Sir Edmund Hillary dies at 88
12:08PM Friday January 11, 2008
Sir Edmund Hillary has died aged 88. He passed away at Auckland City Hospital at 9am this morning. Sir Edmund shot to international stardom as the first man to scale Mt Everest in 1953. Prime Minister Helen Clark today described Sir Edmund as the best-known New Zealander to have ever lived and said his passing was a profound loss to New Zealand. "Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus," she said. "He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity." He famously said of the ascent, carried out with with sherpa Tenzing Norgay: "We knocked the bastard off." For a long time Sir Edmund refused to say who reached the summit first, but in his book View From The Summit he eventually made it clear. "I continued cutting a line of steps upwards," he wrote. "Next moment I had moved on to a flattish exposed area of snow with nothing but space in every direction. Tenzing quickly joined me and we looked round in wonder. To our immense satisfaction we realised we had reached the top of the world." The conquest of Everest brought Hillary, then 35, lasting fame which was swiftly recognised when he was knighted on June 6, 1953. Sir Edmund was typically modest about the award. "I could see myself walking down Broadway, Papakura, in my tattered overalls and the seat out of my pants, and I thought `That's gone forever. I'll have to buy a new pair of overalls now'." Miss Clark said Sir Edmund's exploits would continue to inspire new generations of New Zealanders. In recent years his health had been failing but he made a final visit in January 2007 to Antarctica, the scene of another of his triumphs. He was made a knight of the Order of the British Empire in 1953 and, 42 years later, the Queen bestowed on him her highest honour - a knighthood in the Order of the Garter. - NZ HERALD STAFF |
