"Hey, did you here about Steve Irwin?"
"Yeah."
"How about that? What a spinout."
That carpark conversation this afternoon between two young Australians is proof that Irwin, TV's larger-than-life Crocodile Hunter, made a huge impression.
People everywhere - in Australia and overseas - have been talking about him since the news broke. This afternoon, the ABC News website has gone into a minimalist mode to try to keep up with the demand for traffic.
As I said on the ie blog, Irwin will be remembered not just as a showman but as a person who shared his enthusiasm for nature with the world. He was also a great ambassador for this country. As one shopper was overheard to say, "they'll have to hold his funeral at a cricket ground" because so many people will want to come along and pay their respects. There's no doubt Irwin's family will be offered a state funeral. Exactly what arrangement they make is, of course, up to them.
PS: Australian children's author Colin Thiele, whose Storm Boy became a popular film, also died in Brisbane this morning.