This  is our first day back on location filming with Bindi.
Steve was supposed to get on it, but Fatty did instead.
That's what we do with Bindi. We say, 'Ride the bison and if you're safe we'll look at it'.
Bindi can kind of lead him up. Take him down there and just start him from there.
And you can kind of lead him up here.
At the moment, just for the next
week or two, we'll just do odd days, just
testing, seeing how Bindi's going to cope
with getting back into it, and Terri as well and Wes.
Remember to love him honey.
Yep.
Okay here we go.
You know, the hardest thing is when you...you're struck
by a tragedy like this, that everybody...
You tend to, you know, grieve and you're down
and it's depressing, but I'm dealing with
the Irwin family, and they're the most professional
family I've ever worked with.
Just wait until he gets turned around and you can go up and take your buffalo.
If I say, "We're
rolling," they will pick themselves up for
that shot, probably deflate a bit after it.
But basically, they know when the camera's
on, Terri and Bindi, but that you have to
put on a brave face and a smile and carry on.
This is Humphrey. He's a bison from America.
Bindi is an amazing little girl. She is a
real professional. The thing about Bindi is
she seems to enjoy it.
Filming, for her, is very much like other
kids' soccer, you know. It's like her cricket,
it's like her soccer, it's like her sport.
So, right from the word go, Terri was very
clever in saying to Bindi, "Well, Bindi, whenever
you want to get back to filming," because
she knows she loves it so much, "then you
make the decision." So we just haven't really
said much more than that and, pretty much,
Bindi has been basically going, "Come on,
I want to start filming again, I want to start
getting out there, I want to start spreading
Dad's message," and I think that's part of
her way of coping as well. And she just loves
performing and filming, so here we are, starting
to film. It's a little bit different now,
of course, because Stevie's not around, so
it's kind of me and Terri and John just feeling
the waves and seeing how things are going.
But Bindi's just wonderful, so... She's...she's
a little rock, yeah.
I'm trying to get across the message that...
don't be afraid of animals. They're just put
on this earth to help the environment and
everything like that. Some people think 
that I would be afraid of them, but I'm never,
ever afraid of an animal. I just get excited,
and some that are dangerous, I think, "Ooh,
what's going to happen?" and things like that.
I'd met Steve in the late '80s. He'd given
me about 16 videotapes that he'd recorded
catching crocodiles. So, one night I got home
and watched this tape till 3'clock in the
morning, and at the end of that I was so amazed
by the vision I'd seen. It was so different,
it was so unique. He came across so well.
It was just amazing, what I was feeling.
We did the first two shows and, oh, crikey,
I find them embarrassing. And I was struggling.
John comes up to me, he goes, "Stevo, this
is what you got to do, mate - don't change.
"Just be natural, just be you."
I'm not a superstitious person but, over the
years, Steve and I learnt that when times
were really good, that there was a pitfall
happening, that we were going to fall down
really bad and crash. At the beginning of
this year, I had a premonition that... that
this was my last year. Because it was so strong,
I made a will for the first time in my life,
and because I had family history of cancer
and stuff, I started having tests. I didn't
have any problems, but it still was there
and I couldn't work out why. And...and then
suddenly the tragedy hit us on Bat Reef, and
it came to me that it wasn't me that I was
feeling the premonition about, it was really
Steve, because my world did end with Steve
on that reef. Steve never, ever thought that
he would be taken by an animal. He just...he
was comfortable with animals, he was at one.
He could understand nearly every animal he
dealt with. He had no fear of them. We set
out, at the end of August, to meet Steve in
Lakefield National Park, 'cause he'd been
up there for five weeks on a crocodile research
mission with the Queensland University and
National Parks and Wildlife. And I'd always
planned that I would bring the crew in at
the end of that trip
and film the last couple of days of the last
croc capture.
Looking back on it, it's quite sad to think
that that was the very final time that Steve
would be there with his dad Bob, with Terri,
with his little Robert and Bindi, and they
had the best time, they really did have a
great family time. Even though Steve was working,
doing research on crocodiles, he had plenty
of time to devote to the family.
The last day that we got there to film, Steve
did a little speech to all the crew and thanked
them, and turned to me and said thank you
to me for helping him through, you know, for
all over the years that we've worked together,
and when I look at that back, it's really
eerie.
