Private funeral for Australia's Crocodile Hunter

Sep 10, 2006, 13:31 GMT

Sydney - A private funeral has been held for Australian Steve Irwin, the star of the Crocodile Hunter nature television documentaries, his family said Sunday.

Irwin, 44, died a week ago when a barb from a stingray pierced his heart while he was filming a marine life sequence on the Great Barrier Reef. His wife, Terri, 42, had refused an offer from the government of a state funeral, insisting on a private ceremony with just close friends and family.

Irwin's grave is believed to be in the grounds of Australia Zoo, near Brisbane, which has been in the Irwin family for more than 30 years. More than a million people visit the zoo each year, many of them drawn there by Irwin's charisma.

Zoo executive director Michael Hornby said that each day since Irwin's death a larger number of well-wishers had come with flowers and tokens of affection for the madcap naturalist. The gates of the zoo have become a shrine for those affected by Irwin's death last Monday.

'What I'm seeing now is not only the flowers and khaki shirts that have been autographed with everyone's best wishes, but also the international flavour that's coming into it, the flags from around the world brought in,' Hornby said.

A memorial service expected to draw tens of thousands is scheduled to be held at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium within the next two weeks.

Some of the 200 staff at Australia Zoo were part of a remembrance by the Sunshine Coast surfing community. Around 250 surfers formed a circle in the Pacific Ocean at Alexandra Headlands beach. They observed a minute's silence for Irwin, who was a keen surfer.

Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said the Australian government would consider a permanent memorial for Irwin, whom she said had left a 'huge gap' in promotional efforts for the tourism industry. A national park is likely to be named after the cheery naturalist.

'He was promoting and marketing Australia long before anyone in the industry was really aware of what he was doing, and probably the number of people visiting Australia Zoo is a testimony to the impact he has had in international markets,' she said.

Irwin's father has been a spokesman for the family since the bereavement, but Terri Irwin has yet to speak or appear in public with the couple's two children, Bindi, 8, and Bob, 2.

Bindi has an international following, having starred in her own Discovery Channel wildlife series.