State Funeral For New Zealand Hero
14 Jan 2008
Sir Edmund Hillary
1919 - 2008
Sir Edmund Hillary was New Zealand's greatest hero.
The tall, gangly beekeeper seized world headlines when he and Tenzing Norgay, on May 29, 1953, became the first to scale the summit of Mount Everest. He died on January 11, 2008, aged 88.
Sir Ed - as all New Zealanders knew him - never forgot that he reached the summit with Tenzing and he devoted the rest of his life to fundraising to improve the health, education and environment of the Sherpa people of Nepal.
View video and hear Sir Edmund Hillary talk about New Zealand, mountaineering and his ascent of Mt Everest.
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New Zealand will farewell one of its greatest sons, Sir Edmund Hillary, in a state funeral on January 22nd.
Sir Ed, who died last Friday, was a man who was admired by everyone but not just for his mountaineering skills and his expeditions. Sir Edmund was a man who gave his life to helping people and his exploits continue to inspire new generations of New Zealanders.
The first memorial service for Sir Edmund Hillary has been held on the Antarctic ice, and has kicked off eight days of remembrance that will culminate in the state funeral on Tuesday 22nd.
Prime Minister Helen Clark says invitations to Sir Edmund's funeral, probably the biggest funeral ever to be held in New Zealand, are being sent out this week.
"It's going to be a very, very big Kiwi occasion," she said.
"We will be formally inviting people this week, including people from governments who were very much a part of the broader canvas of Ed's life
Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to conquer Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953."
He helped build New Zealand's Antarctic Scott Base, then drove a tractor to the South Pole, heading a team of fellow New Zealanders that became the first team to reach the pole overland since Scott's tragic journey of 1912.
Hillary continued to do things that resonated with New Zealanders - exploring, adventuring, leading expeditions and raising money to build 26 schools, two hospitals and an airport in the dirt-poor home of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the man who got to the top of Everest with Hillary.
But Hillary not only used his name and fame to muster funds, he did the hard manual stuff, shirt off, shovel in hand, pouring concrete with his mates.
He returned to Nepal summer after summer to labour with other New Zealanders who gave up their holidays to work on Hillary's construction jobs.
Thousands of Nepalis owe their health and education to Hillary and fellow New Zealanders.
Sir Ed was undoubtedly the most famous New Zealander. In 1985 he was appointed as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India, a country he loved. His face is on the $5 banknote and schools and streets were named after him.
Sir Ed will lie in state in the adjacent Holy Trinity Cathedral for 24 hours before the service.
Prime Minister Helen Clark says it will give people the chance to pay their respects and say their personal goodbye to a New Zealand hero.
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