Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. He made his first major climb in 1939, reaching the summit ofMount Ollivier.[2] He served in theRoyal New Zealand Air Force as anavigator duringWorld War II and was wounded in an accident. Prior to the Everest expedition, Hillary had been part of theBritish reconnaissance expedition to the mountain in 1951 as well as an unsuccessful attempt to climbCho Oyu in 1952.
Beginning in 1960, Hillary devoted himself to assisting the Sherpa people of Nepal through theHimalayan Trust, which he established. His efforts are credited with the construction of many schools and hospitals in Nepal. Hillary had numerous honours conferred upon him, including theOrder of the Garter in 1995. Upon his death in 2008, he was given astate funeral in New Zealand.
Early life
Hillary's mother Gertrude Clark, 1909
Hillary was born to Percival Augustus "Percy" (1885–1965) and Gertrude (née Clark) (1892–1965) Hillary inAuckland, New Zealand, on 20 July 1919.[4][5] His father Percy had served atGallipoli with the15th (North Auckland) Regiment, and was discharged "medically unfit" from the Army in 1916; he had married Gertrude after his return to New Zealand. His grandfather Edmund Raymond Hillary (b. 1836) fromLancashire, England was awatchmaker, who immigrated to the northernWairoa region in the mid-19th century. He married Annie "Ida" Fleming fromIreland having four children. His maternal great-grandparents, the Clarks, were both fromYorkshire.[6][7]
His family moved toTuakau, south of Auckland, in 1920, after Percy was allocated eight acres (3.2 ha) of land there as a returned soldier.[5] Percy had been a journalist prewar, and soon became founding editor of the weeklyTuakau District News as well as anapiarist. Ed had a sister June (born 1917) and a brother Rexford Fleming "Rex" (born 1920).[8]
Hillary was educated at Tuakau Primary School and thenAuckland Grammar School.[5] He finished primary school aged 11 or two years early, and at "Grammar" achieved average marks.[9] His mother wanted him to go to a "good school" and he commuted by train, cycling to Tuakau station before 7 am and returning after 6 pm for3+1⁄2 years (a one-hour and 40 minutes journey each way) until the family moved toRemuera, Auckland in 1935, his last of four years at "Grammar".[10]
He was initially smaller than his peers and shy, and did not enjoy "Grammar", where commuting barred him from after-school activities. He grew to be 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm)[11] and gained confidence after taking upboxing.
He became interested in climbing when he was 16 following a 1935 school trip toMount Ruapehu, after which he showed more interest intramping than in studying and said he "wanted to see the world".[12] He then attendedAuckland University College, and joined the Tramping Club there. But in 1938, "after two notably unsuccessful years studying mathematics and science" he gave up on formal education.[13]
He then became anapiarist with his father and brother Rex; with 1600 hives to attend, thousands of 90 lb (41 kg) boxes of honey comb to handle, and 12 to 100 bee-stings daily.[13][4][14] He kept bees in summer, and concentrated on climbing in winter.[15] His father also edited the journal "The N.Z. Honeybee" and his mother Gertrude was famous for breeding and selling queen bees.[16][17][18]
In 1938, he went to hearHerbert Sutcliffe, the proponent of a life philosophy called "Radiant Living", with his family. The family all became foundation members, and his mother became its secretary in 1939. He went to Gisborne as Sutcliff's assistant, and in 1941 sat examinations to become a teacher of Radiant Living, getting a 100% pass mark. His test lecture was on "Inferiority – cause and cure". He said of his five-year association with the movement that "I learned to speak confidently from the platform; to think more freely on important topics; to mix more readily with a wide variety of people". Tenets included healthy eating (the salads that June took to university for lunch) and pacificism. He joined the Radiant Living Tramping Club, and further developed his love of the outdoors in theWaitākere Ranges.[19][20]
In January 1948, Hillary and others ascended the south ridge ofAoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak.[23] He took part in an arduous rescue onLa Perouse in 1948, befriending fellow climberNorman Hardie.
