WELLINGTON, May 30- New Zealanders on Wednesday marked the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of the world’s highest peak by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, Xinhua news agency reported.
It was the first major anniversary of the scaling of Mount Everest (Qomolangma) since the death of Hillary, who became arguably New Zealand’s most revered national hero and a philanthropist of international standing.
Staff from the Antarctica New Zealand research institute placed a New Zealand flag on top of Crater Hill near Scott Base in temperatures of minus 42 degrees centigrade to mark the anniversary.
Two staff took with them an ice axe that the man popularly known as Sir Ed had signed and placed the flag at the summit to honour his achievement.
Hillary’s son, Peter Hillary, who was speaking at anniversary celebrations at the Royal Geographical Society in London on Wednesday along with the son of Tenzing Norgay, said the climb was seen as one of the great hallmarks of humanity.
His daughter, Sarah Hillary, spoke at the Auckland Museum about her father and the family’s enduring links to Nepal, where Hillary helped initiate a wide range of education, health and social programmes for the local people through the Himalayan Trust he founded in 1960.
“Ed really liked people and nature. That’s why he kept going back (to Nepal), it wasn’t just about climbing mountains. He did like adventures but a big part of the enjoyment was the connections with other people, pushing yourself and doing something useful on the way,” Sarah Hillary said in a statement.
The national Film Archive in Wellington was screening the acclaimed 1954 British-made documentary “The Conquest of Everest,” which was filmed by members of the ascent team.
Hillary’s 1953 climb is also to be depicted in a 3D film, “Beyond the Edge,” which is currently under production in New Zealand.
Born in July 1919 and a beekeeper by trade, Hillary was famously modest about his achievements, and declined to have his photo taken on the summit in 1953 after taking a series of snaps of Tenzing Norgay.
After the historic ascent, he went on to other adventures including an epic journey across the Antarctic in 1957-1958.
His life was marred by tragedy in 1975 when his wife, Louise, and youngest daughter, Belinda, were killed in a plane crash in Nepal.
He later served as New Zealand High Commissioner to India from 1985 to 1989. Thousands of New Zealanders turned out for his state funeral in 2008 as they did for his return home after his historic climb.
His name lives on in many natural features and monuments at home and abroad. Hillary became the first living person to be featured on New Zealand currency and his face still adorns the New Zealand 5-dollar note.
-BERNAMA
