Robert Eric Irwin (born 8 June 1939) is an Australian

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, animal conservationist, former

zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

, and a

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

known for his conservation and husbandry work with

apex predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator or superpredator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the hig ...

s and

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s. He is the founder of the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park (now known as Australia Zoo). His son was the television personality

Steve Irwin Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 19624 September 2006), known as "the Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, Conservation movement, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist. Irwin grew up ar ...

Early life

Robert Irwin was born on 8 June 1939, in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria. He was a plumber from

who had also spent time building sheds and houses.

Career

Irwin's career in animal conservation began in 1970, when Irwin moved his family from Essendon, located north west of

, to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. Irwin purchased of land to construct a wildlife refuge, and constructed the Beerwah Reptile Park. Irwin also resigned from his role as manager of Ironbark Station at Blackbutt where he lived, moving to a new property surrounded by forest and national park between

Kingaroy Kingaroy () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the Road Junction, junction of the D'Aguilar Highway, D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highway, Buny ...

and Murgon where he would continue his son's conservation work.Green, Glenis (2 March 2008)
"Help for Bob Irwin as he retires from Australia Zoo"
'' The Sunday Mail'' (Qld). Irwin's memoir, ''The Last Crocodile Hunter: A Father and Son Legacy'', was released on 25 October 2016.

Personal life

Irwin married Lyn Hakainsson (1942–2000), a maternity nurse who was killed in a car accident. Together, they had three children, a daughter, Joy in 1960, son

Steve Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation) ...

(1962–2006), and a second daughter, Mandy in 1966. Bob Irwin has since remarried to Judy, and was Queensland's Grandfather of the Year in 2008. Irwin and his wife live on a rural property near

, from where Irwin continued to campaign for wildlife and environmental conservation through his foundation, Bob Irwin Wildlife & Conservation Foundation Inc. On 2 March 2008, it was announced that Bob Irwin had resigned from Australia Zoo. On 12 April 2011, Bob Irwin was arrested and charged for contravening police direction as part of his civil disobedience actions against the Queensland Gas Company. He was protesting the construction of a gas pipeline. He faced court in May 2011. On 1 July 2011, Bob Irwin announced he was considering challenging Labor incumbent

Kate Jones Kate Jennifer Jones (born 10 April 1979) is an Australian former politician. She served as a Labor Party Member of Parliament in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2006 to 2012, and again from 2015 to 2020. Jones first represented th ...

and Liberal National Party leader

Campbell Newman Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman (born 12 August 1963) is an Australian former politician who served as the 38th Premier of Queensland from 26 March 2012 to 14 February 2015. He served as the member for Ashgrove in the Legislative Assembly of Que ...

for the seat of Ashgrove in Brisbane. On 5 September 2011, it was reported that Irwin had become disenchanted with politics and felt he could best carry on his passion for animal conservation and fight against the coal seam gas industry from outside of the political arena. In June 2018, Irwin announced his retirement, and his Foundation announced suspension of its operations, "for the foreseeable future". In June 2021, Irwin's granddaughter Bindi claimed that her entire life "has been psychological abuse from him." She also stated that Bob "never said a single kind word to her personally", and had “shown no interest” in spending time with her or her family. Irwin denied these comments through a spokesperson (fellow conservationist and family friend Amanda French) not long after.

References

External links

Bob Irwin, Artist of the Month
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Bob 1939 births Living people People from Melbourne Australian people of Irish descent Australian conservationists Australian herpetologists Australian naturalists Bob 20th-century Australian inventors Zoo owners