In 1951 he was part of aBritish reconnaissance expedition to Everest led byEric Shipton,[24][a] before joining the successful British attempt of 1953. In 1952, Hillary andGeorge Lowe were part of the British team led by Shipton, that attemptedCho Oyu.[25] After that attempt failed due to the lack of a route from the Nepal side, Hillary and Lowe crossed the Nup La pass into Tibet and reached the old Camp II, on the northern side, where all the previous expeditions had camped.[26]
In 1949, the long-standing climbing route to the summit of Everest was closed by Chinese-controlledTibet. For the next several years,Nepal allowed only one or two expeditions per year.[27] A Swiss expedition (in which Tenzing took part) attempted to reach the summit in 1952, but was forced back by bad weather and problems with oxygen sets 800 feet (240 m) below the summit.[28]
In 1952, Hillary learned that he and Lowe had been invited by theJoint Himalayan Committee for the 1953 British attempt and immediately accepted.[30] Shipton had been named as leader but was replaced by Hunt. Hillary objected but was immediately impressed by Hunt's energy and determination.[31] Hunt askedCharles Evans and Hillary to form with him a small three-man planning group on the expedition.[32][33] Hunt wrote that:[34]
Hillary's testing in the Himalayas had shown that he would be a very strong contender, not only for Everest, but for an eventual summit party. When I met Shipton last autumn I well remember his prophesying this – and how right he was. Quite exceptionally strong and abounding in a restless energy, possessed of a thrusting mind which swept away all unproven obstacles, Ed Hillary's personality had made an imprint on my mind, through his Cho Oyu and Reconnaissance friends and through his letters to me.
Hillary had hoped to climb with Lowe, but Hunt named two teams for the ascent:Tom Bourdillon andCharles Evans; and Hillary and Tenzing.[35] Hillary, therefore, made a concerted effort to forge a working friendship with Tenzing.[31][36] Hillary wrote, "Tenzing had substantially greater personal ambition than any Sherpa I had met."[37]
Tenzing and Hillary
The Hunt expedition totalled over 400 people, including 362porters, 20Sherpa guides, and 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) of baggage.[38][39] Lowe supervised the preparation of theLhotse Face, a huge and steep ice face, for climbing. Hillary forged a route through the treacherousKhumbu Icefall.[40][41]
CameramanTom Stobart was Hillary's room-mate in Kathmandu. He described Hillary as:[42]
a skeleton as tall as I was ... a hatchet-thin face, and seemed tied together with steel ... I had just got a rubber torch to pieces and couldn't get it together again. This human machine took charge. 'Let's give it a go' he said, using an expression we came to know so well in the following months. It may have meant that he would try to fix it, but did not. Actually it meant he would fix it, a subtle but important difference so far as Ed and his fellow countryman George Lowe, were concerned.
