It's no accident that when the Readers Digest conducted on a poll in 2008 on who were the most trusted Australians he came in third.

First went to Dr Fiona Wood, the burns specialist, second to cancer researcher Ian Frazer and fourth to the TV vet, Dr Harry Cooper.

Kiernan, who died this week at the age of 78, was the only one out of the four who hadn't been to university.

Clean Up Australia, the charity he co-founded with Kim McKay in 1989, had been voted Australia's most trusted environmental charity the previous year.

Kiernan was a builder who, after having learnt his trade at the Sydney Technical College, went on to divide his time between carrying out restorations on historic buildings and sailing.

It was the latter that led him to discover his true vocation; mobilising millions of people, first in Australia and then around the world, to take the time to make their planet a better place.

When Kiernan entered the BOC Challenge solo around the world yacht race in 1986 he expected to be sailing through pristine ocean vistas thousands of kilometres from the nearest land.

To his great shock and dismay he often found himself negotiating a sea of waste.

His response was to organise a "Clean Up Sydney Harbour Day" on Sunday, January 8, 1989.

While it was modelled in part on a "Clean Up Lake Macquarie" day instigated by the local council in 1987, the harbour happening took the concept to a whole new level with more than 40,000 volunteers collecting 5,000 tonnes of rubbish.

This led to the formation of "Clean Up Australia later that year.  The then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, launched the first national event in January 1990.

When more than 94 per cent of the rubbish collected across the country was found to come from packaging Clean Up Australia began campaigning for legislation to require companies to address the problem and for a greater national emphasis on recycling.

Kiernan was acknowledged with many awards, including an Order of Australia in 1991, named Australian of the Year in 1994, being made an officer of the Order of Australia in 1995 and being presented with the Sasakawa Environment Prize by the United Nations in 1998.

The UN award was in recognition of his success in taking his concept global through "Clean Up The World".

One distinction that eluded him was the opportunity to have a Sydney Ferry named in his honour last year. Despite Kiernan having received the most support in a public vote, the NSW Transport Minister, Andrew Constance, chose to run with "Ferry McFerryface".

Given Kiernan's lifelong love of the harbour, and the work he did to make it a better place, Constance will be explaining that particular captain's call for the rest of his days.

Despite Kiernan's death the good work will continue so long as people continue to take his simple message that we only have one world and we can all help make it a better place to their hearts.