A Pacific National NR class locomotive was named Steve Irwin as part of the campaign. In 2005, Irwin provided his voice for the 2006 animated film Happy Feet, as an elephant seal named Trev. The film was dedicated to Irwin, as he died during post-production. Steve Irwin died in 2006 after being stung multiple times by a stingray. He was snorkelling in shallow waters in an attempt to get footage for the conservation.
After Steve Irwin was tragically killed by an eight-foot stingray in 2006 during filming for a documentary, his family and friends made a silent pact never to air the footage or talk about his final moments.
So when the Crocodile Hunter’s cameraman revealed his final words during a televised interview on Channel 10 last year Irwin’s father and close friends were left devastated.
Cameraman Justin Lyons told how he was in the water with Irwin on Australia's Great Barrier Reef when Irwin was stabbed by a stingray ‘hundreds of times’, resulting in a deadly blow that punctured his heart.
‘I personally felt very sad and to a degree angry about what Justin had to say,’ Bob Irwin revealed during an interview with the ABC’s Australian Story which is set to air on Monday night.
‘For a lot of people trying to get on with their lives without Steve - it wasn’t something that helped by any means,’ he explained.
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Steve Irwin's father Bob was devastated when Steve's cameraman spoke publicly about the details of how he died
It's been nearly a decade since the much-loved Crocodile Hunter was tragically killed by an eight foot-wide stingray in Australia's Great Barrier Reef
During Lyons’ Studio 10 interview last year, he told how he and Irwin were filming the stingray for the documentary Ocean's Deadliest for some time before they decided to get one last shot of Irwin swimming up behind the animal.
'All of a sudden it propped on its front and started stabbing wildly with its tail, hundreds of strikes in a few seconds,’ Mr Lyons said.
He explained the stingray probably thought Irwin’s shadow was a tiger shark and acted to defend itself.
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Lyons did not realise that anything was wrong with his friend at first, as he was filming the stingray swim away.
‘It wasn’t until I panned the camera back [and saw] that Steve was standing in a huge pool of blood that I realised something had gone wrong.’
He managed to get the injured wildlife expert back onto the boat, where he saw the extent of his injuries.
He said the stingray had a ‘jagged barb’ which ‘went through his chest like hot butter.’
Cameraman Justin Lyons told how he was in the water with Irwin on Australia's Great Barrier Reef when Irwin was stabbed by a stingray ‘hundreds of times’
Nicole Byrne, Irwin's former PA, told the ABC: 'I do think of Steve everyday because I see Steve and I hear him in every single animal. Every single encounter that I have, he's there'
‘He had a about a two-inch injury over his heart with blood-fluid coming out of it,’ said Lyons.
‘He was in extraordinary pain. [The stingrays] have got venom on their barb, so I’m sure it was excruciatingly painful.
‘Even if we’d been able to get him into an emergency ward at that moment, we probably wouldn’t have been able to save him because the damage to his heart was massive.'
Lyons, who had not spoken about the tragic death of his friend before, held back tears as he described Irwin’s last moments.
For the first time, Steve Irwin's elite 'Croc Team' (pictured) have spoken about the personal effects of his death
Irwin's former personal assistant Nicole Byrne (left) and Bob Irwin, Steve's father (right), feature on ABC's Australian Story
For 75-year-old Bob Irwin, working with his son's loyal team would be something that he never forgets
‘As we’re motoring back, I’m screaming at one of the other crew in the boat to put their hand over the wound and we’re saying to him things like, “Think of your kids, Steve. Hang on, hang on, hang on.” ‘He just sort of calmly looked up at me and said, “I’m dying.” And that was the last thing he said.’
Lyons was the first person to speak about Irwin’s death publicly but during Monday night’s Australian Story, Irwin's elite 'Croc Team' will also talk about the devastating personal effect of losing him.
His personal assistant Nicole Byrne and right hand man Briano Coulter are two of those who have finally broken their silence, alongside Bob Irwin.
Bob Irwin said he struggled to deal with the sudden death of his son
Steve Irwin's former staff members gathered at Bob Irwin's home in Queensland for the first time since the Crocodile Hunter's sudden death
Steve Irwin is seen here in an enclosure with a crocodile before his death in 2006
'I do think of Steve everyday because I see Steve and I hear him in every single animal. Every single encounter that I have, he's there,' Ms Byrne said.
The popular Australian naturalist's death was mourned world-wide, particularly by friends and family including his two children Bindi, Robert and wife Terri.
Irwin's team further struggled to deal with his absence and went their separate ways as they dealt with the pain of the loss on their own.
