Edmund Hillary

File:Gertrude Clark, mother of Edmund Hillary, 1909.jpg

Hillary was born to Percival Augustus "Percy" (1885–1965) and Gertrude (née Clark) (1892–1965) Hillary in Auckland, New Zealand, on 20 July 1919.{{cite web|website=Christchurch City Libraries |url=http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Kids/FamousNewZealanders/more/SirEdmundHillary.asp |title=Famous New Zealanders|access-date=23 January 2007}}{{cite web|title=Edmund Hillary|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/edmund-hillary|website=New Zealand History|publisher=Research and Publishing Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=15 February 2018|location= Wellington, New Zealand}} His father Percy had served at Gallipoli with the 15th (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) from Lancashire, England was a watchmaker, who immigrated to the northern Wairoa region in the mid-19th century. He married Annie "Ida" Fleming from Ireland having four children. His maternal great-grandparents, the Clarks, were both from Yorkshire.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v92LDwAAQBAJ&q=edmund+hillary+grandfather+edmund+yorkshire&pg=PT13|title=Edmund Hillary – A Biography: The Extraordinary Life of the Beekeeper Who Climbed Everest |date=2019|first=Michael|last=Gill|publisher=Vertebrate |isbn=9781911342977|access-date=22 September 2020}}{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10349189 |title=Authorised Hillary biography reveals private touches |author=Tyler, Heather |date=8 October 2005 |agency=NZPA |newspaper=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=29 September 2011}}

His family moved to Tuakau, south of Auckland, in 1920, after Percy was allocated {{convert|8|acre|ha|spell=in}} of land there as a returned soldier. Percy had been a journalist prewar, and soon became founding editor of the weekly Tuakau District News as well as an apiarist. Ed had a sister June (born 1917) and a brother Rexford Fleming "Rex" (born 1920).{{sfn|Johnston|Larsen|2005|p=16}}

Hillary was educated at Tuakau Primary School and then Auckland Grammar School. He finished primary school aged 11 or two years early, and at "Grammar" achieved average marks.{{cite news|author=Robinson, Simon |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1702543,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111201228/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1702543,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2008 |title=Sir Edmund Hillary: Top of the World|magazine=Time |date= 10 January 2008|access-date= 14 January 2008}} 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 for {{frac|3|1|2}} years (a one-hour and 40 minutes journey each way) until the family moved to Remuera, Auckland in 1935, his last of four years at "Grammar".{{sfn|Johnston|Larsen|2005|pp=20,22,23}}

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 {{convert|6|ft|2|in|cm}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/13/everest.nepal|access-date=1 July 2018|title=We knocked the bastard off|date=13 March 2003|newspaper=The Guardian }} and gained confidence after taking up boxing.

He became interested in climbing when he was 16 following a 1935 school trip to Mount Ruapehu, after which he showed more interest in tramping than in studying and said he "wanted to see the world".{{sfn|Hillary|1955|p=1}} He then attended Auckland 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.{{sfn|Johnston|Larsen|2005|p=25}}

He then became an apiarist with his father and brother Rex; with 1600 hives to attend, thousands of {{convert|90|lb|kg|abbr=on}} boxes of honey comb to handle, and 12 to 100 bee-stings daily.{{sfn|Johnston|Larsen|2005|p=25}} He kept bees in summer, and concentrated on climbing in winter. His father also edited the journal "The N.Z. Honeybee" and his mother Gertrude was famous for breeding and selling queen bees.{{sfn|Johnston|Larsen|2005|p=23}}Hillary, Sir Edmund (Percival). (2017). In Encyclopaedia Britannica, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: Britannica Digital Learning. Retrieved from https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ebconcise/hillary_sir_edmund_percival/0?institutionId=292"Sir Edmund Hillary". Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 5 September 2012. academic-eb-com/levels/collegiate/article/Sir-Edmund-Hillary/40469. Accessed 14 March 2018.

In 1938, he went to hear Herbert 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 the Waitākere Ranges.{{sfn|Johnston|Larsen|2005|pp=25–29}}{{cite web |last=Barnett |first=Shaun |title=Hillary, Edmund Percival – Early mountaineering |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/6h1/hillary-edmund-percival/page-2 |website=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=30 May 2013 |date=30 October 2012}}

In 1939, he completed his first major climb, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier, near Aoraki / Mount Cook in the Southern Alps. Climbing brought new friends; Harry Ayres and George Lowe became "the first real friends I'd ever had".{{sfn|Johnston|Larsen|2005|pp=26–29}}

File:Edmund Hillary at Delta Camp near Blenheim during WWII.jpg uniform at Delta Camp, near Blenheim, New Zealand, during World War II ]]

At the outbreak of World War II, Hillary applied to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) but quickly withdrew the application, later writing that he was "harassed by [his] religious conscience".{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10482158 |title=Sir Edmund Hillary's life |access-date=11 January 2008 |last=Calder |first=Peter |date=11 January 2008 |work=The New Zealand Herald |publisher=APN Holdings NZ Limited}} In 1943, with the Japanese threat in the Pacific and the arrival of conscription, he joined the RNZAF as a navigator in No. 6 Squadron RNZAF and later No. 5 Squadron RNZAF on Catalina flying boats. In 1945, he was sent to Fiji and to the Solomon Islands, where he was badly burnt in an accident.

