Bindi Irwin looking to take over Australia Zoo and continue Steve Irwin’s legacy

IT won’t be long before Bindi Irwin has a lot more on her hands than Dancing with the Stars – including the future of Queensland’s tourism.

TAKING the reins of a multimillion-dollar tourism empire is a big call. Australia Zoo was transformed by Steve Irwin from the two-acre Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park into one of the country’s biggest and most successful attractions.

Soon it will be his daughter Bindi’s job to take control.

After Irwin tragically died when he was hit in the chest by a stingray barb in September 2006, his bright-eyed, bushy-tailed daughter’s life was changed forever.

BOYFRIEND: Bindi’s romantic getaway

When an eight-year-old Bindi stood in front of a television audience of 300 million to speak at her dad’s memorial service, the new face of Australia Zoo was discovered.

Ten years later Bindi has become an international star in her own right: a fashion designer, performer, reality show champion, conservationist and a savvy businesswoman.

Last month she was named the Young Achiever of the Year at the 2015 Queensland Tourism Awards. The trophy now sits alongside her Premier’s Young Achiever Award, the Young Conservationist of the Year gong from the Australian Geographic Society, her Logie and that mirror ball.

The teenager appears unfazed by her unofficial appointment as the corporate face of the Sunshine Coast’s multimillion-dollar business.

“Growing up where I have has been a great factor,” she said last year. “It’s not hustle and bustle and busy, so that’s helpful. We travel all over the world, but I’ve always been able to come home and run around in the middle of the Australian Outback.”

Bindi Irwin speaking at her father’s memorial service. Picture: Getty Images

She handles her growing fame with the same cool, calm attitude. Rather than hiding from the paparazzi, she offers her trademark smile and wishes them a good day.

Bindi has a lot on her hands – the future of Australia Zoo and more than 500 jobs, and her family’s impact on the state’s tourism.

In 2014 at only 14, the girl who had previously been homeschooled between crocodile shows at the zoo enrolled in a certificate III of business and tourism at the Sunshine Coast TAFE.

Now three years into her studies, she is taking on more responsibilities in the business and doing what she has long named as her life goal – to continue her father’s vision, to ensure everything that he worked for lives on.

“I’m getting ready to buckle down, work full-time and help out with the management of Australia Zoo,” she said.

“As I’ve been getting older I’ve been getting more and more involved in the workings of the zoo. There’s a lot to do.

“Wherever I go, Australia Zoo will always be my home and I’ll always work there.”

When the Irwins controversially signed as partners with SeaWorld USA, it was Bindi who represented the organisation to promote the collaboration.

She faced the media and the public, alongside senior executives from SeaWorld, and held her own, and incidents such as allegations of animal mistreatment at the zoo’s hospital and a tiger attack on a handler this week have also done nothing to take the shine off her image.

Inside Australia Zoo the vision for Bindi’s takeover is obvious.

Bindi Irwin performing with Australia Zoo’s Jungle Girls earlier this month.

Within the business she is respected and admired by the staff, many of whom worked for her family before she was even born.

“She’s looking to take over the family business eventually,” a spokeswoman for the Zoo told media after Bindi won the US Dancing With The Stars in November.

“That’s where her heart lies. It’s always been a dream of her dad’s for her to fulfil.”

While complete takeover is a while off, with mum Terri Irwin still at the helm, Bindi is well on her way to the top spot, the spokeswoman said.

US-born Terri took the reins of the empire when husband Steve died. The stoic and often guarded matriarch of the family has been a mentor to her only daughter.

Robert, Terri and Bindi Irwin. Terri has been a mentor to her only daughter.

Bindi has often said her mum is the strongest woman she knows. “She’s carried on Dad’s legacy and I don’t know anyone else who could have done it better than her. No matter what life throws at us, she’s unchangeable. I want to be like her as I grow up,” she said.

Rounding out the family is Robert. With an eerie similarity to his late father, the youngest member of the Irwin clan is also on the rise in the business. Following in his sister’s footsteps, Robert is creating his own brand, while flying the flag as his big sister’s No.1 fan.

Another supporter of the young entrepreneur is Queensland business mogul Sarina Russo.

A migrant who built her international business from the ground up, Russo says Bindi Irwin’s success is a combination or hard work and passion.

“She has been raised to believe that anything is possible … She is fearless,” Russo says. “It is her passion that is the secret sauce.

“Bindi is an inspiration, not just for young people but for adults like me.”

Bindi Irwin seemingly takes on every challenge in the same style, with a beaming smile, time for everyone who passes her way and usually wearing khaki, but it’s just the beginning for the bubbly teen.

“I’ve been privileged to have done so much. But my life journey is only just starting,” she has said.

Email Kris Crane