very generous men.

I accept people the way I find them.

Kevin

[Coach]

I accept people the way I find them.

Kevin

A Good way to live mate

[Benny Nganabbarru]

I didn't appreciate the opposition he gave to the idea of controlled crocodile hunting in the Northern Territory. I strongly disagree with his viewpoints on that issue. Pardon me, but us Territorians dislike the system whereby folks from other states have more of a say in what happens here than we do.

I understand he used-to dog pigs; so he obviously knew which way was up, and what feral animals do. Yet he portrayed an image to the public, probably to keep them onside (especially the international public), of being quite distant from hunting.

Aside from these two concerns, I have great respect for anyone who loves wildlife and wilderness, follows dreams, and lives life to the full. And, as already mentioned, he was caring, kind and generous.

[Glenn]

I think he was a good bloke. I took my children to the Zoo on a very rainy day many years ago and we were about the only people there that day. Steve came out at talked to my children about the crocadiles, he was very obliging and my children never forgot it. This was when Steve was single and Australia was just a small operation then. He has done a lot for the local area here and employing the local people...Glenn...

[otis.drum]

i'd like to challenge anyone to think of a more influential australian.

i loved the guy.

i agree with you ben, the croc thing was silly. croc numbers are strong, and it can bring in a lot of money. be it for conservation or other. but i suppose your never going to find someone who you agree with on eveything

like coach said though, 'he who pays with fire'. but a tragedy none the less.

[Nephew]

Hells Bells, that's a big call! Otis, I would wage both John Curtin and Ben Chifley have both had far more influence in and over Australia than Mr.Irwin could have ever imagined having whilst thinking up his most rabid money making scheme. Thus, both were infinitely more "Influential Australians"! We have a rich and varied history here, mate, we can do a lot better than the likes of this sideshow blowhard. For instance, someone almost anonymous, like the late "Mum" Shirl - http://www.abc.net.au/schoolstv/australians/smith.htm soars over him in terms of service to this country, as do many others. Mr Irwin was just a show business figure, like Krusty the Klown or something, nothing more.


Well, Fellas. I'll be the exception and say I never liked him one bit. His "conservation" efforts were really just commercial ventures, he presented a "Disney" view of what Australian wildlife is, for commercial gain. He ran a theme park for Petes sake!(Ohhh, the advent of the theme park, surely one of the seven signs of Armageddon? ), he was that most suspect of characters, the Loud-Mouth and worst of all he presented that tired old clichéd Australian male stereotype to the world, but so over the top it was obviously fake, even parody, like he was sending a certain type of bloke up!
It really irks me that anyone can tell you who that goose was, but no-one remembers Sir Mark Oliphant (Internationally renowned partical physicist) or say, Sir Robert Helpman (Principal dancer-Royal Ballet 1940's-50's) or Howard Florey (Scientist-significant advances in knowledge and use of Penicillin). All of whom did far more to raise Australias status on the world stage. Even David Williamson or Brett Whitely have done more for Australia in international terms, and actually did good for people other than themselves. I can't find a single example of Mr. Irwin doing that, unless of course there was a promotional purpose! He was just a capitalist con-man, fellas, no more or less. A confection, pre-fabricated for television.
It is a sad example of the power of the cult of celebrity I spoke of elsewhere when a rich buffoon... braying worn out old clichés and colloquialisms and raking it in hand over fist from a general public too naive to see they are being fleeced by a old time carnival spieler, dressed up as a Hollywood version of an "Aussie"... is hailed as some kind of environmental hero!
Sigh...somewhere Donald Horne still gently chuckles at us.... "The Lucky Country", indeed! If we are going to fall for the likes of Mr. Irwin we're lucky no-one ever took the place from us in exchange for a handful of magic beans!

