A MEMORIAL to honour the late Steve Irwin at the outback town he used as his retreat from the world has been knocked back by a local council.

The mayor of the south-west Queensland town of St George, Robert Buchan, had submitted a plan to build a small memorial to the Crocodile Hunter by the town's Balonne River, near where the Irwin family owns a large property.

It was to consist of a bust, a brief outline of his life and his contribution to the area, and was approved by the Irwin family.

Mr Buchan said he had hoped the idea would have been the beginning of a series of memorials along the river to honour St George's "favourite sons and daughters" along the lines of an avenue of heroes.

It would have been "a shining example of what people can do if they get off their backsides and do something", he said.

But after rejecting a memorial in September, Balonne Shire Council has just knocked back a second proposal for a memorial, which Mr Buchan would have funded himself.

"Steve Irwin, I believe, would be the most well-known Australian ever... (and) was ridgy didge as we say, fair dinkum, and even that alone was worthy of recognition," Mr Buchan said today.

He said he was ashamed the idea had been knocked back.

Deputy mayor Richard Knights said the idea itself to commemorate Mr Irwin had been knocked back, not the specific proposal.

He said while council was aware of Mr Irwin's contributions and were supportive of state government-planned memorials, a local monument was not appropriate.

"He had property in the area but I think a lot of it stems from the fact that we haven't really gone down the pathway of recognising other local people that have made significant contributions to the shire over a lifetime," Mr Knights said.

"As to whether one person's more worthy than another person, it's not something we've dealt with yet."

He said there was a possibility that something would be done on a broad scale to recognise a host of people who had contributed to the shire, of which Mr Irwin could be a part, but the idea had not yet been discussed.

Mr Irwin, 44, died on September 4 after being stabbed in the heart by a stingray's barb while diving on the Great Barrier Reef.

"He had property in the area but I think a lot of it stems from the fact that we haven't really gone down the pathway of recognizing other local people that have made significant contributions to the shire over a lifetime," Mr Knights said.

Although I agree they should build one, however if you read it a bit closer that line alone says why they are waiting. Due to the fact that the council believes that if they start this then everyone will start making claims on their contributions and in a way making a bigger mess and in a way effect money, especially taxes to cover the costs of making memorials for everyone. Eventually they will build it but they have to prepare for something they haven't done yet.