In January 1948, Hillary and others ascended the south ridge of Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak.{{cite web|url=http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=5A28|title=Ayres, Horace Henry 1912–1987|last=Langton|first=Graham|date=22 June 2007|work=Dictionary of New Zealand Biography|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=2 December 2009}} He took part in an arduous rescue on La Perouse in 1948, befriending fellow climber Norman Hardie.

In 1951 he was part of a British reconnaissance expedition to Everest led by Eric Shipton,{{cite book|last1=Isserman|first1=Maurice|last2=Weaver|first2=Stewart|title=Fallen Giants : A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes|url=https://archive.org/details/fallengiantshist00isse_286|url-access=limited|date=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|page=[https://archive.org/details/fallengiantshist00isse_286/page/n290 278]|isbn=9780300115017}}{{efn|Shipton had met Dan Bryant on the 1935 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition and had formed a positive view of New Zealand climbers}} before joining the successful British attempt of 1953. In 1952, Hillary and George Lowe were part of the British team led by Shipton, that attempted Cho Oyu.{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/6h1/3/3|title=Cho Oyu expedition team, 1952|encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |first=Shaun|last=Barnett|date=7 December 2010}} 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.Gordon, Harry (12 January 2008). [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/hillary-deity-of-the-high-country/story-e6frg6sx-1111115299686 "Hillary, deity of the high country"], The Australian. Retrieved 19 June 2010.

{{main|1953 British Mount Everest expedition}}

File:Edmund Hilary SLNSW FL18955534.jpg

In 1949, the long-standing climbing route to the summit of Everest was closed by Chinese-controlled Tibet. For the next several years, Nepal allowed only one or two expeditions per year.{{cite book|last1=Isserman|first1=Maurice|last2=Weaver|first2=Stewart|title=Fallen Giants : A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes|url=https://archive.org/details/fallengiantshist00isse_286|url-access=limited|date=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|page=[https://archive.org/details/fallengiantshist00isse_286/page/n449 437]|isbn=9780300115017}} 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 {{convert|800|ft|m|-1}} below the summit.{{sfn|Hillary|1955|pp=48,235}}

{{External media | float = right | audio1 = [http://www.wnyc.org/story/sir-edmund-hillary-scales-heights-literary-society/ Sir Edmund Hillary Scales the Heights of Literary Society], 1954, Hillary speaks 5:00–18:57, WNYC{{cite web | title =Sir Edmund Hillary scales the heights of literary society | publisher =WNYC | url =http://www.wnyc.org/story/sir-edmund-hillary-scales-heights-literary-society/ | access-date =31 October 2016}} }}

In 1952, Hillary learned that he and Lowe had been invited by the Joint Himalayan Committee for the 1953 British attempt and immediately accepted.{{sfn|Hillary|1955|p=117}} Shipton had been named as leader but was replaced by Hunt. Hillary objected but was immediately impressed by Hunt's energy and determination.{{sfn|Hillary|1955|p=119}} Hunt asked Charles Evans and Hillary to form with him a small three-man planning group on the expedition.{{sfn|Gill|2017|p=185}}{{sfn|Hunt|1953|pp=107,121,134,138}} Hunt wrote that:{{sfn|Hunt|1953|p=28}}

{{blockquote|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 and Charles Evans; and Hillary and Tenzing.{{cite book|last1=Isserman|first1=Maurice|last2=Weaver|first2=Stewart|title=Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes|url=https://archive.org/details/fallengiantshist00isse_286|url-access=limited|date=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fallengiantshist00isse_286/page/n296 284]–286|isbn=9780300115017}} Hillary, therefore, made a concerted effort to forge a working friendship with Tenzing.{{sfn|Hillary|1955|p=119}}{{sfn|Hunt|1953|pp=138,139}} Hillary wrote, "Tenzing had substantially greater personal ambition than any Sherpa I had met."{{sfn|Gill|2017|p=188}}

File:Tenzing and Hillary.jpg

The Hunt expedition totalled over 400 people, including 362 porters, 20 Sherpa guides, and {{convert|10000|lbs|kg}} of baggage.[https://www.theguardian.com/fromthearchive/story/0,,966102,00.html "Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing reach the top"], Reuter (in The Guardian, 2 June 1953) Lowe supervised the preparation of the Lhotse Face, a huge and steep ice face, for climbing. Hillary forged a route through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall.{{sfn|Hillary|1955|p=151}}{{sfn|Elish|2007|p=30}}

Cameraman Tom Stobart was Hillary's room-mate in Kathmandu. He described Hillary as:{{sfn|Gill|2017|pp=188,189}}

{{blockquote|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 up base camp in March 1953 and, working slowly, set up its final camp at the South Col at {{convert|25900|ft|m|-1}}. On 26 May, Bourdillon and Evans attempted the climb but turned back when Evans's oxygen system failed. The pair had reached the South Summit, coming within 300 vertical feet (91 m) of the summit.[http://www.unlockingthearchives.rgs.org/resources/documents/Reaching%20the%20Top3.pdf Reaching The Top] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216030022/http://www.unlockingthearchives.rgs.org/resources/documents/Reaching%20the%20Top3.pdf |date=16 February 2008 }} Royal Geographical Society. Retrieved 13 January 2008. Hunt then directed Hillary and Tenzing to attempt the summit.

