Bindi Irwin shares that while she felt overwhelmed by the "whirlwind" of grief when her father died, she felt propelled to continue his legacy. Photo / Getty Images
Bindi Irwin shares that while she felt overwhelmed by the "whirlwind" of grief when her father died, she felt propelled to continue his legacy. Photo / Getty Images
Bindi Irwin has shared the journal entry she wrote just days after her father Steve Irwin's death, saying the pivotal moment allowed her to move on.
Despite being just 8 at the time, Bindi said the decision allowed her to "continue on".
"I remember thinking, this emotion is going to shape me; this is going to be a real turning point on how I continue on with the rest of my life and I want to be strong for my family," she said, appearing on the Australian podcast What About Death!?.
"One day — I wrote it in my journal, actually — I was like, 'this is it; I am choosing not to wallow in sadness anymore'.
"I am choosing to find the strength that Dad had and continue on."
Steve Irwin passed away on Sept 4, 2006 aged 44, after he was stung in the chest by a stingray barb at the Great Barrier Reef. Bindi was only 8 at the time. Photo / Getty Images
In the conversation with Australian Tibetan Buddhist nun Tsultrim, Bindi said losing her father was the "hardest thing" she and her brother Bob Irwin have experienced and said their grief "walks beside us every day".
The conservation advocate said while she felt overwhelmed by the "whirlwind" of grief, she felt propelled to continue her dad's legacy.
"I made this decision and I was so young … I remember thinking: 'I'm going to stand up and I'm going to be strong and I'm going to take all of my emotion and channel it into something good'."
Her shift in mindset resulted in her desire to speak Irwin's memorial service where the 8-year-old celebrated her father's conservation efforts.
"I have the best daddy in the whole world and I will miss him every day," she said at the time. "When I see a crocodile I will always think of him and I know that Daddy made this zoo so everyone could come and learn to love all the animals."
Steve Irwin was a famed Australian zookeeper, conservationist and wildlife expert who was famously known as 'The Crocodile Hunter' – which was also the name of his TV series.
Irwin tragically passed away on September 4, 2006 aged 44, after he was stung in the chest by a stingray barb at the Great Barrier Reef. At the time of his death, he was filming a documentary series called Ocean's Deadliest.
Present at the day of Irwin's death, his close friend and the producer behind The Crocodile Hunter TV show, John Stainton told the I've Got News For You podcast that Irwin gave a speech to the crew that felt "really weird".
"He was sort of thanking them all for being who they were and for helping him … It was like a 'finale' speech … Very weird," said Stainton.
"I had this idea on arriving that something was wrong, but it's just life, you never know what things are going to do to you."
Steve Irwin's widow Terri Irwin (C) and children Robert Irwin (L) and Bindi Irwin (R) have continued his animal conservation work. Photo / Getty Images
Speaking on Anh's Brush with Fame, his wife Terri Irwin also shared the eerie prediction Irwin had about his early death.
"You know he never thought he would have a long life. He just always kind of had this sense that his life would be cut short," she said.
"I remember him saying to me, 'I don't think I am going to film anymore, I think I am just going to spend time with my kids'."
