Conventional long name	Commonwealth of Australia
Common name	Australia
Image coat	Australian Coat of Arms.png
Map width	220px
National anthem	"Advance Australia Fair"|name"anthem explanation"|group"N"}}

|official_languages = None |languages_type = National language |languages = English (''de facto'') |capital = Canberra |largest_city = Sydney |government_type =Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy |leader_title1 = Monarch |leader_title2 = Governor-General |leader_title3 = Prime Minister |leader_name1 = Elizabeth II |leader_name2 = Quentin Bryce |leader_name3 = Julia Gillard |legislature = Parliament |upper_house = Senate |lower_house = House of Representatives |area_rank = 6th |area_magnitude = 1 E12 |area_km2 = 7617930 |percent_water = |population_estimate = }} |population_estimate_year = |population_estimate_rank = 50th |population_census = 19,855,288 |population_census_year = 2006 |population_density_km2 = 2.8 |population_density_rank = 233rd |sovereignty_type = Independence |sovereignty_note = from the United Kingdom |established_event1 = Constitution |established_event2 = Statute of Westminster |established_event3 = Statute of Westminster Adoption Act |established_event4 = Australia Act |established_date1 = 1 January 1901 |established_date2 = 11 December 1931 |established_date3 = 9 October 1942 (with effect from 3 September 1939) |established_date4 = 3 March 1986 |currency = Australian dollar |currency_code = AUD |time_zone = various |utc_offset = +8 to +10.5 |time_zone_DST = various |utc_offset_DST = +8 to +11.5 |demonym = Australian, Aussie |drives_on = left |cctld = .au |calling_code = +61 |ISO_3166-1_alpha2 = AU |ISO_3166-1_alpha3 = AUS |ISO_3166-1_numeric = 036 |sport_code = AUS |vehicle_code = AUS |GDP_PPP_year = 2011 |GDP_PPP = $918.978 billion |GDP_PPP_rank = 18th |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $40,836 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 12th |GDP_nominal = $1.507 trillion |GDP_nominal_rank = 13th |GDP_nominal_year = 2011 |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $66,984 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 5th |Gini = 30.5 |Gini_category = medium |Gini_year = 2006 |HDI_year = 2011 |HDI = 0.929 |HDI_rank = 2nd |HDI_category = very high }} Australia (), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.|name="Southern Ocean"|group="N"}} It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.

For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Since Federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system which functions as a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The federation comprises six states and several territories. The population of 22.7 million is heavily concentrated in the Eastern states and is highly urbanised.

A highly developed country, Australia is the world's thirteenth largest economy and has the world's fifth-highest per capita income. Australia's military expenditure is the world's twelfth largest. With the second-highest human development index globally, Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights. Australia is a member of the G20, OECD, WTO, APEC, UN, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Etymology

Pronounced in Australian English, the name ''Australia'' is derived from the Latin ''australis'', meaning "southern". The country has been referred to colloquially as ''Oz'' since the early 20th century. ''Aussie'' is a common colloquial term for "Australian". In neighbouring New Zealand the term "Aussie" is sometimes applied as a noun to the nation as well as its residents.

Legends of ''Terra Australis Incognita''—an "unknown land of the South"—date back to Roman times and were commonplace in medieval geography, although not based on any documented knowledge of the continent. Following European discovery, names for the Australian landmass were often references to the famed ''Terra Australis''.

The earliest recorded use of the word ''Australia'' in English was in 1625 in "A note of Australia del Espíritu Santo, written by Master Hakluyt", published by Samuel Purchas in ''Hakluytus Posthumus'', a corruption of the original Spanish name ''Austrialia del Espíritu Santo'' for an island in Vanuatu. The Dutch adjectival form ''Australische'' was used in a Dutch book in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. ''Australia'' was later used in a 1693 translation of ''Les Aventures de Jacques Sadeur dans la Découverte et le Voyage de la Terre Australe'', a 1676 French novel by Gabriel de Foigny, under the pen-name Jacques Sadeur. Referring to the entire South Pacific region, Alexander Dalrymple used it in ''An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean'' in 1771. By the end of the 18th century, the name was being used to refer specifically to Australia, with the botanists George Shaw and Sir James Smith writing of "the vast island, or rather continent, of Australia, Australasia or New Holland" in their 1793 ''Zoology and Botany of New Holland'', and James Wilson including it on a 1799 chart.

The name ''Australia'' was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders, who pushed for it to be formally adopted as early as 1804. When preparing his manuscript and charts for his 1814 ''A Voyage to Terra Australis'', he was persuaded by his patron, Sir Joseph Banks, to use the term ''Terra Australis'' as this was the name most familiar to the public. Flinders did so, but allowed himself the footnote: }} This is the only occurrence of the word ''Australia'' in that text; but in Appendix III, Robert Brown's ''General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the botany of Terra Australis'', Brown makes use of the adjectival form ''Australian'' throughout,—the first known use of that form. Despite popular conception, the book was not instrumental in the adoption of the name: the name came gradually to be accepted over the following ten years. Lachlan Macquarie, a Governor of New South Wales, subsequently used the word in his dispatches to England, and on 12 December 1817 recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as ''Australia''.

History

[[File:Australia discoveries by Europeans before 1813 en.png|thumb|right|300px|alt=Map of Australia with coloured arrows showing the path of early explorers around the coast of Australia and surrounding islands|Exploration by Europeans till 1812 ]] Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago, possibly with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now South-East Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. At the time of European settlement in the late 18th century, most Indigenous Australians were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturalists and hunter-gatherers.

Following sporadic visits by fishermen from the Malay Archipelago, the first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent were attributed to the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula on an unknown date in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River on the western shore of Cape York, near the modern town of Weipa. The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of "New Holland" during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer landed on the north-west coast of Australia in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. Cook's discoveries prepared the way for establishment of a new penal colony. Captain Arthur Phillip led the First Fleet into Port Jackson on 26 January 1788. This date became Australia's national day, Australia Day. (The British Crown Colony of New South Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 February 1788, but 26 January has entered the popular consciousness as the effective date of its foundation.) Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1828.

Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia. South Australia was founded as a "free province"—it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.

The indigenous population, estimated at 750,000 to 1,000,000 at the time of European settlement, declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly due to infectious disease. The "Stolen Generations" (removal of Aboriginal children from their families), which historians such as Henry Reynolds have argued could be considered genocide, may have contributed to the decline in the Indigenous population. Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by conservative commentators such as former Prime Minister John Howard as exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons. This debate is known within Australia as the History wars. The Federal government gained the power to make laws with respect to Aborigines following the 1967 referendum. Traditional ownership of land—aboriginal title—was not recognised until 1992, when the High Court case ''Mabo v Queensland (No 2)'' overturned the notion of Australia as ''terra nullius'' ("land belonging to no one") before European occupation.

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the Eureka Rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience. Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence, and international shipping.

On 1 January 1901 federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation, and voting. The Commonwealth of Australia was established and it became a dominion of the British Empire in 1907. The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of Canberra. Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was constructed. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the federal parliament in 1911. In 1914, Australia joined Britain in fighting World War I, with support from both the outgoing Liberal Party and the incoming Labor Party. Australians took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front. Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birth of the nation—its first major military action. The Kokoda Track campaign is regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event during World War II.

Britain's Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the UK. Australia adopted it in 1942, but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II. The shock of the UK's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector. Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US, under the ANZUS treaty. After World War II Australia encouraged immigration from Europe. Since the 1970s and following the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and elsewhere was also promoted. As a result, Australia's demography, culture, and self-image were transformed. The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and closing the option of judicial appeals to the Privy Council in London. In a 1999 referendum, 55 per cent of Australian voters and a majority in every Australian state rejected a proposal to become a republic with a president appointed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of the Australian Parliament. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972, there has been an increasing focus in foreign policy on ties with other Pacific Rim nations, while maintaining close ties with Australia's traditional allies and trading partners.

Governance

Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a federal division of powers. It uses a parliamentary system of government with Queen Elizabeth II at its apex as the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen resides in the United Kingdom, and she is represented by her viceroys in Australia, (the Governor-General at the federal level and by the Governors at the state level), who by convention act on the advice of her ministers. Supereme executive authority is vested by the constitution of Australia in the sovereign, but the power to exercise it is conferred by the constitution specifically to the Governor-General. The most notable exercise of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside a Prime Minister's request was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the constitutional crisis of 1975.

The federal government is separated into three branches:

The legislature: the bicameral Parliament, defined in section 1 of the constitution as comprising the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate, and the House of Representatives;

The executive: the Federal Executive Council, in practice the Governor-General as advised by the Prime Minister and Ministers of State;

The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Governor-General on advice of the Council.

In the Senate (the upper house), there are 76 senators: twelve each from the states and two each from the mainland territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory). The House of Representatives (the lower house) has 150 members elected from single-member electoral divisions, commonly known as "electorates" or "seats", allocated to states on the basis of population, with each original state guaranteed a minimum of five seats. Elections for both chambers are normally held every three years, simultaneously; senators have overlapping six-year terms except for those from the territories, whose terms are not fixed but are tied to the electoral cycle for the lower house; thus only 40 of the 76 places in the Senate are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a double dissolution.

Australia's electoral system uses preferential voting for all lower house elections with the exception of Tasmania and the ACT, which, along with the Senate and most state upper houses, combine it with proportional representation in a system known as the single transferable vote. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in every jurisdiction, as is enrolment (with the exception of South Australia). The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms the government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. In cases where no party has majority support, the Governor-General has the power to appoint the Prime Minister, and if necessary dismiss one that has lost the confidence of Parliament.

There are two major political groups that usually form government, federally and in the states: the Australian Labor Party, and the Coalition which is a formal grouping of the Liberal Party and its minor partner, the National Party. Independent members and several minor parties—including the Greens and the Australian Democrats—have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses.

Following a partyroom leadership challenge, Julia Gillard became the first female Prime Minister in June 2010. The last federal election was held on 21 August 2010 and resulted in the first hung parliament in over 50 years. Gillard was able to form a minority Labor government with the support of independents.

States and territories

Australia has six states—New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia—and two major mainland territories—the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). In most respects these two territories function as states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation overrides state legislation only in areas that are set out in Section 51 of the Australian Constitution; state parliaments retain all residual legislative powers, including those over schools, state police, the state judiciary, roads, public transport, and local government, since these do not fall under the provisions listed in Section 51.

Each state and major mainland territory has its own parliament—unicameral in the Northern Territory, the ACT, and Queensland, and bicameral in the other states. The states are sovereign entities, although subject to certain powers of the Commonwealth as defined by the Constitution. The lower houses are known as the Legislative Assembly (the House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania); the upper houses are known as the Legislative Council. The head of the government in each state is the Premier, and in each territory the Chief Minister. The Queen is represented in each state by a Governor; and in the Northern Territory, the Administrator. In the Commonwealth, the Queen's representative is the Governor-General.

The federal parliament directly administers the following territories:

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Australian Antarctic Territory

Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Coral Sea Islands

Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Jervis Bay Territory, a naval base and sea port for the national capital in land that was formerly part of New South Wales

Norfolk Island is also technically an external territory; however, under the Norfolk Island Act 1979 it has been granted more autonomy and is governed locally by its own legislative assembly. The Queen is represented by an Administrator, currently Owen Walsh.