[excelpoint]

I reckon this page is a good one to see some of the Irwin families efforts out side of the running of their "theme park".
http://www.australiazoo.com.au/conservation/

[jindydiver]

I reckon this page is a good one to see some of the Irwin families efforts out side of the running of their "theme park".
http://www.australiazoo.com.au/conservation/

Fair bit of propaganda on the Irwin website. When you boil it all down they aren't spending much of their own money on projects, they are mostly spending other peoples, and the majority of it is based around tourism opportunities. They do some great work but get away from the hype and you see there is always a dollar motive as well.
One example is the Bilby project. What they claim is it is all about the bilby, what they don't point out is that Qld NPWS is paying for half of the infrastructure cost and they (NPWS) wont get half the tourist dollars from the people bussed out there to view the enclosure. Sure, the NPWS gets a breeding program for the bilbys at a reduced cost, but don't kid yourself the Irwin's weren't looking at the bottom line.
If they were all about the conservation then the $6million property given to them by the Federal Gov' as a privately run NP wouldn't still be being run as a cattle station (and the public would be able to visit what should really be a commonwealth asset).

[Gringa Bows]

i did'nt like or dislike the bloke,but he was obviously a good businessman.............Rod

[jindydiver]

I liked the guy, I thought he was quite funny, and he certainly helped raise the profile of some good causes. But he also helped the anti-hunters in their campaign to get rid of recreational hunting and we shouldn't kid ourselves that he was all about some higher purpose beyond making a good life for himself and his family.

[longbowinfected]

Mick I think that is a reasonably balanced point you raise.
I heard what Moreton had to say too.
As you said you can like the guy but none of us are perfect.

My life is not so high in the clouds as the rich and famous celebs and I am also ruled by what I can do with the available dollars. Vince was a forerunner and pioneer eco scientist and Harry and a few others followed and good on them all.
.....do not worry about the government funds though because they claw back GST, company tax and all the rest of it as a part of a much bigger set of numbers...not that that is any justification to sainthood. The business is not him either. We all have two sides and many faces/aspects.

He was larger than life even after death..... a bit of a larrikin.

Kevin

[Glenn]

I suppose all human life is scared regardless of the person. It would be a blan old world and a mixed-up one at that if we all went about our bussiness the same way, we would never get anywhere or learn anything...Glenn...

[looseplucker]

Moreton - I'm with you. I saw him on telly in the States, long before he was on the box here and I cringed. I have been on a quest in visits across the ditch to edumacate people that noone who wants to be taken seriously says 'crikey' in Australia.

As for other influential/great Australians -Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop I would add to the list, And for mine, in terms of knowledge of and respect for Australian wildlife Harry Butler was without peer.

To me Steve exploited animals - he didn't seem to show them respect and gave his audience their jollies by riling them up. And the cash register you could hear ringing away in the background. I think he went beyond stereotype and became a caricature.

And btw - Free Bindi!

[Coach]

Well , you asked Jeffro and have received ,, now are you going tell these people they should be ashamed for talking about the departed the way they have ?

[Jeffro]

Maybe..............if I see anymore dumb answers . So far you've been the only one .

But Ill keep you posted.

[Nephew]

Moreton - I'm with you. I saw him on telly in the States, long before he was on the box here and I cringed. I have been on a quest in visits across the ditch to edumacate people that noone who wants to be taken seriously says 'crikey' in Australia.

As for other influential/great Australians -Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop I would add to the list, And for mine, in terms of knowledge of and respect for Australian wildlife Harry Butler was without peer.

To me Steve exploited animals - he didn't seem to show them respect and gave his audience their jollies by riling them up. And the cash register you could hear ringing away in the background. I think he went beyond stereotype and became a caricature.

And btw - Free Bindi!

Hear-Hear! Especially the bits about Dr. Dunlop, Mr Butler...and Bindi!!

[Coach]

[Dennis La Varenne]

I neither liked nor disliked him personally. I did not know him. I found his TV persona very irritating though. I am mystified by the idea that he was funny. I tried to detect it in his manner and presentation, but I have never really understood humor. I can't see what is funny about it mostly.

However, neither did he give me any reason to find him agreeable because of his continuous anti-hunting harping at every public opportunity he seemed to get that I saw on television.

I can cop the bloke's opposition to hunting if I can see him having some kind of valid point, but what turned me off him completely was the 'looka moi' image he projected. It was overwhelming and offputting. I have never found that kind of thing admirable in any way.

