Bindi & Terri Irwin AM
While it was “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin who blasted the family into public consciousness in 1991, it is the females in his life who have proved instrumental in protecting his legacy and continuing his conservation crusade. Daughter Bindi was just six years old when Steve was killed in 2006, but even at that early age she knew her purpose. Just months after losing her father, Bindi joined The Weekly as a columnist, sharing her passion for wildlife. Terri, meanwhile, not only stepped up as sole owner of Australia Zoo and the Wildlife Warriors foundation, but made them bigger, “because I promised”. Along with son Robert and Bindi’s now-husband, Chandler Powell, the Irwin women returned to Lady Elliot Island – a tropical coral paradise the Irwins helped restore to health – with The Weekly in 2019. “We are a family who works together, lives together and holidays together,” Terri said. “We communicate well, and I think it’s a natural effect of losing Steve. I think we became closer and stronger as a family.”
Elizabeth Evatt AC
Elizabeth Evatt was a trailblazing lawyer – our first female Federal Court judge, the first Australian elected to the UN Human Rights Committee; she chaired the controversial Royal Commission on Human Relationships in 1977 and was the first Chief Judge of the Family Court. That role transformed marriage, and divorce, in Australia.
Jane Turner OAM & Gina Riley
The creators cemented their status as Australian royalty on a Christmas cover within 2002 – a testament, but it was men who wrote the gags. So, the three penned the riotousin 1994 – and it was in one of these sketches thatwere born. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” Magda, who played Sharon, told last year of the impact the series continues to have on Australian comedy.
