12:00a.m. 25th July 2007

| By Blythe Seinor

Photo Gallery: Bindi Irwin's 9th birthday

About 5000 people were on hand at Australia Zoo to sing happy birthday to Bindi Irwin as she celebrated her 9th birthday. Daily photographer Barry Leddicoat was there to capture Bindi's special day.

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Bindi Irwin wiped her eyes as tears of joy rolled down her face.

Standing in the middle of Australia Zoo’s Crocoseum yesterday, she watched a video of birthday messages in front of 5000 people who had come along to join in the party.

The just turned nine-year-old had her best friend Rosie by her side, her mum Terri, and her little brother Robert in his bright yellow Crocman T-shirt.

Bindi laughed as Australia Zoo staff smiled and joked their way through their messages, with one proclaiming Bindi to be “the most amazing little girl in the whole world”.

Sitting in the VIP area was her manager, John Stainton, with her Dad’s best mate Wes Mannion not far away.

The only one missing was Steve.

“Your love and support means so much to us,” an emotional Terri told the crowd.

“I think today Steve’s looking down and smiling.”

It was Bindi’s first birthday since her dad was killed in a stingray attack last year, but it was clear she was enjoying her time to party, at one point clasping her hands together and jumping up and down with excitment.

With all the strength her little arms could muster, she cut into her massive birthday cake, with Terri proclaiming that she would need to “kiss the closest boy.”

After the birthday messages and cake cutting were out of the way, it was time to get down to the serious business of rock with The Veronicas.

They opened the show with their hit song Revolution, and even invited Australian Idol star Dean Geyer.

The Veronicas had flown in from LA five days earlier for the show, but no one in the crowd had travelled quite as far as the Conley’s from North Carolina.

The family-of-four were told two weeks ago that they had won Australia Zoo’s online video competition, and travelled on four planes to be at Bindi’s birthday celebrations yesterday.

Terri said she had given Bindi a hand-held walkie talkie for her birthday, making the youngster an official Australia Zoo staff member.

"Bindi always enjoys something new and different at the zoo, so this year I got her her own radio, so she's official staff now," Mrs Irwin told the Nine Network.

"She is officially a zoo keeper at Australia Zoo, which means in the morning before school she can radio to the cat feeders, find out where the tigers are walking, so she accidentally doesn't bump into them.

"And she can go play in the zoo with her radio or wherever she wants to go, it's fantastic."

View the video from Seven Local News here.