{"id":851139,"date":"2026-08-11T06:44:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T06:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/851139\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T06:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T06:44:14","slug":"robert-irwin-honours-late-father-steve-irwin-in-touching-interview-weeks-before-20th-anniversary-of-passing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/851139\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Irwin honours late father Steve Irwin in touching interview weeks before 20th anniversary of passing"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Australia prepares for the 20th anniversary of beloved wildlife advocate Steve Irwin\u2019s death, his son Robert has shared how his father\u2019s legacy lives on through him.<\/p>\n

The late Crocodile Hunter is one of Australia\u2019s most famous icons, with his screen work and environmental work making him adored across the country.<\/p>\n

The 44-year-old tragically died on 4 September 2006 after he was pierced by a stingray barb while filming in the Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n

Nearly two decades since his father\u2019s sudden passing shocked the nation, his son Robert has cemented himself as one of the most recognisable faces in modern wildlife conservation.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old not only continues to share his father\u2019s love of the environment, but he has become regarded as one of Australia\u2019s most notable pop culture figures due to his frequent appearances in TV and movies.<\/p>\n

The young Irwin, who won the US version of Dancing with the Stars in November, is set to make history on Sunday as the youngest Logies host in the Australian award show\u2019s 68-year history.<\/p>\n

Ahead of Sunday\u2019s ceremony, Robert Irwin has spoken about growing up without his father, and how losing a parent so young shaped his legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting and strange thing to be talking about legacy at 22, but I look at my dad and he packed a lot in,\u201d the star told Stellar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"BindiCamera IconBindi and Robert on Steve Irwin’s motorcycle. Credit: Supplied\/Australia Zoo<\/p>\n

\u201cHe lived at this level that was 100 per cent. He only got 44 years to live, like, 10 lifetimes, really \u2014 what an incredible example for me to follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime is fleeting. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve got 20 years, 80 years. No-one knows. So you might as well just do it all, and do it now, and have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old conservationist then revealed no matter where his newfound stardom takes him, his heart lies exactly where his dad\u2019s did: at the zoo their family founded in 1991.<\/p>\n

\u201cWherever I go, all roads lead to Australia Zoo, they all lead back home \u2014 that\u2019s where it all stems from, truly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis legacy that Dad created, it\u2019s crazy to say, but I think it\u2019s just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just Robert continuing to share his father\u2019s environmentalist message \u2014 with the star saying his family are also continuing his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not here to spread those messages, but now it\u2019s my turn [and] my sister, my little niece, Grace, she\u2019s coming up quick,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the next generation\u2019s turn to keep that going, and that\u2019s a real privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2026 Logie Awards will air live at 5pm on Sunday on Seven and 7plus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Australia prepares for the 20th anniversary of beloved wildlife advocate Steve Irwin\u2019s death, his son Robert has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134,44],"class_list":["post-851139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}