Terri Irwin shared a photo on Instagram on Thursday, April 16, showing her granddaughter Grace playing on a swing Steve Irwin built years earlier for Bindi Irwin. In her caption, Terri said Steve would be so happy to know that Grace is now playing in the sunshine on the swing he made with love.
Grace is 5, and the image lands amid a run of family tributes marking her birthday and Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell’s sixth wedding anniversary. Bindi and Powell welcomed Grace in 2021, exactly one year after they married at the Australia Zoo, and Bindi marked March 25 with a post calling it the most meaningful day of her life, while Robert Irwin also shared birthday snaps and said he could not believe how fast 5 years had gone by.
The post carries extra weight because Steve Irwin died before Grace was born, turning a piece of family handiwork into a connection across generations. The swing was made for Bindi, not for Grace, but it has become part of the child’s own childhood now, one more way the family keeps Steve present in the daily life of the zoo and the people he left behind.
That is also what gives the tribute its edge. The family’s public posts have been warm and celebratory, but they are also reminders of how closely Grace’s life is tied to the milestones around her parents’ marriage and the loss of the grandfather she will know through stories, photos and the things he made. Bindi said in August 2023 that Grace was their tiny little miracle, and this latest image shows that miracle growing up with Steve’s touch still in view.
For Terri, the answer is already in the picture: the swing built for Bindi is now carrying Grace, and the family’s memories are still moving forward with it.