Co-founder of Australia Zoo and wildlife rehabilitator. Lyn along with her husband Bob started the sanctuary in 1970 by taking in pets such as snakes, lizards and the occasional joey. She would rehabilitate orphaned or injured animals, while raising three children, which her middle child who was born on her birthday, wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin, took over operations of the sanctuary and has become a celebrity in his own right since his "Crocodile Hunter" TV show began in 1992. The sanctuary that's located on the Sunshine Coast in Beerwah, Queensland Australia was renamed in 1998 as Australia Zoo. For all of the involved dangers she either witnessed or was involved in, such as catching crocodilian with her husband and son and encounters with snakes, she died in a single vehicle automobile accident.
To honor his late mother and continue her work, Irwin has established the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund. Contributions to the zoo in her name will help the Australia Zoo rehabilitate endangered animals for release back into the wild.
Another way of honoring his late mother, Steve and Terri Irwin renovated a small avacado packing shed that was on the grounds of Australia Zoo into a functional wildlife hospital.
On November 15, 2008, two years after the famed conservationists passing, a brand new facility was opened to meet the increasing daily number of wildlife patients that was flooding the small hospital’s doors. This day, also known as ‘Steve Irwin Day’ globally, also has its own hashtag of #KHAKIIT.∼Loved by her family and admired by those that knew her passion for the animals she nurtured and saved; Lyn Irwin was the mother of famed conservationist Steve Irwin and along with her husband Bob, the co-founder of what is known today as the Australia Zoo.
Below is a tribute to her written by her son Steve; before his untimely death in 2006.
Way, way back in February of 1962 I was born right fair smack on my Mum's 20th birthday. Crikey! A birthday present she'll never forget. The umbilical cord of our souls was never cut, to this very day I am connected to my Mum, I cry for her now, I'll cry for her forever.
I know pain, I've been busted up, smashed up, hospitalised. My body has been traumatised and injured for over 40 years, but the pain of losing my Mum is unbearable and relentless. There is no medication - just tears.
I am crying so hard writing this that the paper on which I write is saturated. Oh God this hurts. My daughter Bindi came in one door as you went out another. My son baby Bob will never know you - here is real, fair dinkum pain.
You come to me in my dreams; your spirit is with every wedge tailed eagle; I feel your breath in the westerly wind, but most of all I see your genes in my princess Bindi and my baby boy Bob.
My Mum was killed in a car crash in the year 2000. She was the Mother Theresa of wildlife, a saint, and she will be remembered forever.
I loved my Mum more than anything in the world. She nurtured, protected, and loved me all my life. Lyn Irwin was a true "Australian Pioneer Woman", dedicating her entire life to the rehabilitation and conservation of both the wildlife and her family. Every single day she worked and toiled to save injured and orphaned joeys while maintaining a happy healthy Irwin clan.
Oh gosh! I miss you, Mum. I miss you every minute of every day, and the pain of losing you tears my heart out. But I'll stay strong; I promise you I'll stay strong - for it was you who taught me to be a "Wildlife Warrior".
You worked with me for thirty-eight years to help me become the man I am today. You suckled me, changed my nappy, packed me off to school, blessed me with a career that is my whole life, cried with me when my pet snake died, belted me with your shoe when I was really naughty, fought for me, protected me, pushed me forward when the going got tough, and raised me to fight for the preservation of wildlife until the day I die.
I've adopted your strength, your passion and enthusiasm, your dedication and commitment, and will honour your presence by continuing to push forward as hard and fast as I possibly can, to ensure the survival of our precious wildlife, the wilderness, and in essence, the human race. For without fresh water, trees, animals, and ecosystems, the world we know would not support human life; it would be an ugly, awful place. The spirit of Lynette Leslie Irwin, Lyn Irwin, my Mum, lives forever. Every time you see a sick, injured, orphaned animal, you'll see Lyn. I love you; I miss you, I long to be reunited with you.
Steve
To honor his late mother and continue her work, Irwin has established the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund. Contributions to the zoo in her name will help the Australia Zoo rehabilitate endangered animals for release back into the wild.
Another way of honoring his late mother, Steve and Terri Irwin renovated a small avacado packing shed that was on the grounds of Australia Zoo into a functional wildlife hospital.
On November 15, 2008, two years after the famed conservationists passing, a brand new facility was opened to meet the increasing daily number of wildlife patients that was flooding the small hospital’s doors. This day, also known as ‘Steve Irwin Day’ globally, also has its own hashtag of #KHAKIIT.∼Loved by her family and admired by those that knew her passion for the animals she nurtured and saved; Lyn Irwin was the mother of famed conservationist Steve Irwin and along with her husband Bob, the co-founder of what is known today as the Australia Zoo.
Below is a tribute to her written by her son Steve; before his untimely death in 2006.
