Some Australians are saying they want Steve Irwin’s face on their money instead of the new monarch King Charles III.
In the wake of the Queen's death some Aussies have flocked online to call for a new, non-royal, face to grace their cash.
The Queen died aged 96 after 70 years on the throne on September 8, sparking a wave of mourning across the UK and the entire world.
Her death heralds in a raft of changes across the Commonwealth and UK that include the introduction of new banknotes and coins that will carry the new king’s face.
But some down under have pressed for a change on their country’s legal tender.
Social media was flooded with calls to get a new face on Australia’s money and many recommended the late wildlife expert who died in 2006 after being stung in the chest by a stingray.
One woman tweeted: “Time to replace Queen Elizabeth's face on cash with Steve Irwin or Heath Ledger, I reckon,”.
Another echoed her sentiment, saying: “Can we get a petition to get Steve Irwin's face on money in place of the queen going? It's what we all want.”
A third said: “Steve Irwin deserves our highest form of currency. The $5 note will explode in value if we put him on that note.”
But it wasn’t just Steve Irwin Aussies were keen for. In their desire to boot the king off their cash their proposals covered fictional characters, native animals and even classic Australian food.
In a Reddit post titled ‘RIP Queen Betty’ one man called on his fellow Australians to nominate potential figures to replace the Queen on the $5 note.
He said: “Alright.... now for the important s***. Who we gonna put on all our money? Because I can't see that Charles on there. Maybe Steve Irwin, or Russell Coight? Throw us some ideas.”
One person put forward Neighbours alum Alf Stewart whilst another called for Australian sitcom characters Kath and Kim.
A third Aussie was more keen on having the native Australian bird, the Ibis, known as the ‘bin chicken’ on it.
They wrote: “Just wanna see our nation's proudest bird on our coins. The Bin Chicken,".
Someone else backed this writing: “Considering the cultural history of Straya taking the p*** out of itself I completely support putting bin chickens on coins.”
Other recommendations included a rugby league jersey, comedian Hamish Blake, and a pavlova.
However, any Australians fearing King Charles III’s appearance on their cash have a while to wait before any changes.
The Reserve Bank of Australia confirmed the king is expected to feature on the note but that there would be “no immediate change”.
In keeping with tradition, when his face does eventually emerge on money it will be facing the opposite way to his mother.
This continues the royal tradition thought to have begun around 1660 under Charles II where the new monarch faces the opposite direction of the old monarch.
The only exception was Edward VIII who insisted on his profile facing left for reasons not known.
