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A spare seat will be left beside Steve Irwin's widow and children as a special way to remember the Crocodile Hunter during his memorial service. An estimated 5,000 people are expected to attend Wednesday's service at Australia Zoo, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, while millions are expected to watch the telecast live around the world. Guests at the zoo's Crocoseum will include Prime Minister John Howard and Queensland Premier Peter Beattie. Mr Irwin's manager and long time friend John Stainton would not reveal many details about the service, but said a spare seat would be left for Mr Irwin beside his...

TICKETS to Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's memorial have been snapped up in just 15 minutes, leaving hundreds empty-handed. Irwin fans camped overnight outside several ticketing outlets in Queensland overnight for free tickets to Wednesday's memorial service. Three thousand tickets were snapped up at Australia Zoo and ticket outlets at Maroochydore and Brisbane. At the front of the queue in Brisbane was 34-year-old beauty therapist Melissa Power, who had lined up for more than 25 hours to secure tickets. "It's unbelievable," a teary Ms Power said once she had the tickets in her hand. "I haven't slept and am so over-emotional...

ANIMAL rights extremists have called Steve Irwin a cheap reality star who exploited animals. The comments have infuriated The Daily Telegraph readers who have been commenting below. The blast comes just days after Germaine Greer said the Crocodile Hunter was an "embarrassment''. Now pro-animal organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is now also dancing on Irwin's grave. PETA activist Dan Matthews said he was not surprised he was killed by an animal. "It comes as no shock at all that Steve Irwin should die provoking a dangerous animal,'' Mathews said. "He made a career out of antagonising frightened...

THOUSANDS of people are expected to camp out at booking outlets tomorrow night for tickets to Steve Irwin's memorial service. The life of the Crocodile Hunter will be honoured at a special public memorial service next Wednesday at the family's Sunshine Coast animal park, Australia Zoo. The memorial will be held at the park's Crocoseum, which was built by Mr Irwin and holds a capacity of 5500. Three thousand tickets – a maximum of four per person – will be released to the public at no charge from 9am (AEST) on Friday at Australia Zoo's box office and Ticketek outlets...

TERRI IRWIN, the widow of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin today spoke for the first time about the loss of her "soulmate" in a freak accident off the north Queensland coast.In a statement read by her father-in-law Bob Irwin today, Mrs Irwin described her late husband as as her "soul mate" and thanked the community for their "overwhelming outpouring of love, support and prayers". Bob Irwin today announced the details of a memorial service for the larger than life conservationist and television personaility. It will be held at Australia Zoo on Queensland's Sunshine Coast next Wednesday.Irwin, 44, died last Monday when...

A MEMORIAL service to celebrate the remarkable life and times of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin will take place at 10am next Wednesday at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre at Boondal. Steve Irwin's close friend and manager John Stainton announced details of the event at a media conference held on Brisbane's Sunshine Coast at 11am t(AEST) this morning Mr Stainton has said the event will be as much a celebration as a tribute to Steve Irwin's remarkable life. Mr Stainton said Tuesday had been ruled out because it clashed with the Victorian state funeral of motor racing icon Peter Brock. The mountain...

SYDNEY, Australia (AP)—At least 10 stingrays have been killed since “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin was fatally injured by one of the fish, an official said Tuesday, prompting a spokesman for the late TV star's animal charity to urge people not take revenge on the animals. Irwin died last week after a stingray barb pierced his chest as he recorded a show off the Great Barrier Reef. Stingray bodies since have been discovered on two beaches in Queensland state on Australia's eastern coast. Two were discovered Tuesday with their tails lopped off, state fisheries department official Wayne Sumpton said.

Steve Irwin Ripped by PETA: Crocodile Hunter 'Cheap Reality Star' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Josh Hart Sep 11, 2006 Steve Irwin has barely been laid to rest but the critics from his enemies already seem to be reveling in the fact that he was killed by an animal. Aussie feminist Germaine Greer got the ball rolling by saying that animals took their revenge on Irwin. Steve Irwin Ripped by PETA: Crocodile Hunter 'Cheap Reality Star' "The animal world has finally taken its revenge on Irwin, but probably not before a hole generation of kids in shorts seven sizes too small has learned...

A PUBLIC memorial service for Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin is expected to be held next week at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium. Irwin, 44, died last Monday after he was pierced in the chest by a stingray's barb while filming a documentary off the far north Queensland coast. A private funeral service was held for him at Australia Zoo on Saturday, his father Bob Irwin said today. His best mate and Australia Zoo staff member Wes Mannion said today a memorial service would be held next Tuesday or Wednesday, with Suncorp Stadium a likely venue. Mr Irwin died last Monday aged 44...