Foreign relations and military

Over recent decades, Australia's foreign relations have been driven by a close association with the United States through the ANZUS pact, and by a desire to develop relationships with Asia and the Pacific, particularly through ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum. In 2005 Australia secured an inaugural seat at the East Asia Summit following its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and in 2011 will attend the Sixth East Asia Summit in Indonesia. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, in which the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings provide the main forum for cooperation.

Australia has pursued the cause of international trade liberalisation. It led the formation of the Cairns Group and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Australia is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization, and has pursued several major bilateral free trade agreements, most recently the Australia – United States Free Trade Agreement and Closer Economic Relations with New Zealand, with another free trade agreement being negotiated with China—the Australia – China Free Trade Agreement—and Japan, South Korea in 2011, Australia–Chile Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN – Australia – New Zealand Free Trade Area, and the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership.

Along with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Singapore, Australia is party to the Five Power Defence Arrangements, a regional defence agreement. A founding member country of the United Nations, Australia is strongly committed to multilateralism, and maintains an international aid program under which some 60 countries receive assistance. The 2005–06 budget provides A$2.5 billion for development assistance; as a percentage of GDP, this contribution is less than that recommended in the UN Millennium Development Goals. Australia ranks seventh overall in the Center for Global Development's 2008 Commitment to Development Index.

Australia's armed forces—the Australian Defence Force (ADF)—comprise the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), in total numbering 80,561 personnel (including 55,068 regulars and 25,493 reservists). The titular role of Commander-in-Chief is vested in the Governor-General, who appoints a Chief of the Defence Force from one of the armed services on the advice of the government. Day-to-day force operations are under the command of the Chief, while broader administration and the formulation of defence policy is undertaken by the Minister and Department of Defence.

In the 2010–11 budget, defence spending was A$25.7 billion, representing the 14th largest defence budget in the world but accounting for only 1.2 per cent of global military spending. Australia has been involved in UN and regional peacekeeping, disaster relief, and armed conflict; it currently has deployed approximately 3,330 defence force personnel in varying capacities to 12 overseas operations in areas including East Timor, Solomon Islands and Afghanistan.

Geography and climate

Australia's landmass of is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. The world's smallest continent and sixth largest country by total area, Australia—owing to its size and isolation—is often dubbed the "island continent", and is sometimes considered the world's largest island. Australia has of coastline (excluding all offshore islands), and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of . This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory. Excluding Macquarie Island, Australia lies between latitudes 9° and 44°S, and longitudes 112° and 154°E.

The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over . Mount Augustus, claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At , Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island is taller at . Australia's size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with subtropical rain forests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east areas, and a dry desert in its centre. It is the flattest continent, with the oldest and least fertile soils; desert or semi-arid land commonly known as the outback makes up by far the largest portion of land. The driest inhabited continent, only its south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate. The population density, 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, is among the lowest in the world, although a large proportion of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline.

Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range that runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, New South Wales, and much of Victoria—although the name is not strictly accurate, as in parts the range consists of low hills and the highlands are typically no more than in height. The coastal uplands and a belt of Brigalow grasslands lie between the coast and the mountains, while inland of the dividing range are large areas of grassland. These include the western plains of New South Wales, and the Einasleigh Uplands, Barkly Tableland, and Mulga Lands of inland Queensland. The northern point of the east coast is the tropical rainforested Cape York Peninsula.

The landscapes of the northern part of the country—the Top End and the Gulf Country behind the Gulf of Carpentaria, with their tropical climate—consist of woodland, grassland, and desert. At the north-west corner of the continent are the sandstone cliffs and gorges of The Kimberley, and below that the Pilbara. South and inland of these lie more areas of grassland: the Ord Victoria Plain and the Western Australian Mulga shrublands. At the heart of the country are the uplands of central Australia; prominent features of the centre and south include the inland Simpson, Tirari and Sturt Stony, Gibson, Great Sandy, Tanami, and Great Victoria deserts, with the famous Nullarbor Plain on the southern coast.

The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. These factors induce rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical predominantly summer rainfall (monsoon) climate. Just under three quarters of Australia lies within a desert or semi-arid zone. The southwest corner of the country has a Mediterranean climate. Much of the southeast (including Tasmania) is temperate.

Environment

Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests, and is recognised as a megadiverse country. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse. About 85 per cent of flowering plants, 84 per cent of mammals, more than 45 per cent of birds, and 89 per cent of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic. Australia has the greatest number of reptiles of any country, with 755 species.

Australian forests are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly eucalyptus trees in the less arid regions, wattles replace them in drier regions and deserts as the most dominant species. Among well-known Australian fauna are the monotremes (the platypus and echidna); a host of marsupials, including the kangaroo, koala, and wombat, and birds such as the emu and the kookaburra. Australia is home to many dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world. The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 BCE. Many plant and animal species became extinct soon after first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna; others have disappeared since European settlement, among them the thylacine.

Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and introduced plant and animal species. The federal ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' is the legal framework for the protection of threatened species. Numerous protected areas have been created under the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity to protect and preserve unique ecosystems; 65 wetlands are listed under the Ramsar Convention, and 16 natural World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked 51st of 163 countries in the world on the 2010 Environmental Performance Index.

Climate change has become an increasing concern in Australia in recent years, with many Australians considering protection of the environment to be the most important issue facing the country. The Rudd Ministry initiated several emission reduction activities; Rudd's first official act, on his first day in office, was to sign the instrument of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. Nevertheless, Australia's carbon dioxide emissions per capita are among the highest in the world, lower than those of only a few other industrialised nations. Rainfall in Australia has slightly increased over the past century, both nationwide and for two quadrants of the nation, while annual mean temperatures increased significantly over the past decades. Water restrictions are frequently in place in many regions and cities of Australia in response to chronic shortages due to urban population increases and localised drought.

Economy

Australia has a market economy with high GDP per capita and low rate of poverty. The Australian dollar is the currency for the nation, including Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu. After the 2006 merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange is now the ninth largest in the world.

Ranked third in the Index of Economic Freedom (2010), Australia is the world's thirteenth largest economy and has the ninth highest per capita GDP; higher than that of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Japan, and the United States. The country was ranked second in the United Nations 2010 Human Development Index and first in Legatum's 2008 Prosperity Index. All of Australia's major cities fare well in global comparative livability surveys; Melbourne reached first place on ''The Economist'''s 2011 World's Most Livable Cities list, followed by Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide in sixth, eighth, and ninth place respectively. Total government debt in Australia is about $190 billion. Australia has among the highest house prices and some of the highest household debt levels in the world.

An emphasis on exporting commodities rather than manufactured goods has underpinned a significant increase in Australia's terms of trade since the start of the 21st century, due to rising commodity prices. Australia has a balance of payments that is more than 7 per cent of GDP negative, and has had persistently large current account deficits for more than 50 years. Australia has grown at an average annual rate of 3.6 per cent for over 15 years, in comparison to the OECD annual average of 2.5 per cent. There are differing opinions based on evidence as to whether or not Australia had been one of the few OECD nations to avoid experiencing a recession during the late 2000s global financial downturn. Six of Australia's major trading partners had been in recession which in turn affected Australia, and economic growth was hampered significantly over recent years.

The Hawke Government floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and partially deregulated the financial system. The Howard Government followed with a partial deregulation of the labour market and the further privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notably in the telecommunications industry. The indirect tax system was substantially changed in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST). In Australia's tax system, personal and company income tax are the main sources of government revenue.

In July 2011, there were 11,450,500 people employed, with an unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent. Youth unemployment (15–24) rose from 8.7 per cent to 9.7 per cent over 2008–2009. Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 2–3 per cent and the base interest rate 5–6 per cent. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, accounts for about 70 per cent of GDP. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, particularly wheat and wool, minerals such as iron-ore and gold, and energy in the forms of liquified natural gas and coal. Although agriculture and natural resources account for only 3 per cent and 5 per cent of GDP respectively, they contribute substantially to export performance. Australia's largest export markets are Japan, China, the US, South Korea, and New Zealand. Australia is the world's fourth largest exporter of wine, in an industry contributing $5.5 billion per annum to the nation's economy.

Demography

For generations, the vast majority of immigrants came from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still mainly of British or Irish ethnic origin. In the 2006 Australian census, the most commonly nominated ancestry was Australian (37.13 per cent), followed by English (32 per cent), Irish (9 per cent), Scottish (8 per cent), Italian (4 per cent), German (4 per cent), Chinese (3 per cent), and Greek (2 per cent).

Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I, much of the increase from immigration. Following World War II and through to 2000, almost 5.9 million of the total population settled in the country as new immigrants, meaning that nearly two out of every seven Australians were born overseas. Most immigrants are skilled, but the immigration quota includes categories for family members and refugees. By 2050, Australia's population is currently projected to reach around 42 million.

In 2001, 23.1 per cent of Australians were born overseas; the five largest immigrant groups were those from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam, and China. Following the abolition of the White Australia policy in 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism. In 2005–06, more than 131,000 people emigrated to Australia, mainly from Asia and Oceania. The migration target for 2010–11 is 168,700, compared to 67,900 in 1998–99.

The Indigenous population—mainland Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders—was counted at 410,003 (2.2 per cent of the total population) in 2001, a significant increase from 115,953 in the 1976 census. A large number of Indigenous people are not identified in the Census due to undercount and cases where their Indigenous status is not recorded on the form; after adjusting for these factors, the ABS estimated the true figure for 2001 to be around 460,140 (2.4 per cent of the total population).

Indigenous Australians experience higher than average rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education, and life expectancies for males and females that are 11–17 years lower than those of non-indigenous Australians. Some remote Indigenous communities have been described as having "failed state"-like conditions.

In common with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2004, the average age of the civilian population was 38.8 years. A large number of Australians (759,849 for the period 2002–03) live outside their home country.

Language

Although Australia has no official language, English is so entrenched that it has become the de facto national language. Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon. Grammar and spelling are similar to that of British English with some notable exceptions. According to the 2006 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for close to 79 per cent of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Italian (1.6 per cent), Greek (1.3 per cent) and Cantonese (1.2 per cent); a considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are bilingual. A 2010–2011 study by the Australia Early Development Index found that the most common language spoken by children after English was Arabic, followed by Vietnamese, Greek, Chinese, and Hindi.

Between 200 and 300 Indigenous Australian languages are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact, of which only about 70 have survived. Many of these are exclusively spoken by older people; only 18 Indigenous languages are still spoken by all age groups. At the time of the 2006 Census, 52,000 Indigenous Australians, representing 12 per cent of the Indigenous population, reported that they spoke an Indigenous language at home. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 5,500 deaf people.