The expedition set upbase camp in March 1953 and, working slowly, set up its final camp at theSouth Col at 25,900 feet (7,890 m). On 26 May, Bourdillon and Evans attempted the climb but turned back when Evans'soxygen system failed. The pair had reached the South Summit, coming within 300 vertical feet (91 m) of the summit.[39][43] Hunt then directed Hillary and Tenzing to attempt the summit.[43]
Snow and wind delayed them at the South Col for two days. They set out on 28 May with the support of Lowe,Alfred Gregory, and Ang Nyima.[44] The two pitched a tent at 27,900 feet (8,500 m) on 28 May, while their support group returned down the mountain.[45] On the following morning Hillary discovered that his boots had frozen solid outside the tent. He spent two hours warming them over a stove before he and Tenzing, wearing 30-pound (14 kg) packs, attempted the final ascent.[46] The final obstacle was the 40-foot (12 m) rock face later called "Hillary Step"; Hillary 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.[47]
Hillary and Tenzing on return from the summit of Everest
Tenzing wrote in his 1955 autobiography that Hillary took the first step onto the summit and he followed. They reached Everest's 29,028 ft (8,848 m) summit – the highest point on earth – at 11:30 am.[4][48]
They spent about 15 minutes at the summit. Hillary took a photo of Tenzing posing with his ice-axe, but there is no photo of Hillary; Tenzing's autobiography says that Hillary simply declined to have his picture taken. They also took photos looking down the mountain.[49][50]
Tenzing left chocolates at the summit as an offering, and Hillary left a cross given to him by John Hunt.[51] Their descent was complicated by drifting snow that had covered their tracks. The first person they met was Lowe; Hillary said, "Well, George, we knocked the bastard off."[11]
Hillary climbed ten other peaks in theHimalayas on further visits in 1956, 1960–1961, and 1963–1965. He also reached theSouth Pole as part of theCommonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, for which he led the New Zealand section, on 4 January 1958. His party was the first to reach the Pole overland sinceAmundsen in 1911 andScott in 1912, and the first ever to do so using motor vehicles.[59]
In 1960, Hillary organised the1960–61 Silver Hut expedition,[60] withGriffith Pugh; and Pugh showed that Mount Everest could be climbed without oxygen, with a long period of acclimatisation by living at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) for six months. An assault onMakalu, the world's fifth-highest mountain, was unsuccessful. Hillary was with the expedition for five months, although it lasted for ten.[61]
The expedition also searched for the fabledabominable snowman.[62] No evidence of Yetis was found, instead footprints and tracks were proven to be from other causes. During the expedition, Hillary travelled to remote temples which contained "Yeti scalps"; however after bringing back three relics, two were shown to be from bears and one from a goat antelope.[63][64] Hillary said after the expedition: "The yeti is not a strange, superhuman creature as has been imagined. We have found rational explanations for most yeti phenomena".[65]
Hillary in 1957 after accompanying the first plane to land at theMarble Point ground air strip, Antarctica
In 1962, he was a guest on the television game showWhat's My Line?; he stumped the panel, comprisingDorothy Kilgallen,Arlene Francis,Bennett Cerf, andMerv Griffin.[66]In 1977, he led ajetboat expedition, titled "Ocean to Sky", from the mouth of theGanges River to its source.[67] From 1977 to 1979 he commentated aboard Antarctic sightseeing flights operated byAir New Zealand, and was scheduled to act as the guide for the fatalFlight 901, but had to cancel owing to other commitments.[68]In 1985, he accompaniedNeil Armstrong in a small twin-engined ski plane over the Arctic Ocean and landed at theNorth Pole. Hillary thus became the first man to stand at both poles and on the summit of Everest.[69][14][70][71] This accomplishment inspired generations of explorers to compete over what later was defined asThree Poles Challenge.In January 2007, Hillary travelled to Antarctica as part of a delegation commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding ofScott Base.[72][73][74]
To mark the 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Everest, theNepalese government conferred honorary citizenship upon Hillary at a specialGolden Jubilee celebration inKathmandu, Nepal. He was the first foreign national to receive that honour.[85][18]
Since 1992, New Zealand's $5 note has featured Hillary's portrait, making him the only living person not a current head of state ever to appear on a New Zealand banknote. In giving his permission, Hillary insisted thatAoraki / Mount Cook rather than Mount Everest be used as the backdrop.[86][87]
