THE Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas is in mourning after the passing of tourism legend Charles Woodward.

Woodward lost his battle with cancer overnight which has saddened the tourism community in Tropical North Queensland.

Considered a pioneer in the industry, The Woodward Family CaPTA Group started from humble beginnings but grew to include the Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas, Jungle Tours and Trekking, Tropic Wings Butterfly Sanctuary and the Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome.

Wildlife Habitat assistant manager, Sybella Salter, said they were devastated by the news.

“Charles was the heartbeat of the Wildlife Habitat and will continue to be the heartbeat of this place,” she said.

“He is leaving an extraordinary legacy.”

Salter said Woodward’s sons Michael, Ben and Peter were all actively involved in the business and would continue to expand on the ideas of their father.

“He and (wife) Pip will continue to have an impact that will last for many years to come through there three boys,” Salter said.

“We are terribly saddened at the moment and are thinking of the family.”

Woodward was also known as a champion for health advocacy, creating COUCH (Committee for Oncology Unit) at the Cairns Hospital and playing a leading role in establishment of the Liz Plummer Cancer Care Centre.

He was named the Cairns region’s citizen of the year on two occasions, including this year on Australia Day.

He was 70 years old.

Leave your condolences for the Woodward family in the comments below.

* Readers are encouraged to use their full details below to ensure comment legitimacy. Comments are the opinions of readers and do not represent the views of Newsport or its staff. Comments containing unlawful, obscene, defamatory or abusive material will not be published.