Religion

Australia has no state religion, and section 116 of the Australian Constitution prohibits the federal government from making any law to establish any religion, impose any religious observance, or prohibit the free exercise of any religion. In the 2006 census, 64 per cent of Australians were counted as Christian, including 26 per cent as Roman Catholic and 19 per cent as Anglican. About 19 per cent of the population stated "no religion" (which includes humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism), which was the fastest-growing group from 2001 to 2006, and a further 12 per cent did not answer (the question is optional) or did not give a response adequate for interpretation. The largest non-Christian religion in Australia is Buddhism (2.1 per cent), followed by Islam (1.7 per cent), Hinduism (0.8 per cent) and Judaism (0.5 per cent). Overall, fewer than 6 per cent of Australians identify with non-Christian religions.

Prior to European settlement in Australia, the animist beliefs of Australia's indigenous people had been practised for millennia. In the case of mainland Aboriginal Australians, their spirituality is known as The Dreamtime and it places a heavy emphasis on belonging to the land. The collection of stories which it contains shaped Aboriginal law and customs and Aboriginal art; story and dance continues to draw on these spiritual traditions. In the case of the Torres Strait Islanders who inhabit the islands between Australia and New Guinea, spirituality and customs reflected their Melanesian origins and dependence on the sea. The 1996 Australian census counted more than 7000 respondents as followers of a traditional Aboriginal religion.

Since the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships in 1788, Christianity has grown to be the major religion. Consequently, the Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter are public holidays, the skylines of Australian cities and towns are marked by church and cathedral spires, and the Christian churches have played an integral role in the development of education, health and welfare services in Australia. The Catholic education system operates as the largest non-government educator, accounting for about 21% of all secondary enrolments at the close of the 2000s (decade), with Catholic Health Australia similarly being the largest non-government provider. Christian welfare organisations also play a prominent role within national life, with organisations like the Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul Society and Anglicare enjoying widespread support. Such contributions are recognised on Australia's currency, with the presence of Christian pastors like Aboriginal writer David Unaipon ($50) and founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, John Flynn ($20). Other significant Australian religious have included St. Mary McKillop, who became the first Australian to be recognised as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 2010 and Church of Christ pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls, who, like Martin Luther King in the United States, led a movement against racial inequality in Australia and was also the first indigenous Australian to be appointed as a State Governor.

For much of Australian history the Church of England (now known as the Anglican Church of Australia) was the largest religious affiliation, however multicultural immigration has contributed to a decline in its relative position, with the Roman Catholic Church benefiting from the opening of post-war Australia to multicultural immigration and becoming the largest group. Similarly, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism have all been expanding in the post war decades. Weekly attendance at church services in 2001 was about 1.5 million (about 7.8 per cent of the population).

An international survey, made by the private, not-for profit German think-tank, the Bertelsmann Foundation, found that "Australia is one of the least religious nations in the western world, coming in 17th out of 21 [countries] surveyed" and that "Nearly three out of four Australians say they are either not at all religious or that religion does not play a central role in their lives." A survey of 1,718 Australians by the Christian Research Association at the end of 2009 suggested that the number of people attending religious services per month in Australia has dropped from 23 per cent in 1993 to 16 per cent in 2009, and while 60 per cent of 15 to 29-year-old respondents in 1993 identified with Christian denominations, 33 per cent did in 2009.

Education

School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia. Education is the responsibility of the individual states and territories so the rules vary between states, but in general children are required to attend school from the age of about 5 up until about 16. In at least some states (eg, WA) children aged 16–17 are required to either attend school or participate in vocational training, such as an apprenticeship.

Australia has an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99 per cent. In the Programme for International Student Assessment, Australia regularly scores among the top five of thirty major developed countries (member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Catholic education accounts for the largest non-government sector.

Australia has 37 government-funded universities and two private universities, as well as a number of other specialist institutions that provide approved courses at the higher education level. The University of Sydney is Australia's oldest university, having been founded in 1850, followed by the University of Melbourne three years later. Other notable universities include those of the Group of Eight leading tertiary institutions, including the University of Adelaide (which boasts an association with five Nobel Laureates), the Australian National University located in the national capital of Canberra, Monash University and the University of New South Wales.

The OECD places Australia among the most expensive nations to attend university. There is a state-based system of vocational training, known as TAFE, and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople. Approximately 58 per cent of Australians aged from 25 to 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications, and the tertiary graduation rate of 49 per cent is the highest among OECD countries. The ratio of international to local students in tertiary education in Australia is the highest in the OECD countries.

Health

Life expectancy in Australia in 2006 was 78.7 years for males and 83.5 years for females. Australia has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, while cigarette smoking is the largest preventable cause of death and disease. Australia has one of the highest proportions of overweight citizens among developed nations.

Total expenditure on health (including private sector spending) is around 9.8 per cent of GDP. Australia introduced universal health care in 1975. Known as Medicare it is now nominally funded by an income tax surcharge known as the ''Medicare levy'', currently set at 1.5 per cent. The states manage hospitals and attached outpatient services, while the Commonwealth funds the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (reducing the costs of medicines) and general practice.

Culture

Since 1788, the basis of Australian culture has been strongly influenced by Anglo-Celtic Western culture. Distinctive cultural features have also arisen from Australia's natural environment and Indigenous cultures. Since the mid-20th century, American popular culture has strongly influenced Australia, particularly through television and cinema. Other cultural influences come from neighbouring Asian countries, and through large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking nations.

Arts

Australian visual arts are thought to have begun with the cave and bark paintings of its Indigenous peoples. The traditions of Indigenous Australians are largely transmitted orally, through ceremony and the telling of Dreamtime stories. From the time of European settlement, a theme in Australian art has been the natural landscape, seen for example in the works of Albert Namatjira, Arthur Streeton and others associated with the Heidelberg School, and Arthur Boyd.

The country's landscape remains a source of inspiration for Australian modernist artists; it has been depicted in acclaimed works by the likes of Sidney Nolan, Fred Williams, Sydney Long, and Clifton Pugh. Australian artists influenced by modern American and European art include cubist Grace Crowley, surrealist James Gleeson, and pop artist Martin Sharp. Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the only art movement of international significance to emerge from Australia and "the last great art movement of the 20th century"; its exponents have included Emily Kngwarreye. Art critic Robert Hughes has written several influential books about Australian history and art, and was described as the "world's most famous art critic" by ''The New York Times''. The National Gallery of Australia and state galleries maintain Australian and overseas collections.

Many of Australia's performing arts companies receive funding through the federal government's Australia Council. There is a symphony orchestra in each state, and a national opera company, Opera Australia, well-known for its famous soprano Joan Sutherland. At the turn of the 19th to 20th century, Nellie Melba was one of the world's leading opera singers. Ballet and dance are represented by The Australian Ballet and various state companies. Each state has a publicly funded theatre company.

Australian literature has also been influenced by the landscape; the works of writers such as Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson, and Dorothea Mackellar captured the experience of the Australian bush. The character of the nation's colonial past, as represented in early literature, is popular with modern Australians. In 1973, Patrick White was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Australian to have achieved this. Australian winners of the Man Booker Prize have included Peter Carey and Thomas Keneally; David Williamson, David Malouf, and J. M. Coetzee, who recently became an Australian citizen, are also renowned writers, and Les Murray is regarded as "one of the leading poets of his generation".

Media

The Australian cinema industry began with the 1906 release of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', which is regarded as being the world's first feature-length film; but both Australian feature film production and the distribution of British-made features declined dramatically after World War I as American studios and distributors monopolised the industry, and by the 1930s around 95 per cent of the feature films screened in Australia were produced in Hollywood. By the late 1950s feature film production in Australia had effectively ceased and there were no all-Australian feature films made in the decade between 1959 and 1969.

Thanks to initiatives by the Gorton and Whitlam federal governments, the New Wave of Australian cinema of the 1970s brought provocative and successful films, some exploring the nation's colonial past, such as ''Picnic at Hanging Rock'' and ''Breaker Morant'', while the so-called "Ocker" genre produced several highly successful urban-based comedy features including ''The Adventures of Barry McKenzie'' and ''Alvin Purple''. Later hits included ''Mad Max'' and ''Gallipoli''. More recent successes included ''Shine'' and ''Rabbit-Proof Fence''. Notable Australian actors include Judith Anderson, Errol Flynn, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Heath Ledger, Geoffrey Rush, and Cate Blanchett—current joint director of the Sydney Theatre Company.

Australia has two public broadcasters (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the multicultural Special Broadcasting Service), three commercial television networks, several pay-TV services, and numerous public, non-profit television and radio stations. Each major city has at least one daily newspaper, and there are two national daily newspapers, ''The Australian'' and ''The Australian Financial Review''. In 2010, Reporters Without Borders placed Australia 18th on a list of 178 countries ranked by press freedom, behind New Zealand (8th) but ahead of the United Kingdom (19th) and United States (20th). This relatively low ranking is primarily because of the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in Australia; most print media are under the control of News Corporation and Fairfax Media.

Cuisine

The food of Indigenous Australians was largely influenced by the area in which they lived. Most tribal groups subsisted on a simple hunter-gatherer diet, hunting native game and fish and collecting native plants and fruit. The general term for native Australian flora and fauna used as a source of food is bush tucker. The first settlers introduced British food to the continent which much of what is now considered typical Australian food is based on the Sunday roast has become an enduring tradition for many Australians. Since the beginning of the 20th century, food in Australia has increasingly been influenced by immigrants to the nation, particularly from Southern European and Asian cultures. Australian wine is produced in 60 distinct production areas totaling approximately 160,000 hectares, mainly in the southern, cooler parts of the country. The wine regions in each of these states produce different wine varieties and styles that take advantage of local climates and soil types. The predominant varieties are Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sémillon, Pinot noir, Riesling, and Sauvignon blanc. In 1995, an Australian red wine, Penfolds Grange, won the Wine Spectator award for Wine of the Year, the first time a wine from outside France or California achieved this distinction.

Sport

Around 24 per cent Australians over the age of 15 regularly participate in organised sporting activities in Australia. Australia has strong international teams in cricket, field hockey, netball, rugby league, and rugby union, having been Olympic or world champions at least twice in each sport in the last 25 years for both men and women where applicable. Australia is also powerful in track cycling, rowing, and swimming, having consistently been in the top-five medal-winners at Olympic or World Championship level since 2000. Swimming is the strongest of these sports; Australia is the second-most prolific medal winner in the sport in Olympic history.

Some of Australia's most internationally well-known and successful sportspeople are swimmers Dawn Fraser, Murray Rose, Shane Gould, and Ian Thorpe; sprinters Shirley Strickland, Betty Cuthbert, and Cathy Freeman; tennis players Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, Evonne Goolagong, and Margaret Court; cricketers Donald Bradman and Shane Warne; three-time Formula One world champion Jack Brabham; five-time motorcycle grand prix world champion Mick Doohan; golfers Greg Norman and Karrie Webb; cyclist Hubert Opperman; and prodigious billiards player Walter Lindrum. Nationally, other popular sports include Australian rules football, horse racing, squash, surfing, soccer, and motor racing. The annual Melbourne Cup horse race and the Sydney to Hobart yacht race attract intense interest.