It's all about great people coming together
and achieving milestones. You too, Johnny,
you're an absolute genius behind those cameras
and it's only because of you and what you've
contributed to us, John, in the last 10 years
that we're all standing here.
One thing about Steve was he made sure that
the people around him knew that he loved them
more than anything on earth, you know. He
was a very hard-exterior guy, you know, tough,
robust, charges everything, but incredibly
soft guy deep down.
It's because of Johnny, this guy's just a
legend and he's been so successful with what
we've done.
And I understand now why he did it, because
we don't know what's around the corner, no-one
does.
Thank you, John.
Not a problem.
Tonight tragedy on the Reef, Steve Irwin killed
by a stingray.
Today the world has lost a great wildlife
icon, a passionate conservationist and one
of the proudest dads on the planet.
The man known as the Crocodile Hunter, Steve
Irwin, has died.
He was diving with stingrays when one speared
him through the chest. It happened on Bat
Reef just after 11am.
Steve Irwin is survived by wife Terri, who's
been travelling in Tasmania, and children
Bindi and Bob. They'll ensure the legend lives
on.
I am a wildlife warrior and I will fight,
fight to the death for wildlife.
For me to step into the very first press conference
which happened that afternoon, it was probably
the worst experience I've ever felt. We walked
into the room and I just saw this sea of faces
looking at me as I walked in, and there was
silence. And the emotion just came so hard
inside of me I couldn't walk, I couldn't do
anything, I just walked straight through them
and said, "I can't do this." And I walked
into another room, the other side. And I sat
in there for about five minutes and tried
to compose myself. And I kept saying, "Steve
would want you to do this, John. You've got
to do it, you've got to do it. Steve would
you want you to do this. He'd do it, he'd
do it for you." And so I just got up and I
went in, sat down."
You'll have to bear with me, guys. I'll just
say a brief statement.
Every second I talked to John on the phone
he was crying, and yet he had to push through
that and get on camera and talk to I don't
know how many journalists.
He died what he did... he loved doing best.
And he left this world in a happy and peaceful
state of mind. He would have said, "Crocs
rule." OK. Questions.
Your mind's in this period of just a horrendous
grieving process, and so I'd just see him
and he'd be just, I mean, just a mess.
And the next minute he's gone and it's shocking.
It's a very hard thing to watch because you're
actually witnessing somebody die.
The only vision that I have that is the strongest
image I have in my mind is Steve dying on
the, on the back of that boat. And I can't
get rid of that. I can't see any other vision
past that boat, the back of that boat. And
that is where the hurt is and the sadness
is because there was so much that, that we
really enjoyed, you know and there's so many
things that we did in life and I can't get
past the back of the boat at all.
I mean, right from the word go John has born
the brunt of a lot of the media attention.
He's allowed both Bindi, Bob, myself, Terri
and the family to get over that initial hump,
that initial shock when you don't really want
to talk to anybody, you know, you don't even
want to look at anybody. And John just took
that on the chin.
I've been both surprised and amazed, I guess,
by the public reaction from all over the world.
We've had some amazing letters and gifts from
people from everywhere and I can't thank them
enough. Terri informed me that there was an
offer of a state funeral for Steve. I think
all of us decided at that time that that wasn't
what Steve would have wanted. Steve would
have wanted to have it in an area where he
really loved.
I knew people would be sad at certain points
but then I'd try and lift it again with some
comedy and some funny bits because Steve was
an entertainer. I mean he, you look at him,
you smile.
We had no incompetent people around us, we've
only had top cameramen like this guy, and
everybody that worked with us got us to where
we were, that's part of our team. I can't
handle anyone who is not professional and
doesn't do their job and gives me backchat
or says, "No, can't be done." We're all understood.
You can't get voices out of the back of your
head. But I rest my case.
I can understand why people think that you
can be overdemanding of them, but I still
in the back of my mind, I know what I want
and I find it very frustrating that I have
to have it done exactly how I want it done.
It's one of my worst traits.
G'day. I'm John Stainton. I'm Steve's best
mate, his producer, director...
But by far Steve's greatest achievement has
been as a dad. His love and dedication to
his children has been inspiring. To me he
was my hero. He saved my life. I'll miss you,
mate.
A lot of the key speakers were locked in.
When it came to the family - Terri, Bindi,
Bob - I left it totally open.
