Celebrated each year on 15 November, Steve Irwin Day is an annual event honouring the life and legacy of the one and only Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin and today Steve’s kids Bindi and Robert Irwin have talked about how much they miss their dad.
The Irwin kids along with their mum Terri made an appearance on TODAY this morning to talk about how Australia Zoo will be commemorating the occasion and when asked by host Karl Stefanovic about how much they miss their dad a poised Bindi said she felt the loss “every day”.
“Oh truly, every day, I think that [goes] for both of us,” 18-year-old Bindi said about herself and her brother Robert who’ve had to endure losing their dad so young. “But for us we’re really lucky that his spirit and his heart lives on here at Australia Zoo in each and every one of us. And every day that we put on our khakis it’s like we’re getting that little piece of dad back and I think that’s really special.”
Robert,12, was just a toddler when he lost his dad but said her was determined to make sure his dad’s legacy of conservation lived on.
“We certainly think about him and miss him every day but we’re excited to be continuing in his legacy,” he said.
This year marks 10 years since Steve Irwin was killed when he was he was tragically stabbed in the heart by the flailing tail of a stingray while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.
From that day his wildlife warrior wife Terri Irwin became a single mother and earlier this year she told The Weekly about just how challenging her decade-long “grief journey” has been.
“It’s been 10 year,” Terri told The Weekly in September, “and it’s a journey that never really ends. No one is immune from greif. When Steve died, I called a psychologist, a friend of mine. I said, ‘What is this journey going to be like? Help me out here.’ He said, ‘ You’ve lost a part of your heart. You’re never going to get over it.’”
While she might in some way grieve her husband each day this morning while on the TODAY show Terri stood side by side with her children and explained why November 15 was the day she chose to publicly remember her husband.
“Steve had a very close friend at Australia Zoo named Harriett,” said Terri. “And Harriett was born in the Galapagos Islands and lived to be 175 years old. She was our giant Galapagos land tortoise and we celebrated her birthday on November 15 so now in honour of their special relationship, and making sure Steve Irwin Day is all about wildlife and wild places we’re continuing the tradition of a mid-November celebration with Steve.”
The Crocodile Hunter was 44 when he died and he seemed resolute about risking his life in order to save the animals he cared about.
He was once quoted as saying: “I have no fear of losing my life – if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it.”
VIDEO: The Irwins talk about celebrating Steve.
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