The founder of Captain Cook Cruises, Trevor Haworth AM died on 1 March 2014, aged 82.

Haworth is known for building Captain Cook Cruises and for his role in shaping the Australian tourism industry.

He was born in Blackburn Lancashire on 8 June 1931, the son of a Naval Deck Officer, Frank Haworth and mother Gladys.

In 1946, he attended a boarding ship-school where he was trained as a cadet for command in the Royal and Merchant Navies.

Two years later he graduated and accepted a position as a cadet with the South American Saint Line Ltd.

Despite a promising career at sea, Haworth opted to return to Australia in 1954 where he joined the Australian Oriental Line as a master of the SS Taiping.

In 1959 he met Geraldine Coates, who went on to become his wife two years later.

Together they launched Captain Cook Cruises in 1970 with one boat conducting two cruises a week. The company quickly grew and at its peak, the Captain Cook Cruises group included over 25 ships in four destinations and carried over one million passengers per year.

In 2011, Haworth sold off the line’s Sydney and Murray River operations. Today the company stands strong with five vessels in Fiji.

But for Haworth, success in business was often overshadowed by struggles in his personal life.

In 1975 he contracted endocarditis, which required him to undergo a lifesaving heart replacement. And two years later he was almost killed in a car accident in Hong Kong where his taxi driver died.

Despite personal challenges, Haworth was involved in numerous committees and tourism boards including the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau; Inbound Tourism Organisation of Australia; Australian Tourism Commission; NSW Tourism Commission; Australian Tourism Industry Association; and Pacific Asia Travel Association.

He is survived by his wife Geraldine; three children Jackie, Anthony and Allison; and seven grandchildren.