The animals have lost the best friend they
ever had and so have I. Thank you very much,
ladies and gentlemen.
And Bindi was a contender you know, because
she was quite comfortable talking out in front
of a crowd and she was quite composed. So
she was going to be a starter.
How big that is I don't think she probably
understands at this point. She certainly knows
that when she does what she does people enjoy
it, and I think that's what she gets a bit
of a kick out of, actually.
My daddy was my hero.
And she looks at you just with these kid eyes
with no, you know... she doesn't worry, "Oh,
gee, do you think I look alright?" She's very
much like Steve in that respect. It's, like,
"Here I am. This is who I am. What do you
think?"
I had the best daddy in the whole world and
I will miss him every day. When I see a crocodile
I will always think of him.
She's just really a smaller version of her
dad.
Everyone could come and learn to love all
the animals.
She wrote that speech for the memorial all
by herself, nobody corrected anything, and
she was just absolutely terrific.
Daddy made this place his whole life. Now
it's our turn to help Daddy. Thank you.
I think she was probably the star attraction
of the whole memorial service. I think because
she stood out so well that it started a bit
of a groundswell of media attention to the
fact of was Bindi being pushed out there too
quick? Or was she being not allowed to grieve?
Or was she not going through the process?
And she shouldn't be doing television, she
shouldn't be doing this sort of work so early.
Steve really was looking forward to the Nickelodeon
Kids' Choice Awards. So the whole thing was
set up to give Bindi a great night out. He
was so proud that she was going to come down
and walk the orange carpet with him. And together
they would've been just a great team. And
she just jumped at the chance. Do you know
what? It was the first time that I've seen
in four or five weeks, a beaming smile on
her face. I was so proud of her. We briefed
her very, very thoroughly on the noise levels
that she was going to have. I also told her,
warned her of the press, how they'd be screaming
her name and be wanting to ask questions of
her. And I told her that I would always be
there to just move her along when I felt that
she'd had enough with one or two people.
Bindi Irwin has become one of the biggest
names in the country at just eight years of
age.
There's a lot of pressure on that little girl.
She's been thrust into this job of being the
front person for the whole empire.
I didn't want her to get swamped with a lot
of questions that would probably get into
an emotional state of the tragedy that we'd
had.
You saw her last night answering questions
on the red carpet. It did seem to me they
were terribly rehearsed sort of answers.
You mentioned, of course, she was at the Nickelodeon
Awards last night. I do worry, though, a bit
about how Bindi Irwin is forever discussed.
I reckon it's an industry you should keep
children away from at all costs.
I know there are people out there probably
saying "She shouldn't have come out this early,"
or, "She shouldn't be doing those sort of
shows at that age." She does what she really
wants to do. No-one is telling her she has
to do that. It's always a question, "Do you
want to go and do this? Do you want to do
the red carpet? You don't have to do anything
at all." She does not have to do anything
at all she does not want to. I think they
don't understand her, that this little girl
is very much enjoying what she's doing, it's
part of her life. And I think the fact that
she has been doing it, she does it very well,
she's professional in what she does that I
think it's harder for her not to be able to
do that than anything. And I think the, sort
of, psychologists or psychiatrists or child
counsellors or whatever, that jumped on the
bandwagon and said that it was harmful to
her, don't understand
the situation whatsoever.
Bindi totally understands what has happened.
I mean, she's been brought up in a zoo where
a lot of animals have died. Sui, Steve's dog,
a couple of years ago. A very emotional time
for the whole family. And she's seen Steve,
her dad, upset very strongly over the loss
of animals.
I’m not really sure how Bindi feels herself
but I've actually been with her and we've...we've
both spoken to Steve. And she actually speaks
to him like, like he's there helping her.
I think she's just dealt with it like any
normal kid. She talks about him, she misses
him. She cries for him. So she's doing everything
normal. She's not bottling it up and, you
know, not talking. I mean, she talks about
Steve every day. So I think her grieving process
is very normal.
Humphrey is five years old and he's still
growing.
The big things that I've learnt from my dad
is that you can just say what you want to
say. Even though I give you the piece, you
just, you can add things in with it.
I think people hunted them for their really
pretty fur. And they used to eat them, which
is really, really sad. But we're so lucky
because we've got Humphrey.