Way, way back in February of 1962 I was born right fair smack on my Mum's 20th birthday. Crikey! A birthday present she'll never forget. The umbilical cord of our souls was never cut, to this very day I am connected to my Mum, I cry for her now, I'll cry for her forever.
I know pain, I've been busted up, smashed up, hospitalised. My body has been traumatised and injured for over 40 years, but the pain of losing my Mum is unbearable and relentless. There is no medication - just tears.
I am crying so hard writing this that the paper on which I write is saturated. Oh God this hurts. My daughter Bindi came in one door as you went out another. My son baby Bob will never know you - here is real, fair dinkum pain.
You come to me in my dreams; your spirit is with every wedge tailed eagle; I feel your breath in the westerly wind, but most of all I see your genes in my princess Bindi and my baby boy Bob.
My Mum was killed in a car crash in the year 2000. She was the Mother Theresa of wildlife, a saint, and she will be remembered forever.
I loved my Mum more than anything in the world. She nurtured, protected, and loved me all my life. Lyn Irwin was a true "Australian Pioneer Woman", dedicating her entire life to the rehabilitation and conservation of both the wildlife and her family. Every single day she worked and toiled to save injured and orphaned joeys while maintaining a happy healthy Irwin clan.
Oh gosh! I miss you, Mum. I miss you every minute of every day, and the pain of losing you tears my heart out. But I'll stay strong; I promise you I'll stay strong - for it was you who taught me to be a "Wildlife Warrior".
You worked with me for thirty-eight years to help me become the man I am today. You suckled me, changed my nappy, packed me off to school, blessed me with a career that is my whole life, cried with me when my pet snake died, belted me with your shoe when I was really naughty, fought for me, protected me, pushed me forward when the going got tough, and raised me to fight for the preservation of wildlife until the day I die.
I've adopted your strength, your passion and enthusiasm, your dedication and commitment, and will honour your presence by continuing to push forward as hard and fast as I possibly can, to ensure the survival of our precious wildlife, the wilderness, and in essence, the human race. For without fresh water, trees, animals, and ecosystems, the world we know would not support human life; it would be an ugly, awful place. The spirit of Lynette Leslie Irwin, Lyn Irwin, my Mum, lives forever. Every time you see a sick, injured, orphaned animal, you'll see Lyn. I love you; I miss you, I long to be reunited with you.
Steve
Co-founder of Australia Zoo and wildlife rehabilitator. Lyn along with her husband Bob started the sanctuary in 1970 by taking in pets such as snakes, lizards and the occasional joey. She would rehabilitate orphaned or injured animals, while raising three children, which her middle child who was born on her birthday, wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin, took over operations of the sanctuary and has become a celebrity in his own right since his "Crocodile Hunter" TV show began in 1992. The sanctuary that's located on the Sunshine Coast in Beerwah, Queensland Australia was renamed in 1998 as Australia Zoo. For all of the involved dangers she either witnessed or was involved in, such as catching crocodilian with her husband and son and encounters with snakes, she died in a single vehicle automobile accident.
To honor his late mother and continue her work, Irwin has established the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund. Contributions to the zoo in her name will help the Australia Zoo rehabilitate endangered animals for release back into the wild.
Another way of honoring his late mother, Steve and Terri Irwin renovated a small avacado packing shed that was on the grounds of Australia Zoo into a functional wildlife hospital.
On November 15, 2008, two years after the famed conservationists passing, a brand new facility was opened to meet the increasing daily number of wildlife patients that was flooding the small hospital’s doors. This day, also known as ‘Steve Irwin Day’ globally, also has its own hashtag of #KHAKIIT.∼Loved by her family and admired by those that knew her passion for the animals she nurtured and saved; Lyn Irwin was the mother of famed conservationist Steve Irwin and along with her husband Bob, the co-founder of what is known today as the Australia Zoo.
Below is a tribute to her written by her son Steve; before his untimely death in 2006.
Way, way back in February of 1962 I was born right fair smack on my Mum's 20th birthday. Crikey! A birthday present she'll never forget. The umbilical cord of our souls was never cut, to this very day I am connected to my Mum, I cry for her now, I'll cry for her forever.
I know pain, I've been busted up, smashed up, hospitalised. My body has been traumatised and injured for over 40 years, but the pain of losing my Mum is unbearable and relentless. There is no medication - just tears.
I am crying so hard writing this that the paper on which I write is saturated. Oh God this hurts. My daughter Bindi came in one door as you went out another. My son baby Bob will never know you - here is real, fair dinkum pain.
You come to me in my dreams; your spirit is with every wedge tailed eagle; I feel your breath in the westerly wind, but most of all I see your genes in my princess Bindi and my baby boy Bob.
My Mum was killed in a car crash in the year 2000. She was the Mother Theresa of wildlife, a saint, and she will be remembered forever.