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.{{sfn|Hillary|1955|p=197}} The two pitched a tent at {{convert|27900|ft|m|-1}} on 28 May, while their support group returned down the mountain.{{cite book|last1=Isserman|first1=Maurice|last2=Weaver|first2=Stewart|title=Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes|url=https://archive.org/details/fallengiantshist00isse_286|url-access=limited|date=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|page=[https://archive.org/details/fallengiantshist00isse_286/page/n300 288]|isbn=9780300115017}} 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 {{convert|30|lb|kg|0|adj=on}} packs, attempted the final ascent.{{sfn|Hillary|1955|p=213}} The final obstacle was the {{convert|40|ft|m|adj=on}} rock face later called "Hillary Step"; Hillary later wrote:

{{blockquote|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{{nbsp}}... 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.{{cite book|title=Two Generations|pages=27–28}}}}

File:Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.jpg

Tenzing wrote in his 1955 autobiography that Hillary took the first step onto the summit and he followed. They reached Everest's {{convert|29,028|ft|m|abbr=on}} summit{{snd}}the highest point on earth{{snd}}at 11:30 am.[http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/enviro/EnviroRepublish_1478658.htm "Everest not as tall as thought"]. Agence France-Presse (on abc.net.au), 10 October 2005

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.Joanna Wright (2003). "[http://imagingeverest.rgs.org/concepts/Virtual_Everest/-285.html The Photographs]", in Everest, Summit of Achievement, by the Royal Geographical Society. Simon & Schuster, New York. {{ISBN|0-7432-4386-2}}. Retrieved 11 January 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905191639/http://imagingeverest.rgs.org/concepts/Virtual_Everest/-285.html |date=5 September 2015}}{{cite news |title=Obituary: Sir Edmund Hillary |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3740536.stm |access-date=1 June 2021 |work=BBC News |date=11 January 2008}}

File:Sir Edmund Hillary, Sir Willoughby Norrie, and George Lowe at Government House, Wellington, 1953.jpg (right) with Governor-General Sir Willoughby Norrie at Government House, Wellington, 20 August 1953]]

Tenzing left chocolates at the summit as an offering, and Hillary left a cross given to him by John Hunt.{{sfn|Hillary|1955|p=229}} 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."

They returned to Kathmandu a few days later and learned that Hillary had already been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Hunt a Knight Bachelor.{{cite news|last1=Editorial Staff|title=(announcements)|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39886/page/3273|access-date=12 March 2018|work=The London Gazette|page=3273|date=12 June 1953}} News reached Britain on the day of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, and the press called it a coronation gift.{{Citation| agency=Reuters| title=2 of British Team Conquer Everest| newspaper=The New York Times| page=1| date=2 June 1953| url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0529.html| access-date=18 December 2009}}

The 37 members of the party later received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal with {{small caps|mount everest expedition}} engraved along the rim.{{sfn|Johnston|Larsen|2005|p=76}}

In addition to the knighting of Hillary and Hunt, Tenzing{{snd}}ineligible for knighthood as a Nepalese citizen{{snd}}received the George Medal."George Medal for Tensing – Award Approved by the Queen" in The Times (London), issue 52663 dated Thursday 2 July 1953, p. 6{{cite ODNB|first=Peter H.|last=Hansen|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/50064|title=Tenzing Norgay [Sherpa Tenzing] (1914–1986)|format=(subscription required)|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/50064 |access-date=18 January 2008}}{{cite news|title=Man of the mountains Tenzing dies|first=Paul|last=Vallely|work=The Times|location=UK|date=10 May 1986}} Tenzing also received the Star of Nepal from King Tribhuvan.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/world/asia/11cnd-hillary.html|title=Edmund Hillary, First on Everest, Dies at 88|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.|date=10 January 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=27 October 2017|issn=0362-4331}}

File:Sir Edmund Hillary in the cockpit of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition's aeroplane, Rongotai, Wellington, 1956.jpg's DHC-2, 1956]]

Hillary climbed ten other peaks in the Himalayas on further visits in 1956, 1960–1961, and 1963–1965. He also reached the South Pole as part of the Commonwealth 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 since Amundsen in 1911 and Scott in 1912, and the first ever to do so using motor vehicles.{{cite web|url=http://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/edmund-hillary-antarctica |title=Edmund Hillary in Antarctica|website=New Zealand History online – Nga korero aipurangi o Aotearoa|author= Ministry for Culture and Heritage|location= Wellington, New Zealand|date=22 July 2014|access-date=18 November 2016}}

In 1960, Hillary organised the 1960–61 Silver Hut expedition,{{sfn|Gill|2017|pp=328–369}} with Griffith Pugh; and Pugh showed that Mount Everest could be climbed without oxygen, with a long period of acclimatisation by living at {{convert|20000|ft}} for six months.

An assault on Makalu, the world's fifth-highest mountain, was unsuccessful. Hillary was with the expedition for five months, although it lasted for ten.{{cite web|title=Sir Edmund Hillary, a Life in Pictures|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/photogalleries/hillary-pictures/photo5.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115223919/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/photogalleries/hillary%2Dpictures/photo5.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 January 2008|website=news.nationalgeographic.com|access-date=14 March 2018}}

The expedition also searched for the fabled abominable snowman. 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.{{cite web|title=The Yeti: Asia's Abominable Snowman|url=https://www.livescience.com/25072-yeti-abominable-snowman.html|website=Live Science|date=28 November 2017|access-date=14 March 2018}}{{cite web|title=Objects of Intrigue: Yeti Scalp|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/objects-of-intrigue-yeti-scalp|website=Atlas Obscura|access-date=14 March 2018|language=en|date=30 May 2013}} 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".{{cite web|title='Yeti scalp' fails to convince Hillary|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/yeti-scalp-fails-to-convince-hillary-1.83312|website=Stars and Stripes|access-date=14 March 2018}}

