Steve Irwin, was well known by the paradoxically affectionate name of,

 ” the Crocodile Hunter.”

He died in the year 2006, in a rather tragic accident, killed by one of his own friends of the sea, a stingray barb, that pierced right through his rather big heart, a very mean trick indeed.

He was only forty four years old, at the time.

Australian culture might be rather hard to understand from the perspective views of non Australians.

Nevertheless, this article will discuss Steve Irwin’s effect on Australian culture.

# Australian culture explained

The Australian culture is generally seen to be one of very little culture, or of Australians not being cultured, in the usual sense of the word, very much at all. This might be because the country is not really very old in terms of European settlement, and so it is still really developing its own unique forms of culture.

Even so, the culture has changed from what it was even thirty short years ago, and a certain refining of it has taken place, within that time. Additionally, there is our Aboriginal culture which is very old, and is only now being better respected.

The Australian Aborigines were supportive of Steve Irwin’s conservation efforts, and generally supported his methods, that others sometimes frowned upon.

# Steve Irwin’s personality

Steve, perhaps contributed a lot to maintaining the earlier culture from thirty years ago that I have referred to above, and as being more in vogue then.

He was the typical, ”ocker,” type of personality, as we generally call them here, in Australia. This term actually refers to an even more uncultured Australian, that is usual.

Steve Irwin was one of these larger than life type of people.

Steve’s way of speaking broadly, and his using of plenty of old style Australian vernacular, and his rather heavy usage of Australian slang in his speech, contributed to some of this. His usual way of dressing, in khaki coloured shorts, and short sleeved collared khaki work shirt, also contributed to this image, plus the fact that he was generally genuinely an outdoor type of guy anyway.

This meant that his skin was tanned, and heavily bronzed, and rather rough looking in its general appearance. His sandy coloured, always tousled longish blonde hair, cheeky grin, stocky build, and big sky blue eyes, also contributed much to his outback blokey image.

Steve only rarely wore a hat, probably because he was often being too active around large animals. He did occasionally wear one though, and usually it was a khaki coloured cap. Some of his own personally worn hats are for sale on the internet.

Australian stores sell many different types though, from the wide brimmed, canvas brown coloured, typical Aussie outdoors slouch hat, with corks hanging off from the rims, and the typical leather skinned, cowboy style ones, to even the American baseball style caps.

We even sell crocodile skin hat bands, together with the teeth!

Hats are more associated with another great Australian icon, Crocodile Dundee.

Hats have been, however, for a very long time, a part of the Australian culture, and the well known, ”Akubra” hat, is an indicator of this. This is a fur felt hat, often made with rabbit’s fur. Akubra is an Aboriginal word, meaning, ”head covering.”

Steve Irwin was really though, just a big softy, at heart.

He was a positive person, always exaggeratingly enthusiastic, but this was just him, and it was never put on at all. Light-heartedly exuberant, he energised and enthused all of those around him. He had his signature catchphrases, of which his use of the term, ”Crikey,” was one such one.

# Steve’s effect on the Australian culture

The last paragraph leads nicely into this one, in that one major effect he has had on emerging Australian culture, especially amongst the younger members, is on the Australian language.

Steve popularised many expressions, such as the one already mentioned above, and of which there are many more.

”Blimey,” was another, that Steve frequently used.

He did not say this rudely, but in the sense of it only just meaning, ”wow,” like that he was surprised for a moment, or astonished at what had just happened. He also used it when he was excited about something, and which he almost always was, when around wildlife.

Steve came across with a certain childish spontaneity, that only endeared him more to most of the listeners, of his many television documentaries.

He used the term, ”crikey,” all of the time, but so often he would give the genuine impression, that he used these types of words, without even knowing their real meaning.

This seemed to be simply because he liked the sound of them, and how they allowed him in an off-handed sort of a way, to throw these words around in his own speech, in so enthusiastic a fashion, all of the time, and by using this method, he build an immediate rapport with his listeners.

When asked what this word, ”crikey,” actually meant for him, however, funnily enough, he was at a bit of a loss, until the interviewer himself, then explained it to him.