AnnualReader's Digest polls from 2005 to 2007 named Hillary as "New Zealand's most trusted individual".[89][90]
Hillary's favoured New Zealand charity was theSir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, of which he was patron for 35 years.[91] He was particularly keen on how this organisation introduced young New Zealanders to the outdoors in a very similar way to his first experience of a school trip to Mt Ruapehu at the age of 16. A 2.3-metre (7.5 ft) bronze statue of Hillary was erected outsideThe Hermitage Hotel atMount Cook Village; it was unveiled by Hillary himself in 2003.[92] Various streets, institutions and organisations around New Zealand and abroad are named after him – for example, theSir Edmund Hillary Collegiate inŌtara, which was established by Hillary in 2001.[93]
Hillary, with his first wife, Louise, and son,Peter, 1955Hillary, with his second wife, June Mulgrew, 1998
Hillary married Louise Mary Rose (1930–1975) on 3 September 1953, soon after the ascent of Everest; he admitted he was terrified of proposing to her and relied on her mother to propose on his behalf.[14][15][96] They had three children:Peter (born 1954),Sarah (born 1956) and Belinda (1959–1975).[97][4][43] On 31 March 1975, while en route to join Hillary in the village ofPhaphlu, where he was helping to build a hospital, Louise and Belinda werekilled in a plane crash[98] nearKathmandu airport shortly after take-off.[14]
His sonPeter Hillary also became a climber, summiting Everest in 1990. In May 2002 Peter climbed Everest as part of a 50th anniversary celebration;Jamling Tenzing Norgay (son of Tenzing who had died in 1986) was also part of the expedition.[101]
Hillary's home for most of his life was a property on Remuera Road in Auckland City,[102] where he enjoyed reading adventure and science fiction novels in his retirement.[102]He also built abach atWhites Beach,[103] one of Auckland's west coast beaches inWest Auckland, betweenAnawhata and NorthPiha. A friend called it Hillary's place of solace, where he could escape media attention.[103]
The Hillary family has had a connection with the west coast of Auckland since 1925, when Louise's father built a bach at Anawhata.[104] The family donated land at Whites Beach that is now crossed by trampers on the Hillary Trail, named for Edmund.[105]Hillary said of the area: "That is the thing that international travel brings home to me – it's always good to be going home. This is the only place I want to live in; this is the place I want to see out my days."[106]
Philanthropy
Following his ascent of Everest he devoted himself to assisting theSherpa people of Nepal through theHimalayan Trust, which he established in 1960[107] and led until his death in 2008. His efforts are credited with the construction of many schools and hospitals in this remote region of theHimalayas. He was the Honorary President of theAmerican Himalayan Foundation, a United States non-profit body that helps improve the ecology and living conditions in the Himalayas. He was also the Honorary President ofMountain Wilderness, an international NGO dedicated to the worldwide protection of mountains.[108]
On 21 January, Hillary's casket was taken intoHoly Trinity Cathedral, Auckland, to lie in state.[118]The following day, 22 January 2008, Hillary's casket was moved to the adjacentSt Mary's church for astate funeral,[119] after which his body wascremated. On 29 February 2008, most of his ashes were scattered in Auckland'sHauraki Gulf per his desire.[120] The remainder went to a Nepalese monastery near Everest; a plan to scatter them on the summit was cancelled in 2010.[121]
Posthumous tributes
In January 2008, Lukla Airport, inLukla, Nepal, was renamed toTenzing–Hillary Airport in recognition of their promotion of its construction.[122][123]On 2 April 2008, a service of thanksgiving in Hillary's honour atSt George's Chapel at Windsor Castle was attended byQueen Elizabeth II, New Zealand dignitaries including Prime Minister Helen Clark, and members of Hillary's and Norgay's families;Gurkha soldiers from Nepal stood guard outside the ceremony.[124][125]In October 2008, it was announced that future rugby test matches between England and New Zealand would be played for theHillary Shield.[126] In 2009 theDuke of Edinburgh's Award in New Zealand – formerly the Young New Zealanders' Challenge – was renamed "The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award".[127]On 5 November 2008, a commemorative set of five stamps was issued byNew Zealand Post.[128][129]