File:Edmund-Hillary.web.jpg ground air strip, Antarctica]]

In 1962, he was a guest on the television game show What's My Line?; he stumped the panel, comprising Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf, and Merv Griffin.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLteuggtA0o| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/BLteuggtA0o| archive-date=30 October 2021|title=What's My Line? – Sir Edmund Hillary; Diahann Carroll; Merv Griffin [panel] (May 20, 1962)| website=YouTube| date=26 May 2014|access-date=11 March 2018 }}{{cbignore}}

In 1977, he led a jetboat expedition, titled "Ocean to Sky", from the mouth of the Ganges River to its source.{{cite web|url=http://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/edmund-hillary/end-of-big-mountain-days |title=The end of the 'big mountain days' – Ed Hillary". |website=New Zealand History online – Nga korero aipurangi o Aotearoa|author= Ministry for Culture and Heritage|location= Wellington, New Zealand|date=13 January 2016|access-date=18 November 2016}} From 1977 to 1979 he commentated aboard Antarctic sightseeing flights operated by Air New Zealand, and was scheduled to act as the guide for the fatal Flight 901, but had to cancel owing to other commitments.[http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/erebus-disaster/visiting-antarctica "The Antarctic experience – Erebus disaster"] New Zealand History online; retrieved 13 January 2008.

In 1985, he accompanied Neil Armstrong in a small twin-engined ski plane over the Arctic Ocean and landed at the North Pole. Hillary thus became the first man to stand at both poles and on the summit of Everest.{{cite news|last1=Attwooll|first1=Jolyon|title=Sixty fascinating Everest facts|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/nepal/articles/Everest-Sixty-fascinating-facts/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/nepal/articles/Everest-Sixty-fascinating-facts/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=4 February 2016|access-date=22 July 2016|ref=Sir Edmund Hillary was also a highly successful explorer of the Poles, leading expeditions there in the late 1950s. He went to the North Pole in 1985, making him the first person to have reached both poles and climbed Everest.}}{{cbignore}}{{cite magazine |first=Robert |last=Sullivan |url=http://www.time.com/time/2003/adventures/interview.html |title=The Greatest Adventures of All Time: Sir Edmund Hillary: A visit with the world's greatest living adventurer |magazine=Time |date=12 September 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030921174835/http://www.time.com/time/2003/adventures/interview.html |archive-date=21 September 2003}}[https://www.theguardian.com/everest/story/0,,955942,00.html March 2003 interview with Hillary in] The Guardian{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7180000/newsid_7184400/7184434.stm |title=Video: Interview on HardTalk |work=BBC News |access-date=13 March 2010 | date=11 January 2008}} This accomplishment inspired generations of explorers to compete over what later was defined as Three Poles Challenge.

In January 2007, Hillary travelled to Antarctica as part of a delegation commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Scott Base.NDTV, [http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Sir+Edmund+Hillary+revisits+Antarctica&id=99755 "Sir Edmund Hillary revisits Antarctica"], 20 January 2007. {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/466/story.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10419569 |title=Claire Harvey on Ice: Mt Erebus sends chills of horror |author=Harvey, Claire |date=21 January 2007 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=29 September 2011 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122658/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/466/story.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10419569 |url-status=dead }}Radio Network, [http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=110625 "PM and Sir Edmund Hillary off to Scott Base"], 15 January 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126040918/http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=110625 |date=26 January 2009 }}

File:Nz5d.jpg]]

On 6 June 1953, Hillary was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and he received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal the same year.{{London Gazette|issue=39886|page=3273|date=12 June 1953}} On 6 February 1987, he was the fourth appointee to the Order of New Zealand."The Order of New Zealand" (12 February 1987) 20 New Zealand Gazette 705 at 709. He was also awarded the Polar Medal in 1958 for his part in the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition,{{London Gazette|issue=41384|page=2997|date=13 May 1958}}{{Cite web|title = medal, award|url = http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_humanhistory-object-711200|website = Auckland War Memorial Museum|access-date = 16 November 2015}} the class of commander of the Order of Sports Merit of France in about 1960,{{Cite web|title = Commander of the Order of Sports Merit (descriptive name) Sir Edmund Hillary (associated name)|url = https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_humanhistory-object-711230|website = Auckland War Memorial Museum|access-date = 29 January 2021}} the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, 1st Class of the Kingdom of Nepal in 1953 and the Coronation Medal in 1975.{{cite web|url=http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/about/museum/3754281.pdf |title=The orders, decorations and medals of Sir Edmund Hillary, KG, ON Z, KBE (1919–2008) |publisher=Reserve Bank Museum |access-date=7 November 2010 |first=Phillip |last=O'Shea |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128111743/http://rbnz.govt.nz/about/museum/3754281.pdf |archive-date=28 November 2010}} On 22 April 1995, Hillary was appointed Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.{{cite news|last1=Editorial Staff|title=State Intelligence|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/54017/page/6023|page=6023|access-date=12 March 2018|work=the London Gazette|date=25 April 1995}}"The Most Noble Order of the Garter-K.G." (4 May 1995) 42 1071 at 1088. On 17 June 2004, Hillary was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.{{cite web|title=Zmarł Edmund Hillary, pierwszy zdobywca Mt Everest|url=http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1,114873,4828817.html|work=Gazeta.pl Wiadomości|publisher=Agora S.A.|access-date=15 November 2013|language=pl|date=10 January 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720082150/http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1%2C114873%2C4828817.html|archive-date=20 July 2014}} The Government of India conferred on him its second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, posthumously, in 2008.{{cite news| url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/06/stories/2008050660611400.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509071134/http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/06/stories/2008050660611400.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=9 May 2008 | location=Chennai, India | work=The Hindu | title=Pranab, Tendulkar, Asha Bhosle receive Padma Vibhushan | date=6 May 2008}}

