January 21, 2026 • 5 mins
Let us introduce you to Harriet the Tortoise!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the Jonesy and Demanda podcast. What do
Charles Darwin, Steve Irwin and my beloved ninety two year
old father Arthur Keller have in common turtlenecks. You're not
quite wrong. That's good English about turtles or tortoises. They
all are connected in some way to Harriet, the legendary
(00:22):
tortoise that lived at Australia Zoo until it was one
hundred and seventy six years old. It didn't start its
life Australia Zoo. It was owned by Charles Darwin before
it was owned by Steve Irwin. That's right. Yeah, this
is a galapagus tortoise. It is they live. That's one
of the longest lived ones ever. There is a one
that there is one in Madagascar that lived to one
(00:44):
hundred and eighty eight years. Is that the same as
human years? Is that human years or no, it's the
same thing. It's not like dogs. It's a year is
a year, So one hundred and seventy six years. So
when someone gives you that for Christmas, it's not just
for Christmas, it's for eighteen million narrations. Think about that.
Put in the whill so this one hundred Harriet, one
(01:05):
hundred and seventy six year old Galapicus tortoise was believed
to be one of three tortoises collected. And I'll tell
you in a minute how my father is connected. He
was collected by Charles Darwin during his eighteen thirty five
expedition on the HMS Beagle. They didn't pick up my
father at the same time. But Harriet lived in extraordinary life,
(01:26):
spending time in Britain before coming to Australia in the
eighteen hundredths where she was initially misidentified as a male
and was called to Harry. Harriet spent her final years
at Australia's So this is she lived this incredible life.
So she would have been doing her own business in
Galapicus Islands. Charles Darwin was sailing around HMS Beagle. It
(01:49):
was what an interesting specimen. Let me take I'll take
that which and he lived with Charles. She lived with
Charles Darwen for some time and then like twenty years
before she passed away, she ended up in Australia Zoo.
She spent her final years there. Steve Irwin considered her
part of the family. She passed away in two thousand
(02:09):
and six due to heart failure, marking the end of
an incredible life that spanned almost two centuries. That's the
same year Steve passed away. Well, what's really interesting, and
this is where my father comes in. My family went
to Australia Zoo that year, not long before Steve passed away.
Steve wasn't there at the time, but Terry was. We
met Ted, We hung out with Terry, We hung out
(02:31):
with Robert, who was the same age as my youngest son,
who's now twenty two. And we hung out with Bindy.
So our family, Liam and Jack, my sons, Harley, and
I hung out with them at Australia Zoo. And we
met Harriet at Galapagus Tortoise, as did my father. Dad
was with us too, so Dad was particularly enamored of Harriet.
(02:53):
Loves a wrinkle about the same age. That's right. I
remember him feeding Harriet a hibiscus flower and then very
very shortly after she died. Right. So are you saying
I'm not saying my father killed Harriet. Well, this is
a thing. I have looked this up over the years
and occasionally they do. It wasn't a poison or anything
(03:16):
like that. The timing was she had heart failure and
you know, well she lived one hundred and seventy six years.
She looked her dad and thought, okay, I'm out. So interesting.
That's how my father is linked to Charles Darwin and
Steve Irwin. But this is another interesting thing about this
is that Terry Owen has written about this in her
book that John Edward the psychic went to Australia zoo
and spoke to Harriet. Apparently he wasn't aware that he
(03:41):
could communicate with living animals, and he went to the
zoo and Harriet communicated with him. And here's some things.
This is what Terry Ewen I said. And she's not
a woo woo person. As you know, Edwards is a
friend of hers. But she's not woo. She said. Although John,
I think what you said, it's like woo, not woo.
Just the sad people think that. Yeah. No, I don't
(04:03):
think she's very fairy. No she's not, she said. John
hadn't been to the zoo before, but Harriet the tortoise
told him that she used to be in another enclosure,
which she liked, but she liked this new one better.
And that made sense because apparently her new enclosure was bigger.
Harriet had said she liked the one of the keepers
who had an accent, but it wasn't Australian or American.
(04:23):
John couldn't pick it. Then he met Jan who was English.
She said, that's the accent. John said that Harriet had
said she'd had blood drawn from her tail, which they said, yes,
that's correct, we did a DNA profile on her. But
what about this? They thought John didn't get this bit right.
John said, Harriet misses her blanket, and Terry said, you know, John,
(04:43):
Harriet can't have a blanket because she tries to eat everything,
just as to the high biscuits. She misses her blanket,
John insisted. After he left the zoo, I asked Steve
about it. Did Harriet have a blanket? Nah mate? Steve
said she'd have eaten it. Weeks went by and I
visited Steve's dad, Bob, and told him about John Edwards
right up to the blanket, and he said he was
(05:04):
spot on until he got to the blanket. Oh, and
said he was spot on until he got to the blanket.
Bob's face, this is the dad. Steve's dad widened with
a big grin actually, back in the eighties, he said,
a woman knitted a blanket for Harriet. On cold nights
before we had given Harriet a heat lamp. We'd put
the blanket over her shell, hoping it would help her
contain some of her heat during the night. But Bob said,
(05:27):
Harriet had that blanket for weeks and weeks until one
day she tried to eat it and we had to
take it away. So she'd had a blanket, and that
all said, John's talking out of his wa zoo, because
why would we give her one? And she had had
a blanket, extraordinary, extraord We've gone from woo woo to wazoo.
I know it's all there at the Zoo Astralia Zoo.
