Captain Cook Cruises is an Australian cruise operator. As of January 2018, the company operated 21 vessels on Sydney Harbour, providing a range of Government contracted and non-contracted Ferry services, Sightseeing, Dining and Charter Cruises.

History

Captain Cook Cruises commenced operating on 26 January 1970 on

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman S ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

with the ''Captain Cook'', a modified 1943

Fairmile B motor launch The Fairmile Type-B motor launch was a type of motor launch (often referred to as MLs) built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine and others during the Second World War for the Royal Navy for coastal operations. Design While the Type A had ...

. The business was founded by Trevor Haworth taking its name from

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

who led the first European contact with the East Coast of Australia in 1770. Initially operating charters, on 1 May 1970 regular cruises began operating from

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...

Middle Harbour Middle Harbour (or ''Warrin ga''), a semi–mature tide dominated drowned valley estuary, is the northern arm of Port Jackson, an inlet of the Tasman Sea located north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Austra ...

. In November 1971 a second cruise commenced via the Lane Cove and

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Se ...

s as far as the Gladesville Bridge. In August 1975, the custom-built ''Captain Cook II'' built by Carrington Slipways, Tomago was commissioned. In August 1978, the ''Lady Geradline'' was built by Millkraft Shipyards,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. This was followed by ''City of Sydney'' built by Sims Engineering, Port Chalmers in 1981. In 1978 the original Northbridge marina was sold with a new facility purchased in

Neutral Bay Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Neutral Bay takes ...

In May 1984, the John Cadman Cruising Restaurant business was purchased. In 1987, Captain Cook Cruises began operating cruises on the Hawkesbury River and

Pittwater Pittwater is a semi-mature tide dominated drowned valley estuary, located about north of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that separate greater Metropolitan Sydney from the C ...

with the ''Lady Hawkesbury''. In November 1987, the Hegarty Ferries business was purchased from Stannard Bros, primarily to give Captain Cook Cruises exclusive access to wharf 6 at Circular Quay. It operated services to

Jeffrey Street ''Jeffrey Street'' or ''Jeffreys Street'' is a street located in Kirribilli, famous for being one of the most popular vantage points for views of the city skyline of Sydney, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. The street is lo ...

Milsons Point Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Mi ...

and McMahons Point. In May 1988, the business of Murray River Developments was purchased with the ''

Murray River Queen PV ''Murray River Queen'' is an Australian paddle vessel built at Hindmarsh Island in 1974 as a luxury passenger cruise boat. She was a tourist boat carrying passengers on the Murray River in South Australia. For many years, her home port was ...

'' and '' Murray Princess'' on the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...

and the ''Brisbane Explorer'' on the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the ...

''.'' In 1991, operations began on the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, A ...

in a joint venture with

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...

. The was ordered, however problems during its construction resulted in the ''Lady Hawkesbury'' being transferred from the Hawkesbury River to the Great Barrier Reef as the ''Reef Escape'' in July 1992. In turn the ''Brisbane Explorer'' was transferred to the Hawkesbury as the ''Hawkesbury Explorer II''. The ''Reef Endeavour'' eventually entered service in 1995. In 1992, the company began operations in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

, purchasing Tivua Island, located 18km off the coast of Port Denarau. Sailing Day Cruises were commenced to the island. ''Reef Escape'' was relocated to Fiji from the

in 1995 and began accommodated cruises through the Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands. On 7 January 2003, the former Hegarty routes ceased. In November 2005

Matilda Cruises Matilda Cruises operated commuter ferry and cruise services on Port Jackson in Sydney, Australia. History Matilda Cruises was founded in 1981 by Tim and Jillian Lloyd, with the purchase of ''Matilda'', a 20-metre catamaran. She was joined by th ...

was acquired from Amalgamated Holdings Limited (now

Event Hospitality and Entertainment EVT Limited (EVT), formerly Amalgamated Holdings Limited and then Event Hospitality and Entertainment, is an Australian company which operates cinemas, hotels and resorts in Australia, New Zealand and Germany. EVT owns the largest cinema chains ...

), with 11 vessels. In 2011, Captain Cook Cruises was purchased by the

SeaLink Travel Group Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group, is an Australian public company that operates transport services in Australia, United Kingdom and Singapore. History In 1989, the business was founded with the purchase of the Kangaroo Island SeaLin ...

Sydney

Network

Captain Cook Cruises operate ferry services connecting Sydney Harbour,

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. Origin ...

Barangaroo Barangaroo was the second wife of Bennelong, who was interlocutor between the Aboriginal people and the early British colonists in New South Wales. Barangaroo was a member of the Cammeraygal clan. While Bennelong spent considerable time in th ...

Watsons Bay Watsons Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. ...

, Manly, the Lane Cove River and White Bay. The Shark Island and Zoo Express are part of the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) services which also call at Watsons Bay and Manly. These services will resume during the school holidays on 19 December 2020 after the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Resumption dates for the City Loop (Darling Harbour/Barnagaroo), Luna Park, and Fort Denison services are not yet known. *City Loop :*

Sydney Aquarium SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium (formerly Sydney Aquarium) is a public aquarium that features a large variety of Australian aquatic life, displaying more than 700 species comprising more than 13,000 individual fish and other sea and water creatures f ...

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-s ...

:* Circular Quay West *Shark Island :*Circular Quay West :* Shark Island *Zoo Express :*Circular Quay West :*

Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'. It ...

*White Bay Only operates on days that there are cruise liners at White Bay. So will not resume until the cruise terminal reopens. :*Darling Harbour :*White Bay *Watsons Bay :*A commuter service between

and

commenced on 23 March 2015. *Lane Cove River :*Circular Quay West :*

Kirribilli Kirribilli is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. One of the city's most established and affluent neighbourhoods, it is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area administere ...

:* Birchgrove :*

Greenwich Point Greenwich Point is one of four beaches located in Greenwich, Connecticut. The beach sits on a peninsula jutting into Long Island Sound. It is a popular spot for Greenwich families to spend the day. Visitors to Greenwich Point typically jog, walk, o ...

:*Bay Street,

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

:* Northwood :* Longueville :*Alexandra Street,

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

St Ignatius' College, Riverview Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, conducted in the Jesuit tradition, located in Riverview, a small suburb located on the Lane Cove River on the ...

Vessels

References

External links

{{List of public transport operators in Sydney, state=collapsed Ferry companies of Australia 1970 establishments in Australia