Beerwah, Australia: Hundreds of surfers formed a circle in the waves off Australia‘s eastern coast and cast sprigs of wildflowers into the Pacific Ocean on Sunday to honour ‘Crocodile Hunter‘ Steve Irwin. Australian media reported that a family service for Irwin, who was killed a week ago when a stingray barb pierced his chest as he filmed a TV show, was held on Saturday on his wildlife park at Beerwah on Queensland state’s Sunshine Coast. Irwin’s manager John Stainton said the reports were conjecture, and the family would make a statement on Monday about the funeral. Brisbane’s The Sunday Mail...

Hundreds of surfers have paid a special tribute to Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin at a memorial service on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. The 44-year-old, died last Monday after he was pierced in the heart by a stingray's barb while filming a documentary off the far north Queensland coast. The self-proclaimed wildlife warrior was an enthusiastic surfer and a tribute was held on Sunday at Alexandra Headlands beach. About 250 surfers formed a huge circle off the beach to remember Irwin. Floral tributes were placed in the water. Staff from the Irwin family's Australia Zoo took part in the commemoration held during...

STEVE Irwin died from a stingray attack just weeks before work began on his dream of building the world's biggest animal hospital. The Crocodile Hunter had planned the $4 million hospital in the grounds of his Australia Zoo at Beerwah in Queensland as a tribute to his mother Lyn, who died in a car accident six years ago. Now staff at the existing animal hospital have vowed to see his expansion plans through as Irwin's legacy to Australian conservation. "To make Steve proud we want to make it bigger and better than even he dreamed," said Australian Wildlife Hospital manager...

I WAS standing just down from the radio station 3RRR at ... in Melbourne when my phone rang.... I flipped open the batphone ... and found out that Steve Irwin was dead. I swore loudly as the moment fused, possibly forever, into memory. Something similar happened millions of times over in this country alone. Perhaps hundreds of millions of times across the world. You almost certainly remember exactly what you were doing when you heard. ... Not everyone is mourning, however. ... ... Germaine Greer pulled on her redundant fright mask and charged into print to bitchslap and rake at...

Irwin family says the last goodbye By Lou Robson and Anooska Tucker-Evans September 10, 2006 12:00am Article from: Font size: + - Send this article: Print Email STEVE Irwin was farewelled by family and friends yesterday after a private service on the Sunshine Coast. A close friend said a service was held at the Caloundra Gregson and Weight funeral home chapel and crematorium at 2pm. It is believed the service was a prelude to Irwin, 44, being buried at his beloved Australia Zoo. The friend said Caloundra City Council officials this week gave the Irwin family permission to bury the...

ON the afternoon before his final adventure, Steve Irwin sat on the aft deck of Deepstar, an aluminium catamaran moored at Batt Reef off Port Douglas, and looked wide-eyed at his host Pete West's newest purchase. It was a modern-day suit of armour. A head-to-toe stainless steel mesh outfit, complete with full-face helmet. The creation of a San Diego-based company specialising in marine equipment, it had been custom-made to protect its wearer from all but the most determined sea creatures. Even tiger sharks - known to devour stingrays, serrated barb and all - would have found the sections of steel...

STEVE Irwin's film crew secretly returned to the Queensland reef where he was killed to complete his final documentary, Ocean's Deadliest. Irwin's longtime manager and friend John Stainton revealed on US TV today that he had asked the crew on the morning after Irwin's death if they would like to complete the documentary. “To a man, they all said yes,” Stainton told CNN talkshow host, Larry King. Stainton said they secretly slipped out to Batt Reef on the Great Barrier Reef, where Irwin was killed by a stingray on Monday, to shoot the final scenes of the documentary.

THIS is the muzzle The Daily Telegraph has sent to batty loudmouth Germaine Greer on behalf of all Australians furious over her comments about Steve Irwin. Today The Daily Telegraph calls on all Crocodile Hunter fans to tell the controversial academic exactly how they feel - and ... this afternoon we can also publish a new address to contact her. Greer raised the ire of a nation this week when she made the bizarre claims that the animal world had taken "revenge" on Steve Irwin when he died tragically from a sting ray attack in northern Queensland. A furious Queensland...

Here are two really nice tributes to Steve Irwin. I know there are alot of fans of his on FR, including myself. Videos are here and here.

This is a 4 minute video of Steve Irwin demonstrating the nature of Crocs at his zoo. Steve Irwin in action

FIRST Steve Irwin and now Peter Brock. The sudden, tragic deaths of two Aussie icons in one working week – one in the waters off Queensland on Monday, one at the base of a tree on the other side of the continent on Friday – have shaken Australians to the core. Both were doing what they did best and loved most. Both relished the challenges of hazardous occupations, and won fame and admiration for the successes they achieved doing it. Getting up-close and personal with lethal animals, and driving racing cars, both carry obvious risks. The deaths of those involved...