To mark the 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Everest, the Nepalese government conferred honorary citizenship upon Hillary at a special Golden Jubilee celebration in Kathmandu, Nepal. He was the first foreign national to receive that honour.[http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=34096 Mountaineering Great Edmund Hillary passes away] 12 January 2008 The Rising Nepal {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304025552/http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=34096 |date=4 March 2008 }}

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 that Aoraki / Mount Cook rather than Mount Everest be used as the backdrop.{{cite web |title=Sir Edmund Hillary – Commemorative $5 Bank Note |url=http://www.siredmundhillary.com/banknote.htm |website=www.siredmundhillary.com |access-date=14 December 2017 |archive-date=26 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326231656/http://www.siredmundhillary.com/banknote.htm |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/notes-and-coins/notes/banknotes-in-circulation |title=Banknotes in circulation |website=Reserve Bank of New Zealand |access-date=16 March 2018 |archive-date=28 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128144441/https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/notes-and-coins/notes/banknotes-in-circulation |url-status=dead }}

File:Hillary statue and Mount Cook.jpg, one of his favourite peaks[http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/notes_and_coins/explaining_currency.pdf Explaining Currency] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712052241/http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/notes_and_coins/explaining_currency.pdf |date=12 July 2013 }} NZ Government]]

Annual Reader's Digest polls from 2005 to 2007 named Hillary as "New Zealand's most trusted individual".{{cite web|url=http://tvnz.co.nz/content/595189/423466/article.html|title=Sir Ed tops NZ's most trusted list|publisher=Television New Zealand|date=30 June 2005|access-date=12 June 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10442361|title=Parents trust firefighters, but want kids to be high-earning lawyers|first=Juliet|last=Rowan|work=The New Zealand Herald|date=29 May 2007|access-date=12 June 2010}}

Hillary's favoured New Zealand charity was the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, of which he was patron for 35 years.{{cite web|title=Our Uniqueness|url=http://www.hillaryoutdoors.co.nz/our-uniqueness/|publisher=Hillary Outdoors Education Centres{{!}}OPC|access-date=2 February 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202235620/http://www.hillaryoutdoors.co.nz/our-uniqueness/|archive-date=2 February 2017}} 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 {{convert|2.3|m|ft|1|adj=on}} bronze statue of Hillary was erected outside The Hermitage Hotel at Mount Cook Village; it was unveiled by Hillary himself in 2003.{{cite web|title=Sir Edmund Hillary at The Hermitage July 2003|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzlscant/hillary.htm|website=www.rootsweb.ancestry.com|access-date=17 November 2016}} Various streets, institutions and organisations around New Zealand and abroad are named after him – for example, the Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate in Ōtara, which was established by Hillary in 2001.{{cite web|title=Collegiate Story|url=http://sehc.school.nz/collegiate-story/|website=sehc.school.nz|publisher=Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate|access-date=10 December 2017|language=en}}

Two Antarctic features are named after Hillary. The Hillary Coast is a section of coastline south of Ross Island and north of the Shackleton Coast.{{cite web|title=Hillary Coast|url=https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=gnispq:5:0::NO::P5_ANTAR_ID:6780|work=Geographic Names Information System|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=10 December 2017|language=en-us|archive-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616212152/https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=gnispq:5:0::NO::P5_ANTAR_ID:6780|url-status=dead}} The Hillary Canyon, an undersea feature in the Ross Sea, appears on the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans, published by the International Hydrographic Organization.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10487079|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907122816/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10487079|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 September 2012|title=Hillary's first mountain could take name|date=16 January 2008|access-date=26 August 2008|work=The New Zealand Herald |first=Jarrod|last=Booker}}

File:Sir Edmund and Lady Louise Hillary with their son Peter, 1955.jpg, 1955]]

File:Sir_Edmund_Hillary_with_Lady_Hillary.jpg

Hillary married Louise Mary Rose (1930{{ndash}}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.[http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Kids/FamousNewZealanders/Edmund.asp Famous New Zealanders]. Retrieved 22 January 2007. They had three children: Peter (born 1954), Sarah (born 1956) and Belinda (1959{{ndash}}1975).{{cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/edmund-hillary/everest-to-south-pole |title=From Everest to the South Pole |author=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |date=20 December 2012 |access-date=17 May 2020}}The New Zealand Edge, [http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/hillary.html "Sir Edmund Hillary—King Of The World"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041127050950/http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/hillary.html |date=27 November 2004 }}. Retrieved 22 January 2007. On 31 March 1975, while en route to join Hillary in the village of Phaphlu, where he was helping to build a hospital, Louise and Belinda were killed in a plane crash{{cite web |last1=Gill |first1=Michael |title='Dishevelled' pilot who caused Hillary tragedy should have been barred |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/96860943/dishevelled-pilot-who-caused-hillary-family-tragedy-should-have-been-barred-from-flying-new-biography-reveals |publisher=Stuff |accessdate=30 May 2020 |date=24 September 2014}} near Kathmandu airport shortly after take-off.