Australia has participated in every summer Olympics of the modern era, and every Commonwealth Games. Australia hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and has ranked among the top six medal-takers since 2000. Australia has also hosted the 1938, 1962, 1982, and 2006 Commonwealth Games. Other major international events held in Australia include the Australian Open tennis grand slam tournament, international cricket matches, and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. Sydney hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the annual Australia–New Zealand Bledisloe Cup is keenly watched. The highest-rating television programs include sports telecasts such as the summer Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Rugby League State of Origin, and the grand finals of the National Rugby League and Australian Football League. Skiing in Australia began in the 1860s and snow sports take place in the Australian Alps and parts of Tasmania.

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Denoon, Donald, et al. (2000). ''A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific''. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-17962-3.

Hughes, Robert (1986). ''The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding''. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-50668-5.

''Emily Kngwarreye – Paintings'' (no editor given) (1996). North Ryde NSW: Craftsman House / G + B Arts International. ISBN 90-5703-681-9.

Macintyre, Stuart (2000). ''A Concise History of Australia''. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62359-6.

McCulloch, Alan; Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch Childs (2006). ''The new McCulloch's encyclopedia of Australian art''. Fitzroy, VIC: Aus Art Editions in association with The Miegunyah Press. ISBN 0-522-85317-X.

Powell JM (1988). ''An Historical Geography of Modern Australia: The Restive Fringe''. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-25619-4.

Robinson GM, Loughran RJ, and Tranter PJ (2000) ''Australia and New Zealand: economy, society and environment''. London: Arnold; NY: OUP; 0340720336 paper 0-340720328 hard.

External links

About Australia from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website

Governments of Australia website (federal, states and territories)

Australian Government website

Parliament of Australia: Who's Who (includes head of state)

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Community organisations portal

Tourism Australia

Australia at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

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Category:Constitutional monarchies Category:Countries bordering the Pacific Ocean Category:Countries of the Indian Ocean Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Federal countries Category:Former British colonies Category:G20 nations Category:Islands Category:Liberal democracies Category:Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Member states of the United Nations Category:Oceanian countries Category:States and territories established in 1901

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Name	Guy Sebastian
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Guy Theodore Sebastian
Born	October 26, 1981Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
Origin	Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Genre	Soul, R&B;, pop, gospel
Voice type	Tenor Spinto
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, producer, X-Factor Judge
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano/keyboards, drums
Years active	2003–present
Label	Sony Music Australia (2003–present)
associated acts	Steve Cropper, The Mgs, David Ryan Harris, Planetshakers
|website	Official Website }}

Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian pop, R&B;, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of ''Australian Idol'' in 2003. He has released six top 10 platinum/multi platinum albums, five of which reached the top 4 of the ARIA Album Chart, including a No.1 and 2. He has also released ten top 15 singles, including five No. 1's. Sebastian is the only Australian male artist in Australian music history to achieve five No. 1 singles, and is equal third overall for all Australian acts. He is also the only Australian artist to have two singles reach 4 x platinum. His debut single "Angels Brought Me Here" was the first Australian artist song to achieve it, and in 2010 ARIA announced it was the highest selling song of the previous decade. In 2011 "Who's That Girl" from his sixth album ''Twenty Ten'' became only the fourth Australian artist single to ever reach that certification level. "Like it Like That" the title track of his fifth album achieved triple platinum, and was the highest selling Australian artist song of 2009. With 26 platinum and 2 gold accreditations and over 2 million sales in Australia alone he has the highest sales of any Australian Idol contestant.

"Angels Brought Me Here" also reached No. 1 in four Asian countries and New Zealand. Sebastian had a second No. 1 single in New Zealand with "Who's That Girl", two other top 10 singles and a No. 3 album, and has four platinum and two gold accreditations there. He has worked with a number of well-known American musicians. He co-wrote songs with Brian McKnight and Robin Thicke for his second album ''Beautiful Life'', which also included a duet with Mýa. ''The Memphis Album'' was recorded with members of the MGs including Steve Cropper, and they were his band on his 2008 Australian tour. ''Like It Like That'' features three tracks with John Mayer playing guitar and singing backing vocals, and "Art Of Love", a duet with Jordin Sparks. This album was released in the US in 2010. "Who's That Girl" features US rapper Eve.

During his career Sebastian has been nominated for ten ARIA Music Awards, including "Best Male Artist" and "Best Pop Release" in 2010. Previously, three of his albums were nominated as "Highest Selling Album", and "Angels Brought Me Here" won the 2004 ARIA for "Highest Selling Single". In 2011 "Who's That Girl" received the APRA Award for "Urban Work of the Year". Sebastian's other awards include the "Channel V Artist Of The Year Award" in 2004, Urban Music Awards for "Best Male Artist" in 2006 and "Best R&B; Album" in 2007. In 2010 he was selected as a judge on the Australian series of The X-Factor.

Early life

Guy Sebastian was born in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia on 26 October 1981. His father Ivan was also born in Malaysia and is of Sri Lankan descent, while his mother Nellie has an English and Portuguese background and was raised in India. They met while Ivan was studying geology in India and a year later they married. The family migrated to Australia in 1988, living in Melbourne Victoria for several years before eventually moving to Adelaide South Australia due to Ivan's work as a geologist. As a child Sebastian took violin lessons, and although he had no formal training in other musical instruments also plays guitar, drums and piano. He attended Paradise Community Church, which is a Pentecostal Assemblies of God church and one of the largest churches in Australia, becoming one of their main worship singers. He also sang with the then Paradise Community Church Youth Conference Planetshakers, performing both lead and backup vocals for their 2002 and 2003 conferences and albums. After winning ''Australian Idol'' he continued his association with Paradise Church, recording on two of their albums, ''Adore'' in 2004 and ''Set Me Free'' in 2005. After leaving school Sebastian began studies in Medical Radiation, but left to pursue a career in music. He juggled two jobs, teaching vocals at high schools and working as a recording engineer, while also studying Music Technology at the Elder School Of Music.

Australian and World Idol

In May 2003 Sebastian successfully auditioned for ''Australian Idol'', singing Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky". He progressed through the Idol series establishing a strong fanbase and praise from the judges, who often made reference to his afro hairstyle which became a focal point of his image. However, after the viewer voting was tallied he was ranked 7th out of the 11 competitors. There were questions over his song selection for the competition as his new arrangement of "What a Wonderful World" was an unusual version of a classic. He had wanted to sing When Doves Cry, but could not get clearance to perform the song. Despite this time restriction, the album included three songs co-written by Sebastian. His winner's song "Angels Brought Me Here" debuted at No.1 and was the highest selling single in Australia in 2003, reaching 4x platinum accreditation. In January 2010 when ARIA released the lists of the highest sellers of the previous decade, "Angels Brought Me Here" was announced as the "Highest Selling Song Of The Decade", ahead of Anthony Callea's cover of "The Prayer". ''Just As I Am'' reached sales of 480,000, just a few thousand short of 7x platinum and is the highest selling album ever released by an Australian Idol contestant.

In early 2004 Sebastian and the other Idol finalists toured around Australia. "Angels Brought Me Here" reached No.1 in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and New Zealand. During this time Sebastian appeared at the Asian MTV Awards, was a guest judge on New Zealand Idol and performed on Indonesian Idol. He was also nominated for "Highest Selling Album" for ''Just As I Am''. ''Beautiful Life'' was released in October, debuting at No.2 on the Aria charts. It reached platinum accreditation, and eventually sold in excess of 100,000 units. He embarked on a national tour in November, with a second stage from March to June 2005. Two more singles were released from the album, "Kryptonite" which peaked at No.15, and "Oh Oh" at No.11. In 2005 Sebastian received awards for Favourite Video, Favourite Music Artist, and Favourite Aussie at the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards, and a MTV Video Music Award for "Out With My Baby". He also received a nomination for "Highest Selling Album" for ''Beautiful Life'' at the ARIA Music Awards. He spent some time overseas writing for his third album during 2005, and in December he was named as a state finalist for the 2006 Young Australian Of The Year Award.

(2006–2007) ''Closer to the Sun''

Sebastian's third album ''Closer to the Sun'' was a mix of genres including pop, R&B;, soul, pop-rock and jazz. It was mainly co-written with Australian musicians, as Sebastian scrapped most of the songs he had written on his overseas trips in 2005. The first single, the ballad "Taller, Stronger, Better", was released in August 2006, and debuted on the charts at No.3, achieving gold accreditation. ''Closer to the Sun'' debuted at No. 4, and reached platinum accreditation. The video for its second single "Elevator Love" featured former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins as his love interest. This single debuted at No.11, and also achieved gold accreditation. Sebastian received an award for most played Urban work for "Oh Oh" at the 2006 APRA Music Awards. "Oh Oh" was also awarded Best Video and Sebastian named Best Male Artist at the Urban Music Awards, and for the second year in succession he received the Fav Aussie award at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. In early 2007 it was announced he would be recording an album of soul classics in Memphis, Tennessee with Stax musicians who played on and wrote some of the original songs. The third single from ''Closer to the Sun'', "Cover On My Heart", was released in August, peaking at No. 32 on the Aria chart. ''Closer to the Sun '' was awarded "Best Album" at the 2007 Urban Music Awards, and "Most Popular Album" at the Dolly Teen Choice Awards.

(2007) ''The Memphis Album''

Sebastian recorded his tribute album of soul classics at Ardent Studios, Memphis in August 2007, with Steve Cropper, Donald 'Duck' Dunn, and Steve Potts (a.k.a. The MGs), with Lester Snell on keyboards. Cropper also co produced the album with Sebastian, which was recorded on analogue tape live in the studio. Sebastian wrote about his time in Memphis in a series of blogs for Australian newspapers: "I started recording four days ago with the band members from Booker T and the MGs. And in the four days, we cut 15 tracks. It's been such a great experience to watch these guys work. I mean, they are mostly in their late 60s and have such a wealth of experience." Cropper later spoke on AllMemphisMusic, an online Memphis radio station: "This kid came into Memphis, and just blew everybody’s socks off. He had the grit and the grime and the soul of Otis Redding, and he had the sweet soul of Al Green, he had the wonderful sweet church sound of Sam Cooke, and he just took us by storm."

Shortly after his return to Australia Sebastian performed an acoustic tour and it was announced that The MGs would tour Australia with him in early 2008. ''The Memphis Album'' was released in November 2007, debuting at No.3, and was the 7th highest selling Australian album in 2007. The critically acclaimed album reached double platinum certification. The album also attracted attention from Memphis. The Memphis Flyer, a weekly alternative newspaper serving the Memphis area wrote a series of articles about Sebastian recording with The MGs. AllMemphisMusic, which specialises in playing music originating from Memphis, began playing ''The Memphis Album'' songs in late December 2007, and still play them to this day. They also had two special programs featuring songs from the album and interviews with some of the people involved in recording it.

(2008)''The Memphis Tour'' and working on 5th album

The MGs travelled to Australia in February 2008 to be Sebastian's backing band for his 18 date national tour. He spoke on radio about what it felt like fronting the MGs: "There were so many moments when I just had to take a step back and think 'This is unbelievable'. Like the history that is behind me, and I'm singing these songs. You know they start playing Dock Of The Bay, and the guys that played it are on the stage. You know the guy who wrote the song with Otis Redding is playing guitar." Cropper later spoke on AllMemphisMusic: "hearing him singing our music, which was born and raised and produced and recorded in Memphis Tennessee. It was just something I, it's hard to explain the excitement coming from being on stage and that excitement coming out of the audience. It just filled our hearts." One of the Melbourne concerts was filmed and a live DVD/CD entitled ''The Memphis Tour'' and was released in May.