This was then Steve’s own reply in return.

”Crikey means gee whiz, wow!”

Steve tried to show other people how to respect their environment more, and also how not to be so fearful of such animals, as crocodiles.

He tried to show that the Australian mindset is to give a fair go to others, at the same time as it is about living a honest helpful helping life yourself, by helping others in need, and this included for him of course, his beloved animal friends.

Steve inspired others, and these types of larger than life heroes are a big part of the Australian character, and culture.

# General observations on culture

The reason why a country develops a unique culture is linked into the predominant types of personalities of the individuals making up that country.

A culture can be also be compared to an individual person’s personality.

A culture is a broad brushed painting of the typical characteristics inherently dominating at that time in a country’s inner and outer psyche. This serves the purpose for that country of creating a way of connection to other countries, that allows for a uniqueness of expression to develop in them, and for this then to set them apart from all other countries.

# Australia’s culture

The Australia culture is based around its isolation, and also its climate, and finally its rather unique flora and fauna.

The weather flips back and forth between two different extremes of climate. 

The weather consists of either only being one of experiencing excessively hot, continuously high temperatures, bringing unseasonably long dry periods of droughts, sometimes lasting for many years, or of having to live through some really heavy downpours, or dumps of rain, as we call them, and that so often cause widespread localised flooding.

In addition, the love of the outdoors, and all things sport, contribute, to the image, of the typical Australian, being tanned, healthy, and roughly weather worn, and never very fussy about the way that he is dressed.

Australia is at the bottom of the world, and it also has an upside down sense of humour.

Australians will call a tall man for instance, ”shorty,” or a short man, might be called, ”lofty.” A bald man will be called ”curly,” and a person with red hair, is usually typically nick named, ”bluey.”

Steve Irwin used to say that our sense of humour is rather cruel and callous, but in a nice sort of a way, of course.

# Steve Irwin lives on

Steve will continue to live on in the minds of Australian’s, and of all other people who knew of him.

His informality, his almost irreverence religious zeal for animal preservation, and the very fact of his larger than life lifestyle and personality, has already made him a legendary figure. His current status though, probably still not comparable to that notoriously loved Australian outlaw, and well known bushranger, Ned Kelly, will live on, in perhaps much the same way.

He will be revered also as the people’s hero, amongst the downtrodden. His downtrodden were the wildlife which he so dearly loved.

Steve was controversial in both his approach, and in his thinking. He had no time for sustainable use in regard to wildlife, seeing this as just ridiculous politically based propaganda, but nobody could ever negate his very real passion for wildlife.

Steve’s own ideas about showcasing Australian wildlife continue to live on in his Australian zoo. His was always a hands on approach. His dream lives on.

Steve was charismatic in his controversial, larrikin style ways, and this endeared him to the public, mainly because of his obvious passion to his cause, and to his sheer dedication, to what he whole heartedly believed in.

One way that Steve could never have been described is, as in this Australian slang expression, ”as dead, as a maggot,” but when he was upset, he was often, ”as mad, as a cut snake.”

Steve left a legacy of ideas, that has altered the way that Australian’s feel about their environment, and many of us have also now become fierce protectors of the wildlife, and the environment, but not of course even half as well, as he was.

He has almost single-handedly forever altered this part of the normally accepted norm of Australian cultural thinking, and that is so often displayed in the time honoured phrase,

” she’ll be right, mate. ”

This is the layback, casual, ”leave it until tomorrow,” type of attitude.

It is the, ”if it ain’t broke, leave it alone, & don’t fix it,” types of mentality.

This is the characterisation that used to so much personify, and represent the laconic, slow speaking, always drunk, type of typically male, oriented character, that generally depicted the normal stereo type, of an Aussie bloke, or a, ”good sort of a fella.”

When Steve was around, these types of phrases were never used. Steve always wanted to make things better, to improve things, and he would never accept, or leave things to be right, or unfixed, when they were wrong, in his own mind.

This change in the mentality of the normally laid back Australian, to thinking that even they can make a difference, is perhaps the biggest change that Steve Irwin has brought to the Australian culture, and to the characterisation of its people.