(05:47):
I'd be happy. So in two thousand and six, just
before Steve died, Harriet the tortoise died and my father
was responsible. Maybe in there
You're listening to the Jonesy and Demanda podcast. What do
Charles Darwin, Steve Irwin and my beloved ninety two year
old father Arthur Keller have in common turtlenecks. You're not
quite wrong. That's good English about turtles or tortoises. They
all are connected in some way to Harriet, the legendary
(00:22):
tortoise that lived at Australia Zoo until it was one
hundred and seventy six years old. It didn't start its
life Australia Zoo. It was owned by Charles Darwin before
it was owned by Steve Irwin. That's right. Yeah, this
is a galapagus tortoise. It is they live. That's one
of the longest lived ones ever. There is a one
that there is one in Madagascar that lived to one
(00:44):
hundred and eighty eight years. Is that the same as
human years? Is that human years or no, it's the
same thing. It's not like dogs. It's a year is
a year, So one hundred and seventy six years. So
when someone gives you that for Christmas, it's not just
for Christmas, it's for eighteen million narrations. Think about that.
Put in the whill so this one hundred Harriet, one
(01:05):
hundred and seventy six year old Galapicus tortoise was believed
to be one of three tortoises collected. And I'll tell
you in a minute how my father is connected. He
was collected by Charles Darwin during his eighteen thirty five
expedition on the HMS Beagle. They didn't pick up my
father at the same time. But Harriet lived in extraordinary life,
(01:26):
spending time in Britain before coming to Australia in the
eighteen hundredths where she was initially misidentified as a male
and was called to Harry. Harriet spent her final years
at Australia's So this is she lived this incredible life.
So she would have been doing her own business in
Galapicus Islands. Charles Darwin was sailing around HMS Beagle. It
(01:49):
was what an interesting specimen. Let me take I'll take
that which and he lived with Charles. She lived with
Charles Darwen for some time and then like twenty years
before she passed away, she ended up in Australia Zoo.
She spent her final years there. Steve Irwin considered her
part of the family. She passed away in two thousand
(02:09):
and six due to heart failure, marking the end of
an incredible life that spanned almost two centuries. That's the
same year Steve passed away. Well, what's really interesting, and
this is where my father comes in. My family went
to Australia Zoo that year, not long before Steve passed away.
Steve wasn't there at the time, but Terry was. We
met Ted, We hung out with Terry, We hung out
(02:31):
with Robert, who was the same age as my youngest son,
who's now twenty two. And we hung out with Bindy.
So our family, Liam and Jack, my sons, Harley, and
I hung out with them at Australia Zoo. And we
met Harriet at Galapagus Tortoise, as did my father. Dad
was with us too, so Dad was particularly enamored of Harriet.
(02:53):
Loves a wrinkle about the same age. That's right. I
remember him feeding Harriet a hibiscus flower and then very
very shortly after she died. Right. So are you saying
I'm not saying my father killed Harriet. Well, this is
a thing. I have looked this up over the years
and occasionally they do. It wasn't a poison or anything
(03:16):
like that. The timing was she had heart failure and
you know, well she lived one hundred and seventy six years.
She looked her dad and thought, okay, I'm out. So interesting.
That's how my father is linked to Charles Darwin and
Steve Irwin. But this is another interesting thing about this
is that Terry Owen has written about this in her
book that John Edward the psychic went to Australia zoo
and spoke to Harriet. Apparently he wasn't aware that he
(03:41):
could communicate with living animals, and he went to the
zoo and Harriet communicated with him. And here's some things.
This is what Terry Ewen I said. And she's not
a woo woo person. As you know, Edwards is a
friend of hers. But she's not woo. She said. Although John,
I think what you said, it's like woo, not woo.
Just the sad people think that. Yeah. No, I don't
(04:03):
think she's very fairy. No she's not, she said. John
hadn't been to the zoo before, but Harriet the tortoise
told him that she used to be in another enclosure,
which she liked, but she liked this new one better.
And that made sense because apparently her new enclosure was bigger.
Harriet had said she liked the one of the keepers
who had an accent, but it wasn't Australian or American.
(04:23):
John couldn't pick it. Then he met Jan who was English.
She said, that's the accent. John said that Harriet had
said she'd had blood drawn from her tail, which they said, yes,
that's correct, we did a DNA profile on her. But
what about this? They thought John didn't get this bit right.
John said, Harriet misses her blanket, and Terry said, you know, John,
(04:43):
Harriet can't have a blanket because she tries to eat everything,
just as to the high biscuits. She misses her blanket,
John insisted. After he left the zoo, I asked Steve
about it. Did Harriet have a blanket? Nah mate? Steve
said she'd have eaten it. Weeks went by and I
visited Steve's dad, Bob, and told him about John Edwards
right up to the blanket, and he said he was
(05:04):
spot on until he got to the blanket. Oh, and
said he was spot on until he got to the blanket.
Bob's face, this is the dad. Steve's dad widened with
a big grin actually, back in the eighties, he said,
a woman knitted a blanket for Harriet. On cold nights
before we had given Harriet a heat lamp. We'd put
the blanket over her shell, hoping it would help her
contain some of her heat during the night. But Bob said,
(05:27):
Harriet had that blanket for weeks and weeks until one
day she tried to eat it and we had to
take it away. So she'd had a blanket, and that
all said, John's talking out of his wa zoo, because
why would we give her one? And she had had
a blanket, extraordinary, extraord We've gone from woo woo to wazoo.
I know it's all there at the Zoo Astralia Zoo.
(05:47):
I'd be happy. So in two thousand and six, just
before Steve died, Harriet the tortoise died and my father
was responsible. Maybe in there
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