Terri Irwin offers rare insight into her life in tell-all live interview with Frances Whiting
Wildlife warrior Terri Irwin has shared a rare glimpse into her private life, telling a Brisbane audience about her unusual conception, exchanging phone numbers with Steve the first time they met and the mantra that she lives by.
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Terri Irwin has given a rare glimpse into her private life, joking about being born after her dad’s vasectomy and the time she was mistaken for a lesbian.
In a tell-all live interview with The Courier-Mail’s Frances Whiting, Ms Irwin shared some of her most intimate thoughts and life experiences – including losing her husband Steve - with more than 200 guests at the Ithaca Auditorium in Brisbane’s City Hall on Wednesday night.
During her rare moment in the spotlight, Ms Irwin talked about how she’s carrying on her husband Steve‘s legacy, juggling the many roles of wildlife warrior, author, documentary maker, mother and grandmother, all while living inside a zoo.
“The (Australia Zoo) team came to me (after Steve died) and said ‘what do we do with the Zoo?’ And I go, ‘just carry on as if he was still here,’” Ms Irwin said.
“People come to Australia Zoo today and go, ‘it kinda feels like he’s still here’.
“So let that sink in, we all need to prepare for that. What is your message, your purpose, your true north, what happens when you’re gone?”
Born and bred in Oregon USA, Ms Irwin explained she got her passion for saving animals from her father, who taught her to “treat animals the way you want to be treated”.
It wasn’t until she was 27 that Terri met Steve. Already an established wildlife advocate, Ms Irwin was visiting Australia and happened to be passing through Beerwah when she spotted the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park - a name she immediately took issue with.
“I was like, don’t they know reptiles are fauna? I was pretty critical from the start,” she joked.
It was there she first laid eyes on her true blue Aussie, with a golden flowing mullet and a deep passion for crocodiles.
“I was very impressed with the humility and love that he had for the animals,” Ms Irwin said.
“Incredibly short shorts, a big hat, and a big mullet, and he was so enthusiastic.”
The pair chatted all day long, exchanging phone numbers with a promise to stay in touch.
“I thought, yeah, I’ll give you a call next time I’m in Beerwah,” she said, throwing a sarcastic thumbs up at the crowd.
She went on to talk about the perfectly comfortable relationship with Steve that followed, the adventurous lifestyle they shared and children they were blessed with.
The heartwarming talk concluded with Terri offering a piece of sage advice to the audience: “Always say yes, because sometimes we have opportunity and we say we might not be smart enough or pretty enough or worthy enough to achieve that.
“Always say yes. When I have, it hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been very worthwhile.”
Ticket proceeds from the event will be spent helping vaccinate koalas infected with chlamydia and saving sea turtles from a plastic death – two causes extremely close to Ms Irwin’s heart.
“That’s why I’m so thankful to be here at this particular event, because it’s nice that the funds go back to the conservation,” Ms Irwin said.
Ms Irwin is the first of many guests in a special talk series hosted by Frances Whiting, The Courier-Mail and The Sunday Mail.
“Terri was my No. 1 wish list for these series of talks we’ll be doing. She’s such a fascinating woman in her own right,” Whiting said.
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