Editorial
Passing away of Sir Edmund Hillary
He was an icon of grit and perseverance
We mourn with the rest of the world the passing way of a man who, during his lifetime, came to be the personification of courage, determination and firm resolve. Sir Edmund, who passed away recently at the age of 88, emerged on the world scene as the conqueror of the highest mountain peak in the world, when on 29 May 1953, he and his Sherpa companion Tenzing Norgay, set foot where others had failed and perished in their efforts previously.
He was one of the greatest adventurers of his time who proved that leadership and team effort can help scale any heights. He caught the imagination of the people of his time by his many adventure missions. Sir Edmund lived the philosophy he professed, which was, "Adventuring can be for the ordinary person with ordinary qualities, such as I regard myself."
Sir Edmund refused to rest on his laurels or bask in his glories, and, as his upbringing had taught him, neither exploited those for his self-advancement. Instead, he dedicated his life to service to others. Alongside his love for adventure and tough expeditions like to the South Pole or the search for the yeti, not to speak of the several more Himalayan expeditions he undertook after his conquest of the Everest, he devoted himself to humanitarian works to ameliorate the conditions of the Sherpa people whom he had met during his Himalayan sojourns. His name has come to be associated with many schools, clinics and museums and touched the lives of thousand of people in Nepal.
He was a person who shunned publicity. This was demonstrated by his declining of the Queen's offer to join the 50th Anniversary of his feat, which also coincided with the golden jubilee of the Queen's coronation, preferring to be with his Sherpa friends with whom he was so deeply attached.
Sir Edmund was modest almost to a fault He had said once that in some ways he believed that he epitomized the average New Zealander: he had modest abilities, which he combined with a good deal of determination, and he rather liked to succeed.
He succeeded, and much more. He not only left his footprint on the face of the world's highest peak, he, by his grit and determination, has also left an indelible imprint in the hearts of all the adventure-loving people of the world.
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