'My Daddy Was My Hero': Steve Irwin, the Hero Archetype, and Australian Identity

Abstract

Two Australian heroes died within days of each other in September. On September 4th 2006, Steve Irwin died as a result of a sting-ray barb injury to his heart when he was swimming above a sting-ray while filming for a series that would feature his daughter, Bindi.On 8th September 2006, Peter Brock, an Australian rally-car driverwas killed when his car hit a tree during a rally in Western Australia. The families of each of these men were offered the honour of State funerals: Steve Irwin's family declined and held, instead, a memorial service in Irwin's Crocoseum on the Gold Coast in Queensland. The service was televised to a world-wide audience. TheAustralian Prime Minister, John Howard, and well known celebrities such as Cameron Diaz and Russell Crowe, and singer/composer John Williamson, attended.Peter Brock's family accepted the offer and thousands of people flocked to St. Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne for the event, openly and very publicly weeping. Each occasion startled with its double figuring of tragedy and celebration; and enormous outpouring of grief evidenced in the behaviour of many who were utter strangers tothe dead men.