Trail Blazers Of New Zealand Edmund Hillary
Channel: Archives New Zealand
Date: 20/12/2013

On 11 January 2008 Sir Edmund Hillary died at the age of 88, generating an international outpouring of tributes to the famous mountaineer and explorer. Hillary has often been referred to as one of the 'most famous' New Zealanders, following the significant achievements of his life. In 1953 he became the first person, along with Tenzing Norgay, to reach the summit of Mt Everest. Then as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition he reached the South Pole overland in 1958. Following this, he reached the North Pole, making him the first person to reach both poles and summit Everest. Hillary then devoted most of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he founded. Through his efforts, many schools and hospitals were built in Nepal. Hillary was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. A state funeral was held for Hillary on 22 January 2008, at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland. Some of his ashes were then scattered according to his wishes in the Hauraki Gulf, and the rest were placed in a Nepalese monastery near Everest. 


This excerpt comes from an audio series titled 'Trailblazers', which looked at the stories behind notable New Zealand personalities, places, and object. The series of sound recordings was related to various public works programmes, and was created by the Ministry of Works. This complete series has been digitised and made available to listen to through Archway at the following link:

http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewEntity.do?code=24417

Archives Reference: ABZK 24417 W5648 24/1 50
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