In 1989 he married June Mulgrew, the widow of his close friend Peter Mulgrew, who died on Air New Zealand Flight 901 in 1979.National Geographic, [https://web.archive.org/web/20061116102132/http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0305/feature1/index.html?fs=www7.nationalgeographic.com "Everest: 50 Years and Counting"]. Retrieved 22 January 2007.Sailing Source, [http://www.sailingsource.com/newfeatures/article_2002_09_22_3044.php "Sir Edmund Hillary to Start Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103035717/http://www.sailingsource.com/newfeatures/article_2002_09_22_3044.php |date=3 January 2007 }}. Retrieved 22 January 2007. June, Lady Hillary, died in Auckland on 1 June 2024.{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/sir-edmund-hillarys-wife-lady-june-dies-aged-92/326ZUOHE4VHVPPSCJJ3AEBH3VM/ |title=Sir Edmund Hillary's wife Lady June dies, aged 92 |date=1 June 2024 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=1 June 2024}}

His son Peter 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.[https://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2003/apr/everest/index.html National Geographic 50th Anniversary Everest Expedition Reaches Summit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930002729/http://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2003/apr/everest/index.html |date=30 September 2013 }}, National Geographic News, 25 May 2002. Retrieved 5 May 2011.

Hillary's home for most of his life was a property on Remuera Road in Auckland City,{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/auckland-region/news/article.cfm?l_id=117&objectid=10559206 |title=Sir Ed's haven on the market |author=Sarney, Estelle |date=28 February 2009 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=29 September 2011}} where he enjoyed reading adventure and science fiction novels in his retirement.

He also built a bach at Whites Beach,{{cite news |title=Sir Ed's bach a place of solace |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/nor-west-news/219062/Sir-Eds-bach-a-place-of-solace |newspaper=Nor-west News |publisher=Fairfax New Zealand |location=Huapai, New Zealand |oclc=276732793 |date=January 2008 |access-date=29 June 2012}} one of Auckland's west coast beaches in West Auckland, between Anawhata and North Piha. A friend called it Hillary's place of solace, where he could escape media attention.

The Hillary family has had a connection with the west coast of Auckland since 1925, when Louise's father built a bach at Anawhata.{{cite web |url=http://www.arc.govt.nz/parks/whats-on-in-parks/hillary-trail/the-hillary-connection.cfm |title=Hillary Trail: The Hillary connection |work=Parks: Things to do |publisher=Auckland Regional Council |location=Auckland, New Zealand |access-date=29 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624224908/http://www.arc.govt.nz/parks/whats-on-in-parks/hillary-trail/the-hillary-connection.cfm |archive-date=24 June 2012}} The family donated land at Whites Beach that is now crossed by trampers on the Hillary Trail, named for Edmund.{{cite press release|title=Multi-day Waitakere trail named after Sir Edmund Hillary|publisher=Auckland Regional Council|date=29 September 2009|url=http://www.arc.govt.nz/index.cfm?58A620FD-14C2-3D2D-B9CA-EA5858882785&objUUID=076AA3FF-145E-173C-980E-04B483C1511F |access-date=29 June 2012}}

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."{{cite news |title=Lonely site legend's special place |first=Stuart |last=Dye |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10486683 |newspaper=The New Zealand Herald |publisher=Wilson and Horton |location=Auckland, New Zealand |issn=1170-0777 |oclc=55942740 |date=14 January 2008 |access-date=30 June 2012}}

Following his ascent of Everest he devoted himself to assisting the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he established in 1960{{cite web|title=About us|url=http://himalayantrust.org/about-us/|website=himalayantrust.org|publisher=Himalayan Trust New Zealand|access-date=14 December 2017}} and led until his death in 2008. His efforts are credited with the construction of many schools and hospitals in this remote region of the Himalayas. He was 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 the Honorary President of Mountain Wilderness, an international NGO dedicated to the worldwide protection of mountains.{{cite web|title=Historical faces|url=http://www.mountainwilderness.org/faces-voices-of-mw/faces-of-mw/|website=Mountain Wilderness|access-date=17 November 2016|date=31 December 2010}}

Hillary supported the Labour Party in the 1975 New Zealand general election, as a member of the "Citizens for Rowling" campaign. His involvement in this campaign was seen as precluding his nomination as governor-general;Rowling: The Man and the Myth by John Henderson, Australia New Zealand Press, 1980. the position was offered to Keith Holyoake in 1977. In 1985, Hillary was appointed New Zealand High Commissioner to India (concurrently High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Ambassador to Nepal) and spent four and a half years based in New Delhi.{{cite web|title=Sir Edmund Hillary: Mountaineer who conquered Everest and devoted his|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-edmund-hillary-mountaineer-who-conquered-everest-and-devoted-his-later-life-to-the-sherpa-people-769765.html|website=The Independent|access-date=17 November 2016|date=12 January 2008}}

In 1975, Hillary served as a vice president for the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand,{{cite journal |url=http://abortionwiki.org/archive/alranz.org/NewsletterFebruary2008.htm |date=November 2008 |journal=ALRANZ Newsletter |title=Obituaries |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605213518/http://abortionwiki.org/archive/alranz.org/NewsletterFebruary2008.htm |url-status=usurped }} a national pro-choice advocacy group.{{cite web |url=http://www.alranz.org/aboutus/history.html |title=Our History |work=ALRANZ.org |access-date=5 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113054730/http://www.alranz.org/aboutus/history.html |archive-date=13 January 2015}} He was also a patron of REPEAL, an organisation seeking repeal of the restrictive Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977.