Even that I could forebear if I was learning something, but, the most disappointing thing about his TV shows was, I learned absolutely nothing about Australian wildlife from him - not a single thing. He had absolutely nothing educative to say, so I gave up on him.

Quantum, David Attenborough, the ABC Science Show on Radio National are a few I follow which reduce his shows to little more than filled air-space on unwatchable TV channels for me.

How he was as a human being, I do not know. I have been told by former work colleagues who met him personally that he was a 'genuinely likable' sort of bloke. My comments are in regard to his attempts to entertain on TV only.

Dennis La Varenne

[Antonio]

To be Honest how as his business goes all the best for him .wether he was trying to hoodwink or pull the wool over somebody eyes that not important to me .

the fact that he was successful shows his way worked .
as best as he new how .he had a family to support and had his priorities .he aimed it at the kids mostly I think and foreigners who did not know much about Australia I think that was his audience .and he was entertaining to them .

plus with entertainment you cant have a flat personality you got to have a gimmick .

His enthusiasm was over the top but it captured the American audiences and the kids .so i think he did succeed in what he was doing .

I feel for his wife and daughter and hope that they can keep the business going as they seem to like what they do .


I agree with some that if you keep pushing you're luck eventually you will get hurt .but at the same time I do belive that a person that knows what his doing can still be safe in a dangerous job .people who work with electricity has a potential to be dangerous but they are cautious and do it day in day out .




so basically what I said was I don't mind them making a buck when Steve was alive and now .

But I found the guy scarry as he was pushing it some times .but the main reason I found him scary was that he was all ways saying he was going to die doing this .on the program over and over again .and as far as I was concerned he was not joking when he said that .

[jamie]

i didn't like the guy and he was a dangerous individual. i believe he had no formal training in wildlife management yet everybody took his opinion(not science based facts ) as gospel.

[MrsStringnstik]

And btw - Free Bindi!

ditto!!!

makes me cringe when the kids are watching 'her' show & she is constantly introducing segments with 'my dad did this' & 'heres my dad doing that' ...

[muntries]

I work in the conservation industry and I see people in this industry doing more good things in a single week with bugger all money compared to Irwin in his career. Although I recon Irwin has popularised Australian wildlife here and overseas I don't think that has really made much difference to conservation directly.

[dawallace45]

I first talked to him for about ten minutes many years ago and all up probably would have had no more that half a hours conversation with him over the years so I don't claim to know the man , he would have been in his late teens at the time and the Reptile park his father owned wasn't very well known at all , just a small sign in front of the place , he was at that time a total unknown , but he was a guy you remembered , he was dressed the same way as on TV and talked the same way , he was extremely enthusiastic about animals and while he seemed to respect them I doubt very much he had any fear of them , I knew a guy who worked for the family for years and he reckoned that with Steve what you saw was what you got , he was at that time a keen hunter and fisherman , in person he was a very likable bloke ,

The reptile park has been there for ever , we only lived about 20 km down the road and used to pass my on the way up the coast with mum and dad when we were kids , we knew it was there only because we passed it so often , Steve learned his ideas about wildlife management from his dad , people who taught wildlife management used to come to learn from him as well , I think Steve's wife was mainly responsible for the park becoming well known , she bought in new ideas on building it up and publicity

David

[matt61]

The first time I saw Steve Irwin on TV was when he and Terri where trying to catch feral cats that where in these big gum trees around a billabong that was the only water for miles.So Steve shins up the tree after one of these cats and the cat climbs to the top branch with Steve after it,whilst Terri waits on the ground with a fishing net to catch the cat when it jumps.When the cat finally jumps it looks like it is from about fifty feet up,but Terri misses with the net and the cat hits the ground like a pancake and bounces about four feet in the air with legs spining and off like a rocket.After a bit of an explanation Steve shins up the next tree with a cat in it,puddy jumps and and Terri nets it,Steve climbs down and does a bit a talk on the damage the cats are doing to the bird life in that location.I have always wondered what happened to that cat after the camera got turned off .I liked him but the way he caught some animals I think was just for the camera,I could be wrong.
Matt