bobby12 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 SYDNEY, Australia - Steve Irwin, the quirky Australian naturalist who won worldwide acclaim, has died in a marine accident off Australia’s northeast coast, local media reported on Monday. full article Link to post Share on other sites
joshnii 2 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Wow! I was just watching him last night. Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 not surprised. Although entertaining, he did some very silly things very close to some very deadly animals. I'm surprised he hadn't already been at least badly injured by something. Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 a "marine accident"? Stingray barb to the chest sounds to me like he was most likely doing something a bit silly. Link to post Share on other sites
misorano 1 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Still a bit of a bummer. Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 indeed it is miso. Sorry, I wasn't meaning to say it isn't a sad thing. Link to post Share on other sites
misorano 1 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Nah mate, didn't mean anything like that. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Bloody terrible thing. A top bloke who was bloody good at what he did. Feel so sorry for his kids. Link to post Share on other sites
Roger's head 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 That's a shock. He seemed a really geniune guy with a lot of passion. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 that is a bummer - always enjoyed his shows. He could get anybody enthusiastic bout playin with crocs and snakes eh? Oh well, at least he went out doin something he loves - I hope Im as fortunate... Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Crikey! I never had much time for him, but sorry to read this. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Oh dear. It seems it was my fault . Painful way to go , passion notwithstanding. Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Terrible news, this is big loss for Australia, perhaps he was the most well known Australian of his time. Say what you like about his antics and personality If everyone on this planet had one tenth the passion of that guy this world would be a an incredible place. The media it would appear needs a slap on the wrist for not holding back a little on this story, apparently his wife had not been informed of the news first, not a cool way to learn about you loved ones demise. Isn't it standard protocol to inform next of kin before going on a reporting frenzy? Just saw BBC news, it said the stingray barb not only pierced his chest but got him right through the heart, I guess he died pretty much instantly. R.I.P Steve. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Bushpig: a "marine accident"? Stingray barb to the chest sounds to me like he was most likely doing something a bit silly. ditto. plus: making money by acting like a child treating animals like toys. But having said that, he made quite a few Australians aware of wildlife. Pitty he had to dumb it down to the level of a knuckle dragger to appeal to the tv masses. No disrespect intended on his death. I thought the same when he was alive. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Of course it is a shame that he died. But we all die an most of us leave families behind. Fame doesn't make the pain of his wife and kids any greater. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 And 'passion' can get quite tiresome after all, especially when it's the default state. There must be a good reason why it causes people to perish in foreseen but yet surprising ways. People do a lot of interfering with big wildlife in the name of one thing or another, and while it may be very interesting or very entertaining or both, the value of some of it seems highly quetionable. Although he may have valued wildlife very highly, not all of it valued him. Personally I side with the wildlife. Link to post Share on other sites
farquah 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Another reason to respect nature more!! Not sure on all the ways he went about things but was a great conservationist when it came to passion and ferver and the foundation he founded contributes a lot to different projects around the world. Friend of mine got stung by a ray once after accidentaly stepping on it, apparently hurt like hell, but after putting it in really really hot water countered the poison really quickly. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 I learned to respect animals after being comprehensively tossed by a bull-calf. I learned to be particularly careful when trying to prevent a diver who got between a sea lion and her calf from bleeding to death, after she ripped his thigh open. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 >> the foundation he founded contributes a lot to different projects around the world. That is good. I hope his wildlife foundations continue to bring benefit. Besides his self serving animal wresting antics, he nonetheless probably did more than most of us do. It is a pity that most people don't understand that passion and enthusiasm are attributes available to all of us in our own lives. His passion and enthusiasm is only a loss because we (the tv viewing public) lack it entirely. It doesn't have to be that way. The loss of one man is only sad because the population and environment in which he lived was so lacking in what he offered. Perhaps if we tried living our own lives with a little more commitment and passion then we wouldn't be so dependent on holding individuals as legends and heroes. Don't leave the role of passion and enthusiasm to tv personalities and then bemoan their loss. Try living it yourselves, whether it is wildlife, conservation of environment, energy conservation, exploration of things you have never seen.. what ever, just turn off your tv and go out and live what Steve Irwin made a fortune showing you. Not directed at anyone in particular. Link to post Share on other sites
snobee 0 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 l'spud - well worsted. I agree with your sentiments. I don't think Steve Irwin ever tried to be anyones hero. He just got a buzz out of what he was doing long before the media merchants arrived. Not much changed - just his exposure. Perhaps his dryness and at times in-your-face larrikin antics put people off. So what. He wasn't authorative or sensible enough like the Attenboroughs??? A few years back a friend of a friend worked at his place in QLD and said he made hyper-activity seem slow. Constantly on the go, go, go. Never stopped. And his intent was only good. That was him on the screen - all bared. Not very common in these days of manufactured know it alls and dunces. As l'spud said he was doing it, not armchairing the manner. Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Steve was Steve! What you saw was him! I know this first hand. I say that not to big note myself but to confirm the above comments. It is a big loss today. I feel for his family and anyone lucky enough to have interacted with him. Its Australia's loss. He did so much more then most anyone will ever know. What a "bugger" of a day. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 It seems from the Australian press that he is now the third greatest ever dead Australian, after Bradman and Phar Lap. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Sorry. I forgot the donkey. 4th greatest ever dead Australian. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 In my right hand is a dead chicken. In My left is my first-born child. Crikey mate! The Crock took the Chook! This is great TV. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 At school I was taught more about that bloody donkey than I was about English grammar. That sentence is evidence enough Australians love heroes and the hard done by... and now they have another one to get all "Aussie" about. Still, there were probably 100,000 people on tv that were worse than Steve. I only saw him about 4 times there was certainly something very Australian about him. Looking at the media and comments from the public, the outpouring of drama-grief is as usual when someone famous dies and the 'real aussie' stuff is being laid on a bit thick. Strange how the death of a famous father is cited as such a massive loss to the wife and kids, seemingly more devastating than the death of a suburban working class parent killed in a car crash. And just in case you thought all Australians were the same, read this. Checkout what category in the blog its posted! http://www.spinstartshere.com/?q=node/1535 Link to post Share on other sites
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