I thought that Humphrey was an amazing bison.
He was pretty big because you're looking up
and you're going, "Wow, that's pretty big
for a bison." But he's just so cute and he's
such a friendly bison.
They're a very close family. I mean, the fact
that you know Steve's not in the group any
more, they're still a family and they still
have to go ahead and Terri is very aware that
she has to pick up very quickly and move on.
John Stainton is much more than just a friend
to Steve and I and Terri. John has been more
family to us. He's done amazing things for
Steve and he is now going to do amazing things
for Terri and Bindi.
We all make sure that we keep in really close
contact. And, you know, the filming's been
good today because of that. You know, we're
all together again and we're all working together
again and looking after each other. I mean,
John's family pretty much. He's always been
there. I can't remember a time when he wasn't
there, you know.
The danger element has always been there with
Steve because he's in the firing line. With
Bindi, it's going to be a lot softer. The
animals that she comes in contact with are
not going to be ones that will hurt her. But
we have to be mindful of it. We have to be
always mindful of that. Because things can
backfire on us, like with the baby Bob incident.
Baby Bob Irwin is only one month old. He can't
even support his own head, but yesterday his
father introduced him to the world in a crocodile
pen.
The only time we ever came into, it wasn't
conflict, it was just a difference of opinion
of how to deal with something.
In front of that crocodile, I was in complete
control.
But others say that Steve Irwin should've
known better.
What I tried to say to Steve was, "Look, just
go out and say you're sorry and it will all
go away." And he said, "No, I'm not doing
that. I can't. I won't say I'm sorry because
I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't put my
baby in jeopardy, or in harm's way."
This one bizarre act, according to some observers,
could undermine a very successful marketing
tool.
It was like throwing a hand grenade into our
world. And it sort of set off a few chain
reactions.
Believes the Steve Irwin icon has been tarnished.
I thought, "OK, it's time for a change. I
think we probably need to look at a new image
for Steve." But it was out of character and
the audience couldn't see Steve as Steve any
more, so there was a reaction against that.
You know, they were not used to not seeing
him in khakis. And I think, in hindsight,
I wouldn't have done it, I shouldn't have
done that. At the moment we're into a series
which is called 'Bindi the Jungle Girl'.
Bindi the jungle girl is really lucky because
she lives in a treehouse and she gets lots
of animals in and out. She hangs out with
lots of wildlife. She just loves kissing her
koala or hugging a snake. So, yeah.
We've done about seven episodes up till now.
We've got another 19 to go for this series.
The way that it works is that Steve plays
co-star to Bindi. It's just the little reactions
that she gives to her dad who's doing silly
stuff. But she just sort of you know, has
that little quiet, "Mmm." It's great. It was
only when we were shooting these first episodes,
I said to Steve, "You know, this little girl
is going to eclipse you. She's going to be
a bigger star than you ever have been." And
he said, "Bring it on." We'll never refer
to the fact that Steve is no longer with us.
It'll just flow. You won't see the seventh
episode and then he disappears. Those seven
episodes you know, will be tailored right
through and it might be episode 26 and he's
still in it. I don't think anyone's really
going to notice it too much. I don't think,
because he's such a powerful force in the
show anyway, I don't think they're going to
lose too much of him not being in the hostings.
My favourite animal would probably be, probably
be a dingo. Because I like how in the night
you can, at the zoo, you can hear them howl
and stuff like that. It's just amazing.
Since I met Steve at 14, every day of my life
I've thought of him. You know, he taught me
everything I knew. To lose that, you know,
I think it's so early yet, I think I've got
a long hard road to go.
You can't get a second act like Steve. There's
no second act for me. There is the challenge
of helping Bindi grow and become a success
and that challenge is a separate thing to
the excitement and the bonding and the power
of what Steve and I created. It's different.
And it's gone.
John Stainton isn't only a friend of mine,
he is the person that I would like to guide
Bindi through the rest of her career. And
I think she's going to have a really, really
big career. John will work closely with Terri.
And I think with the two of them it will be
a perfect match.
When it comes to the end of the day, Terri
is the greatest mum in the world and she knows
exactly what is good for Bindi and she will
be there to guide it through. It may be some
time before I get a direction. And I know
we're going forward. In the long term, I don't
know. I don't know how I'll react or cope
or what I do or whether I want to give it
all away.