I loved my Mum more than anything in the world. She nurtured, protected, and loved me all my life. Lyn Irwin was a true "Australian Pioneer Woman", dedicating her entire life to the rehabilitation and conservation of both the wildlife and her family. Every single day she worked and toiled to save injured and orphaned joeys while maintaining a happy healthy Irwin clan.
Oh gosh! I miss you, Mum. I miss you every minute of every day, and the pain of losing you tears my heart out. But I'll stay strong; I promise you I'll stay strong - for it was you who taught me to be a "Wildlife Warrior".
You worked with me for thirty-eight years to help me become the man I am today. You suckled me, changed my nappy, packed me off to school, blessed me with a career that is my whole life, cried with me when my pet snake died, belted me with your shoe when I was really naughty, fought for me, protected me, pushed me forward when the going got tough, and raised me to fight for the preservation of wildlife until the day I die.
I've adopted your strength, your passion and enthusiasm, your dedication and commitment, and will honour your presence by continuing to push forward as hard and fast as I possibly can, to ensure the survival of our precious wildlife, the wilderness, and in essence, the human race. For without fresh water, trees, animals, and ecosystems, the world we know would not support human life; it would be an ugly, awful place. The spirit of Lynette Leslie Irwin, Lyn Irwin, my Mum, lives forever. Every time you see a sick, injured, orphaned animal, you'll see Lyn. I love you; I miss you, I long to be reunited with you.
Steve
To honor his late mother and continue her work, Irwin has established the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund. Contributions to the zoo in her name will help the Australia Zoo rehabilitate endangered animals for release back into the wild.
Another way of honoring his late mother, Steve and Terri Irwin renovated a small avacado packing shed that was on the grounds of Australia Zoo into a functional wildlife hospital.
On November 15, 2008, two years after the famed conservationists passing, a brand new facility was opened to meet the increasing daily number of wildlife patients that was flooding the small hospital’s doors. This day, also known as ‘Steve Irwin Day’ globally, also has its own hashtag of #KHAKIIT.∼Loved by her family and admired by those that knew her passion for the animals she nurtured and saved; Lyn Irwin was the mother of famed conservationist Steve Irwin and along with her husband Bob, the co-founder of what is known today as the Australia Zoo.
Below is a tribute to her written by her son Steve; before his untimely death in 2006.
Way, way back in February of 1962 I was born right fair smack on my Mum's 20th birthday. Crikey! A birthday present she'll never forget. The umbilical cord of our souls was never cut, to this very day I am connected to my Mum, I cry for her now, I'll cry for her forever.
I know pain, I've been busted up, smashed up, hospitalised. My body has been traumatised and injured for over 40 years, but the pain of losing my Mum is unbearable and relentless. There is no medication - just tears.
I am crying so hard writing this that the paper on which I write is saturated. Oh God this hurts. My daughter Bindi came in one door as you went out another. My son baby Bob will never know you - here is real, fair dinkum pain.
You come to me in my dreams; your spirit is with every wedge tailed eagle; I feel your breath in the westerly wind, but most of all I see your genes in my princess Bindi and my baby boy Bob.
My Mum was killed in a car crash in the year 2000. She was the Mother Theresa of wildlife, a saint, and she will be remembered forever.
I loved my Mum more than anything in the world. She nurtured, protected, and loved me all my life. Lyn Irwin was a true "Australian Pioneer Woman", dedicating her entire life to the rehabilitation and conservation of both the wildlife and her family. Every single day she worked and toiled to save injured and orphaned joeys while maintaining a happy healthy Irwin clan.
Oh gosh! I miss you, Mum. I miss you every minute of every day, and the pain of losing you tears my heart out. But I'll stay strong; I promise you I'll stay strong - for it was you who taught me to be a "Wildlife Warrior".
You worked with me for thirty-eight years to help me become the man I am today. You suckled me, changed my nappy, packed me off to school, blessed me with a career that is my whole life, cried with me when my pet snake died, belted me with your shoe when I was really naughty, fought for me, protected me, pushed me forward when the going got tough, and raised me to fight for the preservation of wildlife until the day I die.
I've adopted your strength, your passion and enthusiasm, your dedication and commitment, and will honour your presence by continuing to push forward as hard and fast as I possibly can, to ensure the survival of our precious wildlife, the wilderness, and in essence, the human race. For without fresh water, trees, animals, and ecosystems, the world we know would not support human life; it would be an ugly, awful place. The spirit of Lynette Leslie Irwin, Lyn Irwin, my Mum, lives forever. Every time you see a sick, injured, orphaned animal, you'll see Lyn. I love you; I miss you, I long to be reunited with you.
Steve
Family Members
See more Irwin or Hakainsson memorials in:
- Find a Grave Irwin or Hakainsson