File:Edmund Hillary State Funeral.jpg as Hillary's hearse passes]]

On 22 April 2007, while on a trip to Kathmandu, Hillary suffered a fall, and was hospitalised after returning to New Zealand.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10435883 |title=Clark sends goodwill message to Sir Edmund |author=Dye, Stuart |date=24 April 2007 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=29 September 2011 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929224034/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10435883 |url-status=dead }}

On 11 January 2008, he died of heart failure at Auckland City Hospital, at the age of 88.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10482156|title=State funeral for Sir Edmund Hillary|author=McKenzie-Minifie, Martha|date=11 January 2008|work=The New Zealand Herald|access-date=29 September 2011}}{{cite news |date= 11 January 2008 |title= Everest hero Edmund Hillary dies |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7182376.stm |work=BBC News |access-date= 5 June 2024}} Flags were lowered to half-mast on New Zealand public buildings and at Scott Base in Antarctica,{{cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4352066a10.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526200753/http://www.stuff.co.nz/4352066a10.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 May 2012 |title=Flag flies at half-mast over a sad Scott Base |work=Stuff.co.nz |access-date=29 September 2011 }} and the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, called Hillary's death a "profound loss to New Zealand".[http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/10/edmund.clark/index.html "Clark statement on Hillary death"]. CNN.com. Retrieved 11 January 2008.

On 21 January, Hillary's casket was taken into Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland, to lie in state.{{cite news |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4366732a10.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913023843/http://www.stuff.co.nz/4366732a10.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 September 2012 |title=Sir Edmund Hillary lies in state |date=21 January 2008 |access-date=21 February 2008 |publisher=Fairfax Media}}

A state funeral was held on 22 January 2008,{{cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4351997a10.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111132642/http://www.stuff.co.nz/4351997a10.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2008 |title=State funeral for Sir Ed |work=Stuff |access-date=29 September 2011 }} after which his body was cremated. On 29 February 2008, most of his ashes were scattered in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf per his desire.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10495373|title=Sir Edmund Hillary takes final voyage, ashes scattered at sea|date=29 February 2008|work=The New Zealand Herald|access-date=29 September 2011}} The remainder went to a Nepalese monastery near Everest; a plan to scatter them on the summit was cancelled in 2010.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8612256.stm|title=Sherpas cancel plan to spread Hillary ashes on Everest|date=9 April 2010|work=BBC News |access-date=10 April 2010}}

In January 2008, Lukla Airport, in Lukla, Nepal, was renamed to Tenzing–Hillary Airport in recognition of their promotion of its construction.{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/15/asia/AS-GEN-Nepal-Hillary-Tribute.php|title=Nepal to name Everest airport after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay|newspaper=International Herald Tribune|date=15 January 2008|access-date=27 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212062042/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/15/asia/AS-GEN-Nepal-Hillary-Tribute.php|archive-date=12 February 2008}}{{cite news|last1=Sharma|first1=Gopal|title=Nepal airport, route named after Everest heroes|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-31869820080211|access-date=10 December 2017|work=Reuters|date=11 February 2008}}

On 2 April 2008, a service of thanksgiving in Hillary's honour at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle was attended by Queen 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.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7326720.stm|title=Sir Edmund Hillary service of thanksgiving|work=BBC News |date=2 April 2008|access-date=13 March 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7331859.stm|title=Third night in hospital for duke|work=BBC News |date=5 April 2008|access-date=13 March 2010}}

In October 2008, it was announced that future rugby test matches between England and New Zealand would be played for the Hillary Shield.{{cite news|first=Wynne|last=Gray|title=All Blacks: Henry's men reach summit|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10545863|work=The New Zealand Herald |date=1 December 2008|access-date=2 December 2008}} In 2009 the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in New Zealand{{snd}}formerly the Young New Zealanders' Challenge{{snd}}was renamed "The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award".{{cite web|url=http://www.dofehillary.org.nz|title=The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award|access-date=1 September 2009}}

On 5 November 2008, a commemorative set of five stamps was issued by New Zealand Post.{{cite web|title=Sir Edmund Hillary Stamps|url=https://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/new-zealand/2008/sir-edmund-hillary|publisher=New Zealand Post|access-date=13 March 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/edmund-hillary/honouring-hillary|access-date=13 March 2018|title=Honouring Edmund Hillary|publisher=NZ History}}

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.[http://www.summitsfored.org.nz/ Summits for Ed tribute tour] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513085750/http://summitsfored.org.nz/ |date=13 May 2010 }}, Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation and Outdoor Pursuits Centre. This tribute tour went from Bluff at the bottom of the South Island to Cape Reinga at the tip of the North 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.summitsfored.org.nz|title=Summits for Ed Tribute Tour|access-date=4 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513085750/http://summitsfored.org.nz/|archive-date=13 May 2010}}

File:Mercer Bay.jpg

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.horowhenua.govt.nz/NewsAndEvents/LatestNews/Horowhenua+Musicians+Perform+Sir+Edmund+Hillarys+Official+World+Memorial+Song.htm |title=Horowhenua Musicians Perform Sir Edmund Hillary's Official World Memorial Song |publisher=Horowhenua District Council |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240524093927/https://www.webcitation.org/5hALOwjvS?url=http://www.horowhenua.govt.nz/NewsAndEvents/LatestNews/Horowhenua%20Musicians%20Perform%20Sir%20Edmund%20Hillarys%20Official%20World%20Memorial%20Song.htm |archive-date=24 May 2024 |url-status=dead}}

