Australia and America has lost a great mate.
For the past few years Steve Irwin has been the Aussie Americans knew best. He was your mate.
For those of us who were lucky enough to have worked with him promoting Australia, he was our mate.
His extraordinary enthusiasm and passion for life, his unequalled devotion to the animal world, his big hearted love for his country and his efforts to get more Americans Down Under made us proud - of him, and of what he so magnificently represented.
We thank America for taking him to your hearts. By doing that you gave him the power to make his dream of a better understanding of the natural world a reality.
You will miss him, and so will we.
Steve was a great Australian and a great man.
STEVE IRWIN'S CONTRIBUTION TO AUSTRALIAN TOURISM
Tourism Australia's Vice President The Americas, Michael Londregan, said today that Steve Irwin had made an unequalled contribution to Australia's tourism industry.
"He was the bright, passionate face of Australia. People, particularly here in the US, saw in him what they most loved about our country, and they loved him for it," he said.
"His Australia Zoo has become a huge attraction for Americans visiting Australia not just because of Steve's incredible popularity, but because he and Terri had built around them a team of fantastic young Aussies who share their love of nature and desire to entertain and educate people.
"The Zoo was built on that dream and it will continue to draw people from all over the world.
"At Tourism Australia we want to make particular mention of the contribution Steve made to our G'Day LA: Australia Week promotions here in the US. For the past two years Steve has given us his time and his energy to promote Australia. No one did more.
"It's impossible to quantify the impact Steve's presence and support had. It's just immeasurable.
"In 2005 he did his first live shows in the U.S. for us. And this year again he wowed thousands of Americans during his appearance at UCLA. He made so many television appearances to promote the Week, he did radio, and he walked the red carpet for us even though he was never that comfortable in that sort of situation. He did everything we asked and more - and always with boundless enthusiasm and energy. He drew the spotlight and as a result we were able to get our message about Australia out to millions of Americans.
"We're all shocked and terribly saddened."
For the past few years Steve Irwin has been the Aussie Americans knew best. He was your mate.
For those of us who were lucky enough to have worked with him promoting Australia, he was our mate.
His extraordinary enthusiasm and passion for life, his unequalled devotion to the animal world, his big hearted love for his country and his efforts to get more Americans Down Under made us proud - of him, and of what he so magnificently represented.
We thank America for taking him to your hearts. By doing that you gave him the power to make his dream of a better understanding of the natural world a reality.
You will miss him, and so will we.
Steve was a great Australian and a great man.
STEVE IRWIN'S CONTRIBUTION TO AUSTRALIAN TOURISM
Tourism Australia's Vice President The Americas, Michael Londregan, said today that Steve Irwin had made an unequalled contribution to Australia's tourism industry.
"He was the bright, passionate face of Australia. People, particularly here in the US, saw in him what they most loved about our country, and they loved him for it," he said.
"His Australia Zoo has become a huge attraction for Americans visiting Australia not just because of Steve's incredible popularity, but because he and Terri had built around them a team of fantastic young Aussies who share their love of nature and desire to entertain and educate people.
"The Zoo was built on that dream and it will continue to draw people from all over the world.
"At Tourism Australia we want to make particular mention of the contribution Steve made to our G'Day LA: Australia Week promotions here in the US. For the past two years Steve has given us his time and his energy to promote Australia. No one did more.
"It's impossible to quantify the impact Steve's presence and support had. It's just immeasurable.
"In 2005 he did his first live shows in the U.S. for us. And this year again he wowed thousands of Americans during his appearance at UCLA. He made so many television appearances to promote the Week, he did radio, and he walked the red carpet for us even though he was never that comfortable in that sort of situation. He did everything we asked and more - and always with boundless enthusiasm and energy. He drew the spotlight and as a result we were able to get our message about Australia out to millions of Americans.
"We're all shocked and terribly saddened."