Sebastian was nominated for a Helpmann Award for "Best Performance In An Australian Contemporary Concert" for The Memphis Tour, and was awarded two Australian Club Entertainment Awards, best "Original Music Performer" and "Outstanding Club Performer Of The Year". ''The Memphis Album'' received a nomination for "Highest Selling Album" at the 2008 ARIA Awards, his third album to be nominated in this ARIA Awards category. He travelled to the US several times after ''The Memphis Tour'' to write for his fifth album, spending time with Cropper in Nashville on these trips. During 2008 Sebastian was also signed to release an album in the US, and in November he returned to America to work on his new album. He recorded songs with John Mayer's band, and John Mayer himself played guitar and sang backing vocals on three of the tracks.

(2009–2010) ''Like It Like That''

Sebastian moved to New York in early 2009 to prepare for the release of his US album which was to be a combination of Mempis Soul covers and original songs. He performed showcases at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin Texas in March 2009, and a residency at the Drom in New York. His song "Like it Like That" was chosen as the theme song for the NBC network's summer promotional campaign. The US release was then delayed due to restructuring of Victor Records, but it was later reaffirmed the album would be released in 2010. "Like It like That", the title track of Sebastian's fifth Australian album, was released as the first single in August 2009 and reached No.1 on the ARIA Chart, becoming his fourth No.1 single. It was the highest selling Australian artist song in 2009, reaching triple platinum accreditation. ''Like it Like That'', an original soul album with all songs written or co-written by Sebastian, was released in October 2009 and debuted at No.6, and achieved platinum accreditation. As well as the three songs featuring John Mayer, the album also includes "Art of Love", a duet with Jordin Sparks. It was released as the second single in November 2009, peaking at No.8 on the ARIA singles Chart and reaching platinum accreditation. It also reached No. 7 on the New Zealand singles chart, gaining gold accreditation there. Two further singles, "All to Myself" and "Never Hold You Down", did not chart in the ARIA top 50.

Sebastian toured in Australia during February 2010 and again in June and July. The US album, now identical to the Australian album, was released in June 2010. He was chosen as a judge on the 2010 series of Australia's The X-Factor, and to fulfil commitments to X-Factor and also the release of his album in America Sebastian divided his time between Australia and the US during the show. He toured the US West Coast between July and September, including guest performances singing "Art Of Love" with Sparks at three of her ''Battlefield Tour'' concerts, and also played support for Chicago at a concert in Oregon. Sebastian was nominated for six ARIA Music Awards for ''Like It Like That''. He received nominations for "Best Pop Release", "Best Male Artist", "Most Popular Australian Album" and "Most Popular Australian Artist", with "Like It Like That" and "Art of Love" receiving nominations for "Most Popular Single".

(2010–present) ''Twenty Ten''

Sebastian released a retrospective album titled ''Twenty Ten'' in November 2010. The album reached No. 4 on the ARIA Album Chart, Sebastian's sixth consecutive top 10 album, and has been accredited platinum. It also charted at No. 24 on the New Zealand Charts. The album is a two disc release. The first disc has 18 songs from his previous albums and two new tracks, with the second disc containing acoustic versions of ten of the songs. One of the new tracks, "Who's That Girl" featuring US rapper Eve, was released as the lead single. Eve came to Australia in November to film her part of the music video, and performed the song with Sebastian on the X Factor Grand Final. The dance-driven electro R&B; song is a departure from Sebastian's previous pop, R&B; and soul releases. "Who's That Girl" reached No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, Sebastian's fifth No. 1 single. He is the only Australian male artist in Australian music history to achieve five No. 1 singles, and is in equal third overall with Olivia Newton-John for all Australian acts. "Who's That Girl" reached 4x platinum accreditation in May 2011, becoming only the fourth Australian artist single to ever achieve that accreditation level, with Sebastian's debut single "Angels Brought Me Here" being the first. "Who's That Girl" also reached No. 1 and platinum accreditation in New Zealand.

With the release of ''Twenty Ten'' Sebastian had completed the terms of his original contract with Sony, but has re-signed with them for another long term contract. He said in an interview in the Daily Telegraph that he was planning to continue sharing his time between the US and Australia to promote his music in both countries. Sebastian supported Boyzone on their UK tour in March 2011, and Lionel Ritchie on his Australian and New Zealand tour in March and April 2011. Richie stated in an interview with the Daily Telegraph that he handpicked Sebastian to support him on his tour. He has re-recorded his 1983 No. 1 single "All Night Long" with Sebastian to raise money for Australian and New Zealand flood and earthquake relief. The track was produced by RedOne. It peaked at No. 12 on the New Zealand charts and No. 26 in Australia. Richie and Sebastian performed the song together at most of the concerts on the Australian leg of the tour. In 2011 Sebastian received an Australian Club Enterainment Award for best "Original Music Performer", and a Mo Award for "Rock Performer of the Year".

Discography

Studio albums

2003: ''Just as I Am''

2004: ''Beautiful Life''

2006: ''Closer to the Sun''

2007: ''The Memphis Album''

2009: ''Like it Like That''

Compilation albums

2010: ''Twenty Ten''

DVD/CDs

2008: ''The Memphis Tour''

EPs

2007: ''Your Song''

2009: ''Guy Sebastian EP''

Artistry

Musical style and influences

Sebastian's music has crossed many genres, and he cites a number of musicians as his musical influences, including Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Chicago, and Boyz II Men. From 2003 power ballad "Angels Brought Me Here" through to his fifth album ''Like it Like That'' which touched on 60's soul/pop reminiscent of the late Sam Cooke, he has frustrated many critics’ need to classify artists and their songs. His tracks have also included pop, R&B;, funk, smokey soul, gospel, jazz, pop-rock, Memphis soul covers and electro R&B;, and he has stated an interest in recording gospel, dance and Bollywood albums.

While Sebastian's first three albums showed elements of soul, it was ''The Memphis Album'' which consolidated his reputation as a soul musician. Reviewers almost unanimously agreed he had captured the spirit and essence of the Memphis Soul classics. It was the critical and public reception for ''The Memphis Album'' which gave Sebastian the confidence to stay with the soul genre for his fifth album ''Like It Like That''. In an interview with ''The Age'' he said he was told early in his career, "If you self-indulge and just do what you're into, you're going to corner your market. Soul music isn't big here." but "the most comfortable I've ever felt in the studio was during ''The Memphis Album''. And the success of that prompted me to make a record like this one. Because I realised that this isn't obscure music." Kathy McCabe, a reviewer for the ''Daily Telegraph'' said: "Sometimes it takes four records, with a detour into "concepts" covers territory to find where you fit. Sebastian has found his niche with ''Like It Like That'', which expertly balances the line between radio friendly pop and classic soul". Paul Cashmere from Undercover wrote: "By covering the classics on the ''The Memphis Album'' Guy Sebastian discovered Guy Sebastian.[...] If ''The Memphis Album'' was Guy’s initiation into becoming a Soul Man then ''Like It Like That'' is the graduation."

Songwriting and production

Sebastian began writing songs before entering Australian Idol. "All I Need Is You", the second single from his debut album ''Just As I Am'' was written when he was a teenager, and fine-tuned during his time on Idol. Sebastian wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on his albums ''Beautiful Life'' and ''Closer to the Sun'', and all the tracks on his fifth album ''Like it Like That''. In 2008 "Receive the Power", a gospel song written by Sebastian and Gary Pinto, was chosen as the official anthem for the Roman Catholic Church's XXIII World Youth Day. "Art of Love", co-written by Adam Reilly, was one of the songs shortlisted for the APRA Song of the Year in 2010. "All to Myself", written with Carl Dimatago, and "Who's That Girl" were shortlised for the 2011 APRA Song of the Year, with "Who's That Girl" winning the APRA Award for "Urban Work of the Year".

Sebastian has an interest in writing for other artists as well, and has gained a world-wide, long term publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing. The Daily Telegraph music editor Kathy McCabe said of his songwriting skills, "Sebastian has matured into a genuine hitmaker, his gift with melody so finely-honed he can pretty much punch out a catchy number in his sleep." "My Miss Universe", a song written by him was included as a B side on Japanese group Chemistry's recent single "Shawty". Sebastian is also involved in music production. Apart from co-producing ''The Memphis Album'' with Steve Cropper, he has his own recording studio, ''Cooper Lane Studio'', where he produces and mixes some of his music, and which is also used by other musicians. The studio has an extensive collection of rare gear he has accumulated throughout his career. He produced a song called "Think Of Me" for 2009 Australian Idol Stan Walker's debut album, as well as playing most of the musical instruments on the track.

Charitable work

thumb|left|180px|World Vision Australia Magazine. Dec 2005During his career Sebastian has had a strong commitment to charity. He has been an ambassador for the Ronald Mcdonald House charities, and is currently an ambassador for the Australian Red Cross and Golden Stave, which is the Australian music and entertainment industry's charity fund raising organisation. He is also an ambassador for World Vision Australia, and in 2005 he travelled to Uganda to film a World Vision documentary "An Idol in Africa" for a Network Ten television special. Sebastian has continued his work with World Vision, supporting the Child Rescue program and the 40 Hour Famine. He has also been involved in the Make Poverty History coalition of which World Vision is a part. In 2008 he was presented with the Extreme Inspiration Award at the Dolly Teen Choice Awards for his continuing support of World Vision. Sebastian is also strongly committed to the Sony Foundation, which raises funds to help young Australians facing homelessness, severe illness, disability and isolation. In 2009 the Sony CEO Denis Handlin said: "Every time I’ve asked Guy to get involved with the Sony Foundation through charity he’s been completely proactive. Guy’s been such a great ambassador for that, and a lot of it is under the radar but it just tells you so much about what a decent human being he is."

Sebastian contributes to many other charitable projects. In 2005 he was the guest performer on the annual Indian Pacific Outback Christmas Journey which raises money for the Royal Flying Doctor's Service. In 2008 he performed a series of 11 concerts with the Australian Army Band to raise funds for Legacy. Legacy is a voluntary organisation which supports the families of deceased veterans. The concerts were held in theatre venues around Australia and the funds raised went to the local Legacy branch in the area each concert was held. Sebastian regularly performs at other fundraising events including Brisbane radio station B105's Christmas appeal for the Royal Children's Hospital, and Perth’s annual Telethon. He also donates his time to annual Christmas carol events such as Carols in the Domain, Vision Australia's Carols By Candlelight, and Brisbane's Carols in the City. His songs are frequently featured on charity cds including the Salvation Army Christmas fundraising CDs, The Spirit Of Christmas albums. Sebastian also makes unofficial appearances at hospitals several times a year.

