Aussies Want 'All-Time Greatest Bloke' on Currency

That would be the late Steve Irwin
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 16, 2016 7:19 AM CDT
Aussies Want 'All-Time Greatest Bloke' on Currency
In this June 18, 1999, file photo, Steve Irwin holds a 9-foot female alligator accompanied by his American wife, Terri.   (AP Photo/Russell McPhedran, File)

More than 25,000 people have signed a Change.org petition that aims to put the "all time greatest Australian bloke" on the country's currency, the BBC reports. That bloke is the late conservationist Steve Irwin, who died 10 years ago this month. "With a list a mile long of all the good Steve had accomplished in our world let's show our appreciation to a great true blue Australian," the petition reads. One of the founders also tells the BBC that Irwin would be a solid choice because "the newer generation barely knows" those whose mugs currently grace the country's currency. A Facebook page has been set up to get the word about the push for Irwin, the Telegraph reports.

The Royal Australian Mint usually only permits likenesses of the UK's Queen Elizabeth and/or other members of the British royal family on its commemorative coins; it's not clear what the ruling is for notes, which are printed by a different organization. The head of the mint, though, doesn't seem opposed to the general idea, telling his fellow citizens to send in a written proposal if they really want to make this happen. Meanwhile, Irwin's daughter, Bindi, tells News Corp Australia that it's "such an honor" her dad is being considered. Irwin being made a literal national treasure wouldn't be unprecedented: He appeared on a dollar coin as part of a limited-edition set in 2009. (More Steve Irwin stories.)

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