But recently they reunited for the first time in eight years as they gathered at Bob Irwin's home to share some of the fondest memories they have of the beloved conservationist.
Irwin was fatally was stabbed hundreds of times by the giant stingray while filming in the Great Barrier Reef for the documentary, 'Ocean's Deadliest'
He left behind his children, including daughter Bindi who is pictured with her mother Terri
'I haven't opened up about the effect of Steve's death on me to anyone, not even to my husband. Because of who Steve was, the world was on fire, the world wanted to know everything and anything to do with Steve at that time,' Ms Byrne said on Australian Story.
Ms Byrne told of how she felt 'incredibly privileged' to be a member of Irwin's personally selected team.
'Steve Irwin knew how to build a team and the Croc Team were the elite team,' she said.
'He would keep you at a distance until he got to learn about who you were and then he would bring you into his world.
'Everyone else was actually, you know, intimidated by the Croc Team because they were on all the documentaries. They were the star attraction.'
But members of the elite team moved on from Australia Zoo, opened by Irwin's parents back in 1970 on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, following the Crocodile Hunter's sudden death and only just re-established contact at Bob Irwin's property in south east Queensland.
Irwin's death was mourned by his young children Robert (left), Bindi (right) and also his widowed wife Terri (second from left)
Steve Irwin pictured with his young daughter Bindi who is now 16-years-old
'The Irwin Encounters' will air as part of ABC's Australian Story program at 8pm on Monday, May 18
Widowed Terri, 50, and children Bindi, 16, and Robert, 10, passionately continue Irwin's animal-loving legacy
'I hadn't seen these people for eight years and I was probably a bit apprehensive about it. I'd sort of left their company on what you'd call not a joyous basis and I didn't know how they'd react,' Mr Irwin said.
The reunion was an opportunity for members to share their stories - how they first met Irwin, what it was like to work with him and the impact he's had on their lives.
For Mr Coulter, it was a time of reflection. 'I got to know him as a very tough and knock-about boss but also on a very very personal level,' he told Australian Story.
'Because we shared a passion for surfing and still at to this day, it's some of the best times of my life.'
For 75-year-old Bob Irwin, he says working with his son's loyal team would be something that he never forgets.
'Steve, he managed to get a very loyal group of people that worked really really well together,' he said. 'Some of those moments I don't think I will ever forget - working with those people.'
But the death of his son also took a heavy toll on Mr Irwin.
'I had things to get sorted out in my own head and that took a long time to get that sorted and not be like a hermit because it wasn't doing me any good,' he said.
Widowed Terri, 50, and children Bindi, 16, and Robert, 10, passionately continue Irwin's animal-loving legacy.
'The Irwin Encounters' will air as part of ABC's Australian Story program at 8pm on Monday, May 18.
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Seven years after TV personality Steve Irwin died from a stingray attack, the cameraman who was by his side is speaking out about what happened on Sept. 4, 2006.
Justin Lyons, the man that Australia's Crocodile Hunter had called his 'best mate' and 'right-hand man,' shared Irwin's final moments during an interview on Australia's morning show 'Studio 10.'
After the 'massive stingray' struck the wildlife expert, Lyons said 44-year-old Irwin 'calmly looked up at me and said, 'I'm dying.' And that was the last thing he said.'
Neither the Irwin family nor the Australia Zoo, which was managed by Irwin and now his widow Terri, has responded to a request for comment.
He revealed that the two of them were in chest-deep water at Batt Reef in Queensland, Australia, when they came across the '8-foot wide' stingray. The men were going for one final shot, where Irwin would swim up from behind the creature and Lyons would film it swimming away.
'I had the camera and I thought, 'This is going to be a great shot,' and all of a sudden, (the stingray) propped on its front and started stabbing wildly with its tail, hundreds of strikes within a few seconds,' Lyons explained. 'It probably thought that Steve's shadow was a tiger shark, which feeds on them regularly, so it attacked him. I panned with the camera as the stingray swam away. I didn't even know it had caused any damage. It wasn't until I panned the camera back ...'
Lyons said that he and the crew were able to get Irwin out of the water quickly and back to the main ship, but 'the damage to his heart was massive.'
The cameraman revealed that everything from the attack to performing CPR on Irwin was filmed. 'We had this rule that if Steve was ever hurt or injured that we had to keep filming no matter what. That was the thing with him,' Lyons said.
But don't expect to see that footage.
'Never' was Lyons response when asked if the images would ever air. 'I don't know what's happened to it, but I suspect that it's gone. It'll never see the light of day, hopefully.'