Other ventures

It Takes Two 2006

Between May and August 2006 Sebastian appeared as a mentor on the inaugural ''It Takes Two'', in which performers from non-musical fields are teamed with professional singers to perform a duet each week. Sebastian's partner was three-time Australian Olympic swimmer Sarah Ryan and they finished second.

Australian Philharmonic Orchestra Concerts 2007

In May 2007 Sebastian was the guest vocalist in a series of 3 concerts with the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra. These concerts were conducted by English conductor Gavin Sutherland, and were at the Sydney Opera House and Hamer Hall in Melbourne. The Australian Philharmonic Orchestra has been presenting concerts with a blend of popular classical and contemporary music for nearly 30 years. Artists they have performed with in the past include Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, Sir Cliff Richards and Ray Charles. In the 2007 concert series "Guy & the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra", Sebastian performed his own original songs and also songs which helped shape his musical development with the 60 piece orchestra and a 40 voice choir.

World Youth Day 2008

"Receive the Power" a song written by Sebastian and Gary Pinto was chosen as official anthem for the Roman Catholic Church's XXIII World Youth Day (WYD08) held in Sydney in 2008. The song also features the vocals of Paulini Curuenavuli. "Receive the Power" was released in English and also an international version with the chorus in English and verses in Italian, Spanish and French. It was used extensively throughout the 6 days of World Youth Day in July 2008, and also in the television coverage which went around the world. Sebastian and Curuenavuli performed both the English and International versions at the final Mass at Randwick Race Course on 20 July which was attended by 400,000 people. They also performed "Receive the Power" at the Pope's Farewell on 21 July.

The X Factor

Sebastian, along with Natalie Imbruglia, Ronan Keating and Kyle Sandilands was a judge on the Australian series of The X-Factor screened on Channel 7 in 2010. The X Factor is a talent competition where the judges also mentor the contestants. The contestants are selected by all the judges at the auditions, and the chosen acts are divided into four categories, Under 25 Boys, Under 25 Girls, Over 25's and Groups. Each judge is given a category and has to reduce their acts to three. The three acts from each category then compete in the live shows with continuing help from their mentors. Sebastian was given Groups, and was assisted in choosing his final three acts by Rai Thistlethwayte, lead singer of Thirsty Merc, Snoop Dogg and Usher. Sebastian will again be a judge in 2011.

Notable performances

''Asian Idol'', December 2007: Sebastian was a guest star on ''Asian Idol'', held in Jakarta, Indonesia. He performed an "Angels Brought Me Here" duet with Indonesian Idol Mike Mohede and a medley of Memphis soul songs.

Olivia Newton-John & Friends Concert, September 2008: This concert was held at the State Theatre in Sydney to raised funds for Newton-John's Cancer and Wellness Centre Appeal. Sebastian was chosen to sing a duet with Newton-John. They sang her iconic hit from ''Grease'', "Summer Nights".

Oscar Haven – Hollywood, California, February 2009: Sebastian was a headline act at an Oscar Haven party hosted by Stardust Pictures and Jamie Kennedy. "Haven is held during Oscars week so invitees include all Film Academy nominees as well as actors and insiders from film, television and music industries."

9th Annual NON-COMMvention – Philadelphia, May 2009: Sebastian performed with Steve Cropper and David Ryan Harris at the 9th Annual NON-COMMvention. The event is the premier annual conference for North America's non-commercial Triple A radio.

Australian launch of ''Michael Jackson's This Is It'' DVD, March 2010: Sebastian and Delta Goodrem were chosen by the Jackson estate to perform at the Australian launch of ''This Is It''. The invitation only event was attended by the film's director Kenny Ortega, Michael's choreographer Travis Payne, and Michael's brother Jackie Jackson Sebastian and Goodrem performed "Earth Song".

Oprah Winfrey's official welcome to Sydney and wrap up party, December 2010: Sebastian was the guest performer at an event to officially welcome Oprah Winfrey and her American audience members to Sydney on 11 December 2010. Winfrey was in Australia to record two of her shows at the Sydney Opera House. The event was held at Sydney's Botanical Gardens overlooking Sydney Harbour, and was hosted by the New South Wales premier Kristina Keneally. Sebastian sang for Winfrey a second time when she requested he perform at her private crew wrap up party on 15 December.

G'Day USA Black Tie Gala - Los Angeles, January 2011: G'Day USA is an annual two week program designed to showcase Australian business capabilities, and is the largest foreign country promotion held in the US. The Black Tie Gala honours the achievements of Australians abroad and is one of the signature events. Sebastian and the The Qantas Choir were the entertainers at the 2011 Gala. Sebastian performed his own songs and also a medley of Bee Gees songs prior to Barry Gibb being honoured for excellence in Music at the event.

7th Annual Peapod Benefit Concert - Los Angeles, February 2011: The Peapod Benefit Foundation works to encourage social change by uniting people through the music. It was founded by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas. During Grammy week each year they hold the Peapod Benefit Concert which is attended by musicians, DJ’s, philanthropists, Hollywood celebrities and industry executives. Sebastian was invited to perform at the 2011 concert. Other performers included John Legend, Natasha Bedingfield, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bobby Brown, Ciara and Jackson Browne.

7th Annual Roots Pre Grammy Jam Session - Los Angeles, February 2011: The Roots are a Grammy Award winning hip hop and neo soul American band. During Grammy week they hold a jam session and invite other musicians to perform with them. Sebastian was invited to perform at this event in 2011. It was hosted by Jimmy Fallon and other performers included Sara Bareilles, Lalah Hathaway, Booker T. Jones and Chaka Khan.

Awards and nominations

Sebastian has been nominated for numerous awards during his career, winning many of them. These awards and nominations include ARIA Awards, ARIA #1 Chart Awards, Australian Club Entertainment Awards, a Channel V Artist of the Year Award,

Tours

2004/05: Beautiful Life Tour 2007: Closer to the Sun Tour 2007: Acoustic Tour 2008: The Memphis Tour 2009: Live & By Request Tour 2010: Like It Like That Tour

2010: Bring Yourself Tour

2010: Like It Like That Tour (USA – Portland, Seattle & California)

Joint Tours

2004: Australian Idol in Concert

2007: Guy & the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra 2008: Army in Concert with Guy Sebastian

Support Tours 2011: Boyzone Tour (United Kingdom) 2011: Lionel Ritchie Tour (Australia and New Zealand)

References

External links

Guy Sebastian's Official website

Guy Sebastian's Official youtube channel

Guy Sebastian on bandit.fm

Guy Sebastian on Myplay

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian Christians Category:Australian Idol participants Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian musicians Category:Australian performers of Christian music Category:Australian Gospel singers Category:Australian pop singers Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:Australian rhythm and blues singers Category:Australian singer-songwriters Category:Australian soul singers Category:Australian people of English descent Category:Australian people of Malaysian descent Category:Australian people of Portuguese descent Category:Australian people of Sri Lankan descent Category:Idol series winners Category:The X Factor judges Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Adelaide Category:People from Selangor Category:Burgher people Category:Malaysian people of Sri Lankan descent

de:Guy Sebastian id:Guy Sebastian pl:Guy Sebastian tl:Guy Sebastian tr:Guy Sebastian

name	Steve Irwin
birth name	Stephen Robert Irwin
birth date	February 22, 1962
birth place	Essendon, Victoria
death date	September 04, 2006
death place	Batt Reef, Queensland
death cause	Stingray Accident
nationality	Australian
other names	The Crocodile Hunter
years active	1997–2006
occupation	NaturalistZoologistConservationistTelevision personalityHerpetologist
notable works	''The Crocodile Hunter''
spouse
children	Bindi Sue Irwin (b.1998)Robert Clarence Irwin (b.2003)
website	Australia Zoo }}

Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006), nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series ''The Crocodile Hunter'', an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted with his wife Terri. Together, the couple also co-owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Irwin's parents in Beerwah, about 80 km (50 miles) north of the Queensland state capital city of Brisbane. Irwin died on 4 September 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary film entitled ''Ocean's Deadliest''. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship MY ''Steve Irwin'' was named in his honour.

Early life

Irwin was born on his mother's birthday to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. He moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970, where he attended Landsborough State School and Caloundra State High School. Irwin described his father as a wildlife expert interested in herpetology, while his mother Lyn was a wildlife rehabilitator. After moving to Queensland, Bob and Lyn Irwin started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles.

Irwin became involved with the park in a number of ways, including taking part in daily animal feeding, as well as care and maintenance activities. On his sixth birthday he was given a scrub python. He began handling crocodiles at the age of nine after his father had educated him on reptiles from an early age. Also at age nine he wrestled his first crocodile, again under his father's supervision. He worked as a volunteer for Queensland's East Coast Crocodile Management program and captured over 100 crocodiles, some of which were relocated, while others were housed at the family park. Irwin took over the management of the park in 1991 and renamed it ''Australia Zoo'' in 1992.

Career

Marriage and family

In 1991, Irwin met Terri Raines, an American naturalist from Eugene, Oregon who was visiting wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Australia and had decided to visit the zoo. According to the couple, it was love at first sight. Terri said at the time, "I thought there was no one like this anywhere in the world. He sounded like an environmental Tarzan, a larger-than-life superhero guy." They were engaged four months later and were married in Eugene on 4 June 1992. Together they had two children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Clarence "Bob" (named after Irwin's father) Irwin (born 1 December 2003). Bindi Sue is jointly named after two of Steve Irwin's favourite animals: Bindi, a saltwater crocodile, and Sui, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier who died in June 2004. Irwin was as enthusiastic about his family as he was about his work. He once described his daughter Bindi as "the reason [he] was put on the Earth." His wife once said, "The only thing that could ever keep him away from the animals he loves are the people he loves even more." Although the Irwins were happily married, they did not wear wedding rings; they believed that in their line of work, wearing jewellery could pose a hazard to them and/or the animals.

''The Crocodile Hunter'' and related work

Steve and Terri spent their honeymoon trapping crocodiles together. Film footage of their honeymoon, taken by John Stainton, became the first episode of ''The Crocodile Hunter''. The series debuted on Australian TV screens in 1996, and made its way onto North American television the following year. ''The Crocodile Hunter'' became successful in the United States, the UK, and over 130 other countries, reaching 500 million people. Irwin's exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, signature khaki shorts, and catchphrase "Crikey!" became known worldwide. Sir David Attenborough praised Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was, he was a born communicator."

American satellite and cable television channel Animal Planet ended ''The Crocodile Hunter'' with a series finale entitled "Steve's Last Adventure." The last Crocodile Hunter documentary spanned three hours with footage of Irwin's across-the-world adventure in locations including the Himalayas, the Yangtze River, Borneo, and the Kruger National Park. Irwin went on to star in other Animal Planet documentaries, including ''Croc Files'', ''The Crocodile Hunter Diaries'', and ''New Breed Vets''. During a January 2006 interview on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', Irwin announced that Discovery Kids would be developing a show for his daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin – a plan realised after his death as the series ''Bindi the Jungle Girl''.

Other television and film work

In 1998, Irwin continued, working with director Mark Strickson, to present ''The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World''. He appeared on several episodes of ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. A 2000 FedEx commercial with Irwin lightheartedly dealt with the possibility of occupational death from snakebite and the fanciful notion that FedEx would have saved him, if only FedEx were used.

