The former Labor leader's many achievements were highlighted at a state memorial service in Sydney on Friday where granddaughter Sophie Taylor-Price argued his most relevant legacy was protecting the environment in the face of resistance.

Ms Taylor-Price said one of her earliest memories was when, as a four-year-old, she sat by her grandfather's knee in 1989 as he addressed the nation on climate change.

"Having spent my entire professional career working in climate change and sustainability, you could say that that night rubbed off on me," she told the Sydney Opera House audience.

That year, Mr Hawke was handed cabinet papers requesting support for opening up Antarctica to mining.

"He was horrified," Ms Taylor-Price said on Friday.

"Bob courted the world with an ideal for something greater, better and fairer."

Instead of signing off on the plan, the then prime minister set about changing the world's mind, and in 1991 the Madrid protocol was executed and Antarctica was protected.

"Now, that is legacy," his granddaughter said.

In contrast, current Australian leaders have failed to take action on climate change and Mr Hawke expressed disappointment regarding that fact before his death.

"He saw it as a collective failure of our nation that we have traded short-term interests over intergenerational equality," Ms Taylor-Price said.

"He would say that the foundations of excuses we cling to are fragile and will inevitably collapse."

To truly honour Mr Hawke would mean applying his values to "future choices", she said.

Australian Associated Press