Figure 1.--Here we see the three Hillary children who also enjoyed outdoor activities. Peter in particular becme a noted climber. The press cption read,"Junior Mountaineers: Ready to mov out in true Sherpa climbing style are the Hillary childen (from left, Peter 11, Sarah, 10, and Belinda, 7. The children accompanied their fanous parenys, Sir Edmund and Lady Louise Hillary, on one of the most famous bhiking and cmping trips in the wiorld -- more hn halfway up Mt. Everest." The photogrph was dted June 6, 1967.

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary is surely the most famous Kiwi. The next best canduidate is Air Chief Marshal Keith Park, the commander of tha all important 11 Group during the Balle of Britain. Hilary is best known for climbing Mount Everest and for his humanitarian activities in Nepal. His grandparents emigrated from Yorkshire to northern Wairoa (mid-19th century) .His father served in World War I at Gallipoli with the 15th (North Auckland) Regiment and was allocated land in Tuakau south of Auckland. Edmund was born in Auckland after the War (1919). He attended Tuakau Primary School and then Auckland Grammar School (AGS), New Zealand's most prestigious public secondary school. He had finished primary school 2 years early and perhaps as a resuklt, earned only average marks. He was shorter than the other boys and rather shy. He grew taller and gained confidence after he began boxing. He got interested in climbing when he was 16 years old as a result of a school trip to Mount Ruapehu. This began his interest in tramping and traveling and love of the outdoors. His studies at Auckland University College focused on math and science. His first climbs was Mount Ollivier, near Aoraki / and Mount Cook in New Zealand's Southern Alps. His father was a bee keeper and he took up beekeeping. He joined the Radiant Living Tramping Club which promoted a philosophy developed by Herbert Sutcliffe. There were tours with the club through the Waitakere Ranges.

Family History

Sir Edmund Hillary's grandparents emigrated from Yorkshire to northern Wairoa (mid-19th century) .His father served in World War I at Gallipoli with the 15th (North Auckland) Regiment and was allocated land in Tuakau south of Auckland.

Sir Edmund Hilary

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary is surely the most famous Kiwi. The next best canduidate is Air Chief Marshal Keith Park, the commander of tha all important 11 Group during the Balle of Britain. Hilary is best known for climbing Mount Everest and for his humanitarian activities in Nepal. Edmund was born in Auckland after the War (1919). He attended Tuakau Primary School and then Auckland Grammar School (AGS), New Zealand's most prestigious public secondary school. He had finished primary school 2 years early and perhaps as a resuklt, earned only average marks. He was shorter than the other boys and rather shy. He grew taller and gained confidence after he began boxing. He got interested in climbing when he was 16 years old as a result of a school trip to Mount Ruapehu. This began his interest in tramping and traveling and love of the outdoors. His studies at Auckland University College focused on math and science. His first climbs was Mount Ollivier, near Aoraki / and Mount Cook in New Zealand's Southern Alps. His father was a bee keeper and he took up beekeeping. He joined the Radiant Living Tramping Club which promoted a philosophy developed by Herbert Sutcliffe. There were tours with the club through the Waitakere Ranges. When World War II, broke out in Europe, Hillary applied to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), but withdrew the application. He subsequently wrote that he was "harassed by my religious conscience". [Calder] Like many in the West, the character of the Dictators was not fully recognized. Even after Pearl Harbor, Hilary was willing to let American Marines defend New Zealand. He was drafted. He becane a navigatior in the RNZAF. He served in No. 6 Squadron and later No. 5 Squadron on an American-built Catalina flying boats. He served in Fiji and to the Solomon Islands (1945). He was severely burnt in an accident.

Everest

After World War II, Hillary participated in many expeditions but was inevitably drawn to Tibet and Nepal. The established climbing route to the summit of Everest from Tibet was closed by Chinese Communists (1949). Further attmpts had to be made through Nepal which allowed only one or two expeditions annually. Hillary and Tenzig, a Nepali Sherpa mountaineer, became involved in the 1953 British expedition. Hillary would later write aboy his and Tenzing's final steps. later wrote: " I noticed a crack between the rock and the snow sticking to the East Face. I crawled inside and wriggled and jammed my way to the top ... Tenzing slowly joined me and we moved on. I chopped steps over bump after bump, wondering a little desperately where the top could be. Then I saw the ridge ahead dropped away to the north and above me on the right was a rounded snow dome. A few more whacks with my ice-axe and Tenzing and I stood on top of Everest. " [Hilary, Edmund and Peter, pp. 27–28.]

Humanitarian Work

Following the Everest assent, Hillary particioated in many other expecitions. He also participated in a rrange of humanitarian activities to assist the Sherpa people of Nepal. He established the Himalayan Trust (1960). As a result, many schools and hospitals were built to serve the Sherpa people. He was appointed the Honorary President of the American Himalayan Foundation, a United States non-profit body that helps improve the ecology and living conditions in the Himalayas. He was also appointed the Honorary President of Mountain Wilderness, an international NGO dedicated to the worldwide protection of mountain areas.

Family

Hillary after returning from Nepal, married Louise Mary Rose (September 3, 1953). The intrpid mountaneer was terrified of proposing to Louise. He actually turnedtonher moother to do his propsing. They had three children: Peter (1954- ), Sarah (1955- ) and Belinda (1959–75). Tragiclly while en route to join Hillary in the village of Phaphlu, where he was overseeing the construction of a hospital, Louise and Belinda were killed in a plane crash near Kathmandu airport (1975). He married June Mulgrew, the widow of his close friend Peter Mulgrew, who had died on Air New Zealand Flight 901 in 1979 (1989). Peter Hillary also became a climber, reaching the summit of Everest (1990). Peter climbed Everest again as as part of a 50th anniversary celebration; Jamling Tenzing Norgay (son of Tenzing who had died in 1986) was also part of the expedition (2002). Hillary's home was a property on Remuera Road in Auckland. He read adventure and science fiction novels in his retirement. He built a bach (Kiwi trm for a beach cottage house) at Whites Beach, one of Auckland's west coast beaches.

Sources

Calder, Peter. (11 January 2008). "Sir Edmund Hillary's life". The New Zealand Herald (January 11, 2008).

Hilary, Edmund and Perer Hilary. Two Generations (1984).

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Created: 2:29 AM 6/24/2018
Last updated: 2:29 AM 6/24/2018