Under Irwin's leadership, the operations grew to include the zoo, the television series, the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation (later renamed Wildlife Warriors), and the International Crocodile Rescue. Improvements to the Australia Zoo include the Animal Planet Crocoseum, the rainforest aviary and Tiger Temple. Irwin mentioned that he was considering opening an Australia Zoo in Las Vegas, Nevada, and possibly at other sites around the world.

In 2001, Irwin appeared in a cameo role in the Eddie Murphy film ''Dr. Dolittle 2'', in which a crocodile warns Dolittle that he knows Irwin is going to grab him and is prepared to attack when he does, but Dolittle fails to warn Irwin in time. Irwin's only starring feature film role was in 2002's ''The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course'', which was released to mixed reviews. In the film Irwin (who portrayed himself and performed numerous stunts) mistakes some CIA agents for poachers. He sets out to stop them from capturing a crocodile, which, unknown to him, has actually swallowed a tracking transmitter. The film won the Best Family Feature Film award for a comedy film at the Young Artist Awards. The film was produced on a budget of about US$12 million, and has grossed $33 million. To promote the film, Irwin was featured in an animated short produced by Animax Entertainment for Intermix.

In 2002, Irwin and his family appeared in the Wiggles video/DVD release ''Wiggly Safari'', which was set in Australia Zoo and featured singing and dancing inspired by Australian wildlife.

In 2006, Irwin provided his voice for the 2006 animated film ''Happy Feet'', as an elephant seal named Trev. The film was dedicated to Irwin, as he died during post-production. Another, previously incomplete scene, featuring Irwin providing the voice of an albatross and essentially playing himself, was restored to the DVD release.

Media campaigns

Irwin was also involved in several media campaigns. He enthusiastically joined with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to promote Australia's strict quarantine/customs requirements, with advertisements and posters featuring slogans such as, "Quarantine Matters! Don't muck with it". His payments for these advertising campaigns were directed into his wildlife fund.

In 2004, Irwin was appointed ambassador for The Ghan, the passenger train running from Adelaide to Alice Springs in the central Australian outback, when the line was extended all the way to Darwin on the northern coast that year. For some time he was sponsored by Toyota.

Irwin was a keen promoter for Australian tourism in general and Queensland tourism in particular. In 2002, the Australia Zoo was voted Queensland's top tourist attraction. His immense popularity in the United States meant he often promoted Australia as a tourist destination there. As a part of the United States' "Australia Week" celebrations in January 2006, Irwin appeared at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.

Search and rescue in Mexico

In November 2003, Irwin was filming a documentary on sea lions off the coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula when he heard via his boat's radio that two scuba divers were reported missing in the area. Irwin and his entire crew suspended operations to aid in the search. His team's divers searched with the rescue divers, and Irwin used his vessel to patrol the waters around the island where the incident occurred, as well as using his satellite communications system to call in a rescue plane. On the second day of the search, kayakers found one of the divers, Scott Jones, perched on a narrow rock ledge jutting out from the side of a cliff. Irwin and a crewmember escorted him to Irwin's boat. Jones did not recognise Irwin. The other lost diver, Katie Vrooman, was found dead by a search plane later the same day not far from Jones' location.

Honours

In 1997, while on a fishing trip on the coast of Queensland with his father, Irwin discovered a new species of turtle. Later given the honour of naming the newly discovered species, he named it Irwin's turtle (''Elseya irwini'') after his family. Another newly discovered Australian animal – a species of air-breathing land snail, ''Crikey steveirwini'', was named after Irwin in 2009.

In 2001, Irwin was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government for his "service to global conservation and to Australian tourism". In 2004, he was recognised as Tourism Export of the Year. He was also nominated in 2004 for Australian of the Year – an honour which was won that year by Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh. Shortly before his death, Irwin was to be named an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland's School of Integrative Biology. On 14 November 2007, Irwin was awarded the adjunct professorship posthumously.

In May 2007, the government of Rwanda announced that it would name a baby gorilla after Irwin as a tribute to his work in wildlife conservation. Also in 2007, the state government of Kerala, India named the Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre at Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in his honour; however, Terri objected that this action had been taken without her permission and asked the Kerala government in 2009 to stop using Irwin's name and images – a request which the state government complied with in mid-2009.

Environmentalism

Irwin was a passionate conservationist and believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his excitement about the natural world rather than preaching to people. He was concerned with conservation of endangered animals and land clearing leading to loss of habitat. He considered conservation to be the most important part of his work: "I consider myself a wildlife warrior. My mission is to save the world's endangered species." Irwin bought "large tracts of land" in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the United States, which he described as "like national parks" and stressed the importance of people realising that they could each make a difference.

Irwin founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which became an independent charity and was later renamed "Wildlife Warriors Worldwide". He also helped found International Crocodile Rescue, the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund (named in memory of his mother, who died in an automobile crash in 2000), and the Iron Bark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility.

Irwin urged people to take part in considerate tourism and not support illegal poaching through the purchase of items such as turtle shells or shark-fin soup.

Sir David Attenborough was an inspiration to Irwin, according to his widow. When presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to Attenborough after Irwin's death at the British National Television Awards on 31 October 2006, Terri Irwin said, "If there's one person who directly inspired my husband it's the person being honoured tonight.... [Steve's] real, true love was conservation – and the influence of tonight's recipient in preserving the natural world has been immense." Attenborough reciprocated by praising Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying, "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was, he was a born communicator."

Irwin was described after his death by Mark Townend, CEO of RSPCA Queensland, as a "modern-day Noah." British naturalist David Bellamy lauded his skills as a natural historian and media performer. Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki paid tribute to Irwin, noting that "[h]umanity will not protect that which we fear or do not understand. Steve Irwin helped us understand those things that many people thought were a nuisance at best, a horror at worst. That made him a great educator and conservationist."

After his death, the vessel ''MV Robert Hunter'' owned by the environmental action group Sea Shepherd was renamed ''MY Steve Irwin''. Shortly before his death, Irwin had been investigating joining Sea Shepherd's 2007–2008 voyage to Antarctica to disrupt Japanese whaling activity. Following his death, the organisation suggested renaming their vessel, and this idea was endorsed by Terri Irwin. Regarding the ship and its new name, Terri said, "If Steve were alive, he'd be aboard with them!"

== Sporting activities == Irwin loved mixed martial arts competitions and trained with Greg Jackson in the fighting/grappling system of Gaidojutsu.

Like many Australians, he was a avid cricket fan. This was seen during his visit to Sri Lanka where he played cricket with some local children and said "I love cricket" and "It's a shame we have to go catch some snakes now". This was seen during the ''Crocodile Hunter'' episode “Island of the Snakes".

Having grown up in Essendon, Irwin was a fan of the Essendon Bombers, an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League. Irwin took part in an Australian Rules football promotion in Los Angeles as part of "Australia Week" in early 2006. After his death, a picture of Irwin wearing a Bombers Guernsey was shown by ESPN.com in their Bottom 10 ranking of the worst Division I FBS college football teams after Week 1 of the season in tribute to him.

Having lived in Queensland most of his life, Irwin was also a fan of rugby league. As a teenager, he played for the Caloundra Sharks as a second-rower, and as an adult he was known to be a passionate Brisbane Broncos fan and was involved with the club on several occasions. On one occasion after turning up to training he asked if he could tackle the largest player, Shane Webcke. Despite being thrown to the ground and looking like he'd been crushed he was jovial about the experience. Irwin laughingly shared the experience with the Queensland State of Origin squad before the 2006 series. Irwin also supported rugby union, being a fan of the national team, the Wallabies. He once wore a Wallaby jersey during a demonstration at the zoo. A behind-the-scenes episode of ''The Crocodile Hunter'' showed Irwin and the crew finding a petrol station in a remote part of Namibia to watch the Wallabies defeat France in the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final. Irwin was also a talented surfer.

Controversies

A controversial incident occurred during a public show on 2 January 2004, when Irwin carried his one-month-old son, Bob, in his arm while hand-feeding a chicken carcass to Murray, a saltwater crocodile. The infant was close to the crocodile, and comparisons were made in the press to Michael Jackson's dangling his son outside a German hotel window. In addition, child welfare groups, animal rights groups, and some of Irwin's television viewers criticised his actions as irresponsible and tantamount to child abuse. Irwin apologised on the US NBC Today Show. Both he and his wife publicly stated that Irwin was in complete control of the situation, as he had dealt with crocodiles since he was a small child, and based on his lifetime of experience neither he nor his son were in any danger. He also showed footage of the event shot from a different angle, demonstrating that they were much further from the crocodile than they had appeared in the publicised clip. Terri Irwin said their child was in no more danger than one being taught to swim. No charges were filed; according to one journalist, Irwin told officials he would not repeat the action. The incident prompted the Queensland government to change its crocodile-handling laws, banning children and untrained adults from entering crocodile enclosures.

In June 2004, allegations were made that he disturbed wildlife (namely whales, seals and penguins) while filming a documentary, ''Ice Breaker'', in Antarctica. The matter was subsequently closed without charges being laid.

After questions arose in 2003 about Irwin being paid $175,000 worth of taxpayers' money to appear in a television advertisement and his possible political ties, Irwin told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that he was a conservationist and did not choose sides in politics. His comments describing Australian Prime Minister John Howard as the "greatest leader in the world" earned him scorn in the media.

Irwin was criticised for having an unsophisticated view of conservation in Australia that seemed more linked to tourism than to the problems Australia faces as a continent. In response to questions of Australia's problems with overgrazing, salinity, and erosion, Irwin responded, "Cows have been on our land for so long that Australia has evolved to handle those big animals." The Sydney Morning Herald concluded with the opinion that his message was confusing and amounted to "eating roos and crocs is bad for tourism, and therefore more cruel than eating other animals".

Death

On 4 September 2006, Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray spine while snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef, at Batt Reef, which is located off the coast of Port Douglas in north Queensland. Irwin was in the area filming his own documentary, ''Ocean's Deadliest'', but weather had stalled filming. Irwin decided to take the opportunity to film some shallow water shots for a segment in the television program his daughter Bindi Irwin was hosting when the ray suddenly turned and lashed out at him with the spine on its tail.

The events were caught on camera, and a copy of the footage was handed to the Queensland Police. In an interview with ''TIME'', marine documentary filmmaker and former spearfisherman Ben Cropp concluded that Irwin had accidentally boxed the ray in, causing it to attack: "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike, and it caught him in the chest.... It's a defensive thing. It's like being stabbed with a dirty dagger.... It's a one-in-a-million thing. I have swum with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me."

Initially, when CNN's Larry King interviewed Irwin's colleague John Stainton late on 4 September 2006, Stainton denied the suggestion that Irwin had pulled the spine out of his chest or that he had seen footage of the event, insisting that the anecdote was "absolute rubbish." However, the following day, when he first described the video to the media, he stated, "Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here [in the chest], and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone."

