Steve Irwin was, and still is, Australia's national treasure.

via: Getty

The Aussie was best known for his hit TV show, The Crocodile Hunter, and he was a strong advocate for conservation and animal rights.

The Crocodile Hunter was famous for Steve's unconventional approach to wildlife...

And the series aired sixty-four episodes during 5 seasons, from 1997 - 2004.

His passion for animals was truly inspiring...

via: Getty

And Steve would go to great lengths, both on and off-camera, to protect Australia's wildlife.

Steve was a prime example of a kind and selfless human being...

And this is what made the entire world love him so much.

He passed on this kind nature and passion to his family...

via: Getty

Steve was married to Terri, an American-born author and conservationist who now resides in Queensland, Australia.

Terri starred alongside Steve in The Crocodile Hunter...

And it was easy to see that the couple were made for each other.

The couple went on to have 2 children together...

via: Getty

Bindi Irwin was born in 1998 and Robert Irwin was born in 2003 - and it has to be said, they made the cutest family.

Bindi and Robert sometimes made appearances on TV with their dad...

via: Getty

And they were already so passionate about his work at such young ages.

But tragedy struck in 2006...

via: Getty

Steve was filming in Australia's Great Barrier Reef for the documentary series Ocean's Deadliest on the 4th of September, 2006 when he was stung in the chest by a wild stingray barb during a snorkeling session.

The stingray stabbed Steve several times...

via: Getty

And whilst Steve believed he had only suffered a punctured lung, the stingray's barb had actually pierced his heart, causing the conservationist to quickly lose consciousness.

The crew who was with Steve at the time of the accident did everything they could...

via: Twitter

"...Even if we'd been able to get him into an emergency ward at that moment we probably wouldn't have been able to save him, because the damage to his heart was massive. As we're motoring back I'm screaming at one of the other crew in the boat to put their hand over the wound and we're saying to him things like, 'Think of your kids, Steve, hang on, hang on.' He just sort of calmly looked up at me and said, 'I'm dying.' And that was the last thing he said," one of the underwater cameramen tragically recalled.

Steve passed away on the boat journey to the hospital...

via: Getty

And he was pronounced dead by paramedics after the boat crew had performed CPR on him for over an hour during the journey back.

His death shook the world...

via: Getty Images

And, of course, the family that he had left behind.

Terri and the children were completely distraught...

But over the years, Terri has raised her children to remember their father and they have all worked together to honor Steve's legacy by continuing to care for animals at Australia Zoo.

Bindi and Robert are truly their father's children...

And the family regularly speak about Steve and the beautiful memories they made with him.

The kids are now adults themselves...

via: Getty

Bindi is twenty-one and Robert is sixteen, and it is amazing to see the pair pursuing careers in conservation and zoology just like their father.

Whilst Robert is carrying on his father's work...

And looking more and more like him as the years go on, Bindi is now a happily married woman with a baby on the way.

Bindi and her husband, Chandler, announced the happy news last month...

And even though the family is so excited, the pain remains that Steve will never get to see his kids grow up and, of course, meet his grandchildren.

The family knows how proud Steve would have been...

But there's no denying how much they continue to miss him every single day.

The fourteen year anniversary of Steve's death arrived last week on the 4th of September...

And as we can only imagine, it was a difficult day for the Irwins.

But never the less, they took to social media to pay their tributes to their late father.

Robert paid tribute by sharing a photo from a recent research trip to The Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, a reserve in Cape York, Australia, that "has been set aside as a tribute to the conservation work of Steve Irwin and a place for scientific research and discovery."

He wrote:

"This research was all started by Dad and to this day we still use the same methods of capture that he created. Our crocodile research began 17 years ago when Australia Zoo joined forces with the University of Queensland to conduct world-leading science and lead the charge in crocodile conservation. And today we get to keep this vital work going, using state of the art solar tracking technology to learn even more about these amazing animals make sure Dad’s mission and passion for croc conservation continues!"

Bindi then shared an adorable throwback snap...

She simply wrote, "You’re always in my heart."

Utterly heartbreaking.

Rest in Peace, Steve. Keep on reading to get more on Bindi and Chandler's wedding day...