Controversial in life and death

2006-09-07 08:32

Georgina Guedes

Oddly, considering that I was in Sydney, I learnt of the passing of world-famous Australian wildlife television personality, Steve Irwin, from a friend of mine in South Africa.

We were chatting online in the few waking hours a day that overlap due to the 9 hour time difference, and she mentioned that she was shocked to hear of his passing.

"Who is Steve Irwin?" I asked, wondering if he was some school friend of hers that I hadn't remembered meeting.

She explained that Irwin was the guy who climbed to fame while wrestling crocs on television, and then branched out talking about all kinds of wild animals while bodily subduing them on camera.

"He is something of an Australian icon," she explained. "Whether the Australians like it or not."

My only knowledge of this "croc hunter" was from the scandal that erupted when he appeared on camera, keeping a fearsome crocodile at bay, while holding on to his one-month old baby. I saw a news headline about it at the time, but since I didn't know who he was then, didn't read any further.

I can remember thinking, "silly man". No matter how much he assumed he was in control of the situation, and whether or not this was in fact the case, this was going to garner him a whole lot of unwanted publicity.

Controversial conservation

The morning after I heard of his death from South Africa, the story was, of course, front-page news here in Sydney. The man was killed by a stingray barb to the chest, while filming his latest television show.

What has been interesting about watching the story play out in the Australian media is that they are not afraid to be honest in remembering the controversial figure that he was.

On one hand, they talk about what he did for conservation efforts, by making people aware of the other side of animals that are generally considered to be dangerous, while others criticise his "manhandling" of endangered species for shock effect.

Published side by side on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald were two very different viewpoints. One, from Germaine Greer, famous Australian feminist and academic, stated: "There was no habitat, no matter how fragile or finely balanced, that Irwin hesitated to barge into. There was not an animal he was not prepared to manhandle. Every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress."

While John Wamsley, conservationist said, "Irwin understood that the only way to save that wilderness over the long term was to buy it. That was Steve's plan. he would profit from his unique understanding of wildlife. He would use that profit to benefit wildlife."

And it seems that the Australian public is divided along similar lines.

Death of an icon

Regardless of how they feel about him, however, is the fact that his antics did draw necessary attention to conservation.

From visiting Sydney, it becomes apparent that for the public to understand and sympathise with this necessity, wildlife does need to be accessible. Very few people are willing to throw their weight behind a nebulous ideal.

Platypus breeding programs put the bizarre creatures from their project on display at the Sydney Aquarium so that people can catch sight of these elusive creatures. The thrill of seeing this duck-billed mammal frolicking under the water is enough to encourage the support of any environmental bill that will protect them.

And Irwin was providing this kind of access on a grand scale. It is ironic that he died at the hands, or barbs, of those creatures who would ultimately benefit from this publicity.

Despite his controversial career, I think that the Australian people do see the benefit in his work, while they might roll their eyes at some of his methods. The outpouring of sorrow at the death of this icon has been moving and genuine.

Georgina Guedes is a South African woman travelling the world. She thinks that the platypus has to be the strangest creature in all creation.

Send your comments to Georgina

Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24.

- News24