It is thought, in the absence of a coroner's report, that a combination of the toxins and the puncture wound from the spine caused Irwin to die of cardiac arrest, with most of the damage being inflicted by tears to arteries or other main blood vessels. A similar incident in Florida a month later, in which a man survived a stingray barb through the heart, suggested that Irwin's removing the barb might have caused or hastened his death.

Crew members aboard his boat called the emergency services in the nearest city of Cairns and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to the nearby Low Islets to meet an emergency rescue helicopter. However, despite the best efforts of Irwin's crew, medical staff pronounced him dead when they arrived a short time later. According to Dr Ed O'Loughlin, who treated Irwin, "it became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries. He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest. He had lost his pulse and wasn't breathing." Irwin's body was flown to a morgue in Cairns. His wife, Terri Irwin, who was on a walking tour in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania at the time, returned via a private plane from Devonport to the Sunshine Coast with their two children.

Stainton told CNN's Larry King that, in his opinion, the videotape of Irwin's fatal accident "should be destroyed". In an interview with Barbara Walters on the American ABC network shortly after Irwin's death, Terri Irwin said she had not seen the film of her husband's deadly encounter with the stingray and that it would not be shown on television. On 3 January 2007, the only video footage showing the events that led to Irwin's death was handed over to Terri, who said that her family had not seen the video and that it would never be made public. In an 11 January 2007 interview with ''Access Hollywood'', Terri said that "all footage [had] been destroyed." Despite these statements, numerous videos and still pictures claiming to be of Irwin's death surfaced on YouTube and other Internet sites.

Production was completed on ''Ocean's Deadliest'', which aired for the first time on the Discovery Channel on 21 January 2007. The documentary was completed with footage shot in the weeks following the accident. According to Stainton, "Anything to do with the day that he died, that film is not available." Irwin's death is not mentioned in the film, aside from a still image of him at the end alongside the text "In Memory of Steve Irwin". Terri Irwin reported in 2007 that Steve had an ongoing premonition that he would die before he reached age 40. She wrote about this in a book about their lives together, ''Steve and Me''.

Reaction

News of Irwin's death prompted reactions around the world. Then Australian Prime Minister John Howard expressed his "shock and distress" at the death, saying that "Australia has lost a wonderful and colourful son." Queensland Premier Peter Beattie commented in a Channel Seven television interview that Irwin would "be remembered as not just a great Queenslander, but a great Australian". The Australian federal parliament opened on 5 September 2006 with condolence speeches by both the Prime Minister, John Howard, and the Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley. Flags at the Sydney Harbour Bridge were lowered to half mast in honour of Irwin.

Several Australian news websites went down because of high web traffic, and for the first time, the "top ten" list of most-viewed stories for Fairfax Digital news sites was swept by a single topic. Talk-back radio experienced a high volume of callers expressing their grief. The television interview show ''Enough Rope'' re-broadcast a 2003 interview between Irwin and Andrew Denton on the evening of his death. The Seven Network aired a television memorial show as a tribute to Irwin on 5 September 2006, as did the Nine Network on 6 September.

The U.S. feed of the Animal Planet cable television channel aired a special tribute to Irwin that started on Monday, 4 September. The tribute continued with the Animal Planet channel showing highlights of Irwin's more than 200 appearances on Discovery Network's shows. CNN showed a repeat of his 2004 interview on ''Larry King Live''. Late-night talk show host Jay Leno—on whose show Irwin had appeared more than ten times—delivered a tribute describing Irwin as a great ambassador of Australia. There were also tributes on ''Live with Regis & Kelly'' and Barbara Walters' ''The View.''

Hundreds of people visited Australia Zoo to pay tribute to the deceased entertainer and conservationist. The day after his death, the volume of people coming to pay their respects affected traffic so much that police reduced the speed limit near the zoo and told motorists to expect delays. BBC reported on 13 September that thousands of fans had been to Australia Zoo since Irwin's death, bringing flowers, candles, stuffed animals and messages of support. In the weeks after his death, Irwin's conservation foundation, Wildlife Warriors, reported that thousands of people from around the world were offering their support via donations to the conservation group.

Dan Mathews, vice-president of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said it was "no shock at all that Steve Irwin should die provoking a dangerous animal." He added that "Irwin made his career out of antagonising frightened wild animals, that's a very dangerous message to send to children." He also made a comparison with another well known conservationist: "If you compare [Irwin] with a responsible conservationist like Jacques Cousteau, he looks like a cheap reality TV star." The son of Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel Cousteau—also a producer of wildlife documentaries—took issue as well with Irwin's hands-on approach to nature television, saying, "You don't touch nature, you just look at it." Cousteau went on to say that although Irwin's approach "goes very well on television", it would "interfere with nature, jump on animals, grab them, hold them, and have this very, very spectacular, dramatic way of presenting things" which he felt was "very misleading". Jacques Cousteau's grandson and Jean-Michel's nephew, Philippe Cousteau Jr., however, was working with Irwin on the "Ocean's Deadliest" documentary at the time of the accident and later described him as "a remarkable individual." Describing their project, he said, "I think why Steve was so excited about it that we were looking at these animals that people think of as, you know, dangerous and deadly monsters, and they're not. They all have an important place in the environment and in the world. And that was what his whole message was about."

Backlash against stingrays

Fatalities due to stingrays are infrequent and occurrences are not consistently collated, while there have been several others in Australia. Irwin's death is believed to be the only fatality from a stingray ever captured on film. In the weeks following Irwin's death, at least ten stingrays were found dead and mutilated, with their tails cut off, on the beaches of Queensland, prompting speculation that they had been killed by fans of Irwin as an act of revenge. However Bill Turner, chairman of Queensland fishing information service Sunfish, said the claims were ridiculous. "To tie this into what happened with Steve is just ridiculous," he said. "I've been seeing this for the 50 years that I've been fishing." Michael Hornby, a friend of the late naturalist and executive director of Irwin's Wildlife Warrior fund, condemned any revenge killings. "We just want to make it very clear that we will not accept and not stand for anyone who's taken a form of retribution. That's the last thing Steve would want," he said.

Funeral

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie offered to hold a state funeral for Irwin – an honour also agreed to by Prime Minister Howard. The family decided, however, that such a funeral would not have been appropriate. Irwin's father Bob stated that his son would not have wanted such an honour and would want to be remembered as an "ordinary bloke." Beattie stated he would honour the decision of the Irwin family regarding their arrangements.

Family and friends held a private funeral service at Caloundra on the afternoon of 9 September. Irwin was buried in a private ceremony at Australia Zoo on the same day; the grave site is inaccessible to the zoo's visitors.

Public memorial service

A public service was held at the 5,500-seat Crocoseum at Australia Zoo on 20 September. The service was broadcast live, commercial free, in the eastern states of Australia, by free-to-air channels Seven, Nine and the ABC in Australia, as well as live on subscription channel Sky News Australia. In addition, it was broadcast live and without commercials on Animal Planet in the United States, as well as to Germany, the UK, and Asia. It is estimated that over 300 million viewers worldwide watched the service. The memorial was also rebroadcast in the US on Animal Planet on 1 January 2007, as part of their New Year's Day celebration, and again the following day.

The memorial included a speech by Australian Prime Minister John Howard, as well as messages by celebrities from Australia and around the world including Hugh Jackman, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, David Wenham, Kelly Ripa and Larry King. Costner called Irwin a fearless man who was brave enough to let people see him as he was. Irwin's father, Bob Irwin, spoke at the memorial, as did his daughter Bindi and associates Wes Mannion and John Stainton. Anthony Field of The Wiggles partly hosted the service, often sharing the screen with various animals, from koalas to elephants. Australian music star John Williamson sang ''True Blue'', which was Irwin's favourite song. In a symbolic finish to the service, Irwin's truck was loaded up with gear and driven out of the arena for the last time as Williamson sang. As a final tribute, Australia Zoo staff spelled out Irwin's catchphrase "Crikey" in yellow flowers as Irwin's truck was driven from the Crocoseum for the last time to end the service.

Other memorials

Flags on the Sydney Harbour Bridge flew at half mast on the day of the memorial service, and several permanent memorials for Irwin have been considered or announced since his death. Premier Peter Beattie suggested a national park be named after Irwin or a permanent memorial might be constructed in his honour, though the details of the structure would depend on Irwin's family. On 1 January 2007, Glass House Mountains Road, the road that runs by the Australia Zoo, was officially renamed Steve Irwin Way. The Australian government announced in July 2007 that there would be a nature park in Australia named after Irwin.

Animal Planet announced it would rename the garden in front of Discovery Communications' world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland to be the Steve Irwin Memorial Sensory Garden. Animal Planet also announced the creation of a Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter Fund (called "The Crikey Fund") to "provide a way for people from across the globe to make contributions in Irwin's honour to support wildlife protection, education and conservation".

On the DVD of the animated film ''Happy Feet'', there is a deleted scene in which the main character, Mumble, meets an albatross (voiced by Irwin) and a blue whale. The scene was unfinished at first, but it was included on the DVD release to honour Irwin's memory, as Irwin had insisted on being in a film that contained a message about the environment. However, this scene was removed from the movie, and it was decided to let Irwin play an elephant seal named Trev.

On 4 September 2007, Australian fans gathered at the Irwin family zoo on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland to commemorate the first anniversary of Irwin's death. State Premier Peter Beattie described Irwin as one of the state's greatest cultural ambassadors. On 15 November, Irwin's widow Terri and children, Bindi and Bob, remembered his life and achievements on "''Steve Irwin Day''."

An asteroid discovered in 2001 was named 57567 Crikey in honour of Irwin and his "signature phrase".

Filmography

''Croc Files'' ''Dr. Dolittle 2'' ''Mystery Hunters'' ''The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course ''The Fairly OddParents ''5 Takes#Season Two- 5 Takes: Pacific Rim ''Happy Feet'' ''Ocean's Deadliest'' ''Bindi the Jungle Girl''

Year	! Film	! Role	! Other notes
rowspan="1"	1997–2004	''The Crocodile Hunter''	Himself
rowspan="1"	1999–2000	|	Himself
rowspan="1"	2001	|	Himself	Cameo role
rowspan="1"	2002	|	Himself	One episode
rowspan="1"	2002	|	Himself
rowspan="1"	2004	|	The Bad Parent Hunter	Episode: ''Nega Timmy''
rowspan="1"	2006	5 Takes: Pacific Rim'' ||	Himself	One Episode
rowspan="1"	2006	|	Trev	(voice)
rowspan="1"	2007	|	Himself	TV Special (Released after death), In Memory of.
2007–2008	|	Himself	TV series, released after death. New and Archive Footage

References

External links

Australia Zoo's ''Crocodile Hunter'' website

Official Animal Planet website for The Crocodile Hunter

Steve 'The Crocodile Hunter' Irwin – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Huge collection of features and photographs from Daily Telegraph concerning the Irwins

Category:1962 births Category:2006 deaths Category:Australian conservationists Category:Australian environmentalists Category:Australian naturalists Category:Australian herpetologists Category:Australian television presenters Category:People from Melbourne Category:People from Queensland Category:Australian actors Category:Deaths due to fish attacks Category:Accidental deaths in Queensland Category:Filmed accidental deaths Category:Filmed deaths of entertainers

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