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5 facts about Edmund Hillary
11/01/2008 13:00 - (SA)
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| Sardar Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary show the kit they wore when conquering the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, on May 29 1953. (AP Photo, File) |
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Auckland - New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, who along with Nepal's Tenzing Norgay Sherpa became the first to conquer the world's highest peak Mount Everest, died in hospital in Auckland on Friday morning. He was 88.
Following are five facts about Hillary.
Bee keeper, mountaineer
Born in Auckland in 1919, Hillary followed in his father's
footsteps after school and became a beekeeper. This summer job
allowed him time to climb mountains in the winter.
Everest and knighthood
As Hillary trekked away from his successful expedition up
Nepal's Mount Everest in 1953, a runner arrived bearing a letter
addressed to "Sir Edmund Hillary KBE". Hillary was reported to
be somewhat peeved that someone had accepted a knighthood from
Britain's new queen on his behalf.
National hero
Many Kiwis affectionately call Hillary "Sir Ed" and believe
his earthy directness and dry humour epitomised the best in
their countrymen. On announcing news of Hillary's death New
Zealand Prime Minister described him as a "quintessential
Kiwi".
Five dollar note
Hillary became the first living New Zealander to appear a
bank note in 1990. The five dollar note pictures Hillary
alongside Mount Cook/Aoraki, the highest mountain in New
Zealand, and a Massey Ferguson tractor, the model he used, with
minor adjustments, in his 1958 trek to the South Pole, the
world's first by motorised vehicle.
Other achievements
After Everest, Hillary led a number of expeditions. He and
son Peter, also a mountaineer, became the first to introduce
jetboats to India's Ganges river during a 1977 expedition to
find the great river's source in the Himalayas. He returned
many times to Nepal, dedicating his later years to improving
life for people living in the mountains.
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