Millicent Cooke
People are calling for Steve Irwin’s face to be printed on Australian money instead of King Charles III in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
The Queen died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8. She served for 70 years on the throne, making her the longest-serving monarch in the UK.
Australian coins and the $5 banknote currently feature a portrait of the late British monarch.
Find out more about the Queen’s reign below…
The Australian National Bank announced on September 9 that they will be updated to feature the face of King Charles, the Daily Mail reports. But some people have been calling for a different choice altogether.
The change to feature Charles, 73, marks the first change of monarch on Australian coins since the death of King George VI in February 1952.
Australia is one of 14 countries the Queen reigned over as head of state, meaning currency will also be changed from New Zealand to Canada. But many think that famous Australians should be commemorated on the country’s currency instead – and there’s one name that keeps coming up.
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“Time to replace Queen Elizabeth’s face on cash with Steve Irwin,” one woman tweeted.
Another Aussie wrote on Reddit: “Who [are] we gonna put on all our money? Because I can’t see Charles on there. Maybe Steve Irwin?”
“Give it to Steve Irwin,” another Redditor replied.
This is not the first time people have demanded the Crocodile Hunter’s face should be printed on Australian currency.
In August, one person’s tweet on the subject gained more than 350 retweets and 4,000 likes.
“Steve Irwin should be printed on Australian money,” they tweeted.
“Wholeheartedly agree,” someone replied.
Another wrote: “As an Aussie, hard agree. Man’s a legend.”
Someone else tweeted: “Yep they should put him on the five dollar note and get rid of the Queen.”
Another replied: “Steve Irwin should be printed on money everywhere.”
Meanwhile, a Change.org petition called ‘Put Steve Irwin on the Australian currency’ previously gained more than 31,000 signatures.
The petition to the Royal Australian Mint read: “It’s about time we paid our respects to the all-time greatest Australian bloke, Steve Irwin.”
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“Let’s make a change for something in the history of our country.”
“Let’s show our appreciation to a great true blue Australian by putting Stephen ‘Steve’ Irwin on our country’s currency.”
The Reserve Bank of Australia says the current plan is to update its Australian coins to feature the portrait of King Charles.
According to the Daily Mail, the bank says the change to $5 notes could take ‘several years’.
The Queen’s death affects the five, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins, and $1 and $2 coins.
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