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However, is it not morally reprehensible to speak ill of the dead anyway?

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1.You have grown into a sad pathetic old lady with a chip on your shoulder 2.I'm half your age Greer and when I was completing school more jokes were made with your name in it than I can remember. 3.I feel sorry that such a disgraceful lady has to come out and be a prat at a time of mourning. 4.Ms Greer you are only seeking self aggrandizement. 5.You are the disgrace, you tired old witch. How dare you? How do you think you are? Let me tell you - you are nothing and no-one....rantings of a lunatic....6.What a fool she is!....Maybe you have spent too long in the UK and have appropriately become a whinging POM! 7.she might as well go jump off a bridge and do us a favour! 8.She must just remember she shall not be missed! 9. Think back lady you were pathetic then and even more so now. 10.germaine greer is a dried up old hag

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The writers of the first ten comments are so descriptive and so educated in the use of the English language (except #6 who would probably be horrified to learn that they are speaking "Pommy") that I fear that I may be overcome with envy if I read the further 300 or so.

Yes Copago I thought that the posters on the forums you,and I, are refering to were very harsh on that poor seller in particular. She has pulled the sale and Irwins wildlife fund loses more money because of the unthinking people that harassed the seller.

Gatsby I`ll get back to you later.

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Gatsby I`ll get back to you later.

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Oh, heaven help us ! I think I'm going to get 'hauled out to the woodshed'...

[I need a shot of Tequila, methinks. This could get ugly (just kidding )...]

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In death, as in life, the effervescent Irwin has divided the nation.


To some, he was a buffoon who by his wanton clowning around perpetuated a caricature of the Australian male as a swaggering braggart with more brawn than brain.

'For years, Steve has teased and tormented all types of animals to the point of the creatures' distraction, all in the name of 'education,'' Ray Duncan wrote in a letter to The Australian. 'He incurred many bites and stings in the process and it was only a matter of time before one was fatal.'

But to others, Irwin had more than bravery, showmanship and a boyish charm on his side. He was the embodiment of an up-for-it country where anyone with energy and ambition could not just flourish but take on the world.

'What a great personality and a shining example of all that's great about Australia,' a couple wrote to the paper from England. 'We'll miss you, mate.'

While some embraced Irwin for his have-a-go personality and the enthusiasm with which he brought the country's wildlife to a world audience, there were detractors who showed that Australia is not the classless and snobless society it's cracked up to be.

Just as there was envy of the wealth and influence that his international profile had brought him, there was also derision at his short-pants, his breathless hyperbole and his broad accent.

Whereas Australia's first great cultural export, Paul 'Crocodile Dundee' Hogan, was a character actor made good, Irwin became rich and famous playing himself.

'When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as this very popular wildlife warrior Australian bloke,' Irwin said. 'And yet back here in my own country some people find me a little bit embarrassing.'

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Isn't this a case of a celebrity being accorded honors simply on the basis of their celebrity?

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CB, a State funeral is rarely accorded to a NON-celebrity!

The Australian psyche is hard to explain- we have a love/hate relationship with our celebs- we tend to build them up, just to tear them down; it is called the 'tall-poppy syndrome'. I cannot explain why happens- it just does.

Steve Irwin was a larger-than-life character that most people had an opinion of, but he was still a proud Aussie. Personally, I enjoyed his buffoonery to am extent- the only thing that annoyed me was that the rest of the world thought he was a typical Australian! Nothing could be further from the truth... most locals have never seen a croc (or a sting-ray) in the wild, and probably do not want to

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Just as an aside, the Irwin family did not take up the Queensland Government's offer of a State funeral, but chose to farewell him privately.

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