There have been many calls for lasting tributes to Hillary. The first major public tribute has been by way of the "Summits for Ed" tribute tour organised by the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation.[130] This tribute tour went fromBluff at the bottom of theSouth Island toCape Reinga at the tip of theNorth Island, visiting 39 towns and cities along the way. In each venue, school children and members of the public were invited to join to climb a significant hill or site in their area to show their respect for Hillary. The public were also invited to bring small rocks or pebbles that had special significance to them, that would be included in a memorial to Hillary at the base of Mt Ruapehu, in the grounds of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre. Funds donated during the tour are used by the foundation to sponsor young New Zealanders on outdoor courses. Over 8,000 persons attended these "Summit" climbs between March and May 2008.[131]
View from the Hillary Trail
The tribute song "Hillary 88", by the New Zealand duo The Kiwis, is the official world memorial song for Hillary, with the endorsement of Lady Hillary.[132]
A four-day track in theWaitākere Ranges, along Auckland's west coast, is named the Hillary Trail,[133] in honour of Hillary.[105] Hillary's father-in-law, Jim Rose, who had built a bach atAnawhata in 1925, wrote in his 1982 history of Anawhata Beach, "My family look forward to the time when we will be able to walk fromHuia toMuriwai on public walking tracks like the old-time Maori could do".[104][134] Hillary loved the area, and had his own bach near Anawhata. The track was opened on 11 January 2010, the second anniversary of Hillary's death.[114][135] Rose Track, descending from Anawhata Road to Whites Beach, is named after the Rose family.[106][136]
The South Ridge of Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain, was renamed Hillary Ridge on 18 August 2011. Hillary and three other climbers were the first party to successfully climb the ridge in 1948.[137] In September 2013 the Government of Nepal proposed naming a 7,681 metres (25,200 ft) mountain in NepalHillary Peak in his honour.[138] After theNew Horizons mission discovered a mountain range onPluto on 14 July 2015, it was officially namedHillary Montes (Hillary Mountains) byInternational Astronomical Union.[139]TheSir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal, awarded by the Nepalese NGO Mountain Legacy "for remarkable service in the conservation of culture and nature in mountainous regions" was inaugurated in 2003, with the approval of Sir Edmund Hillary. Abronze bust of Hillary (circa 1953) byOphelia Gordon Bell is in theTe Papa museum in Wellington, New Zealand.[140]The Sir Edmund Hillary Archive was added to theUNESCOMemory of the world archive in 2013,[141] it is currently held byAuckland War Memorial Museum.[142]
From 2016 to 2020, a pilot immigration programme to New Zealand awardedEdmund Hillary Fellowships, the benefits of which included a three-yearGlobal Impact Visa to create, support, and incubate ventures and models that result in positive global impact, from New Zealand.[143] After three years, migrants could qualify for permanent residency. The Edmund Hillary Foundation, which operated the pilot, claims that more than 250 of the allocated 400 visas were awarded before the pilot closed.[144]
Arms
Coat of arms of Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE
Crest
A kiwi Azure grasping in the dexter foot an ice axe bendwise Or.[145]
Escutcheon
Azure, a chevron embowed between two chevronels embowed in fess Argent between three prayer wheels bendwise Or.[145]
Supporters
On either side an emperor penguin Proper gorged with a plain collar Or.[146]
^abcd"Edmund Hillary".New Zealand History. Wellington, New Zealand: Research and Publishing Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved15 February 2018.
^ab"Sir Edmund Hillary".Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 5 September 2012. academic-eb-com/levels/collegiate/article/Sir-Edmund-Hillary/40469. Accessed 14 March 2018.
^Langton, Graham (22 June 2007)."Ayres, Horace Henry 1912–1987".Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved2 December 2009.
^Ministry for Culture and Heritage (22 July 2014)."Edmund Hillary in Antarctica".New Zealand History online – Nga korero aipurangi o Aotearoa. Wellington, New Zealand. Retrieved18 November 2016.
^Ministry for Culture and Heritage (13 January 2016)."The end of the 'big mountain days' – Ed Hillary"".New Zealand History online – Nga korero aipurangi o Aotearoa. Wellington, New Zealand. Retrieved18 November 2016.
McKinnon, Lyn (2016).Only Two for Everest. Dunedin: Otago University Press.ISBN978-1-972322-40-6.
Tuckey, Harriet (2013).Everest: The First Ascent — How a Champion of Science Helped to Conquer the Mountain. Lyons Press. p. 424.ISBN978-0-762-79192-7.
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