A four-day track in the Waitākere Ranges, along Auckland's west coast, is named the Hillary Trail,{{cite web|title=Regional parks: Home > Parks and facilities > Hillary Trail |url=http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/hillary-trail |website=Auckland Council|access-date=13 March 2016}} in honour of Hillary. Hillary's father-in-law, Jim Rose, who had built a bach at Anawhata in 1925, wrote in his 1982 history of Anawhata Beach, "My family look forward to the time when we will be able to walk from Huia to Muriwai on public walking tracks like the old-time Maori could do".{{cite news|title=Waitakere: Backyard adventure|first=Pamela|last=Wade|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=10619760|newspaper=The New Zealand Herald|publisher=Wilson and Horton|location=Auckland, New Zealand|issn=1170-0777 |oclc=55942740|date=13 January 2010|access-date=29 June 2012}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.arc.govt.nz/parks/our-parks/hillary-trail/hillary-trail_home.cfm |title=Hillary Trail |work=Parks: Things to do |publisher=Auckland Regional Council |location=Auckland, New Zealand |access-date=29 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708075215/http://www.arc.govt.nz/parks/our-parks/hillary-trail/hillary-trail_home.cfm |archive-date=8 July 2012 }} Rose Track, descending from Anawhata Road to Whites Beach, is named after the Rose family.{{cite web|title=Hillary Trail Waitakere Ranges Regional Park|url=http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/parksfacilities/walkingtracks/Documents/HillaryTrailWaitakereRangesRegionalPark-9Oct2012.pdf|website=Auckland Regional Council (arc)|access-date=13 March 2016}}

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.{{cite news|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5422211/Aoraki-Mt-Cook-ridge-named-after-Hillary|title=Aoraki/Mt Cook ridge named after Hillary|author=Levy, Danya|date=10 August 2011|work=Stuff |access-date=13 November 2011}} In September 2013 the Government of Nepal proposed naming a {{convert|7681|m|ft|0}} mountain in Nepal Hillary Peak in his honour.{{cite news| url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/06/mount-everest-hillary-tensing-peaks|work=The Guardian |title= Mount Everest: Hillary and Tenzing to have peaks named after them| date=6 September 2013}} After the New Horizons mission discovered a mountain range on Pluto on 14 July 2015, it was officially named Hillary Montes (Hillary Mountains) by International Astronomical Union.{{cite web|title=First Official Pluto Feature Names|url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia21944-first-official-pluto-feature-names|publisher=NASA|access-date=30 May 2023}}

The Sir 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.

A bronze bust of Hillary (circa 1953) by Ophelia Gordon Bell is in the Te Papa museum in Wellington, New Zealand.{{cite web|url=http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/38819|title=Object: Sir Edmund :)Hillary|work=Collections Online|publisher=Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa|access-date=18 August 2015}}

The Sir Edmund Hillary Archive was added to the UNESCO Memory of the world archive in 2013,{{Cite web|title = Sir Edmund Hillary Archive|url = http://www.unescomow.org.nz/new-zealand-register/browse/item/50-sir-edmund-hillary-archive?tmpl=component|website = www.unescomow.org.nz|access-date = 22 November 2015|archive-date = 8 October 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151008023520/http://www.unescomow.org.nz/new-zealand-register/browse/item/50-sir-edmund-hillary-archive?tmpl=component|url-status = dead}} it is currently held by Auckland War Memorial Museum.{{Cite web|title = Sir Edmund Hillary – Personal papers|url = http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_library-manuscriptsandarchives-7267|website = Auckland War Memorial Museum|access-date = 22 November 2015}}

From 2016 to 2020, a pilot immigration programme to New Zealand awarded Edmund Hillary Fellowships, the benefits of which included a three-year Global Impact Visa to create, support, and incubate ventures and models that result in positive global impact, from New Zealand.{{Cite news|title =Escape to New Zealand With Its New Visa Program (If You Don't Mind a Week in a Yurt) |url =https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-05-28/new-zealand-visa-requires-positive-energy-and-a-week-in-a-yurt |newspaper =Bloomberg.com |date =28 May 2019 |access-date = 20 August 2022}} 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.{{Cite web|title =The Global Impact Visa pilot|url =https://www.ehf.org/blog/the-global-impact-visa-pilot|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220226021643/https://www.ehf.org/blog/the-global-impact-visa-pilot|url-status =dead|archive-date =26 February 2022|website =Edmund Hillary Foundation|access-date =20 August 2022}}

{{Infobox coat of arms wide

|name = Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE

|image = File:Edmund Hillary detail, Armoural letters patent (AM 2014.7.17-4) (cropped).jpg

|imagesize = 250px

|thumb

|bannerimage =

|badgeimage =

|notes =

|adopted =

|crest = A kiwi Azure grasping in the dexter foot an ice axe bendwise Or.{{Google books|8LeX-5WjU4YC|Shame and Honor: A Vulgar History of the Order of the Garter|page=264}}

|escutcheon = Azure, a chevron embowed between two chevronels embowed in fess Argent between three prayer wheels bendwise Or.

|supporters = On either side an emperor penguin Proper gorged with a plain collar Or.{{cite web|title= Sir Edmund Hillary: Knight of the Garter |website=Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand|url= https://teara.govt.nz/en/postage-stamp/35639/sir-edmund-hillary-knight-of-the-garter}}

|motto = Nothing venture, nothing win

|orders =Order of the Garter, Order of New Zealand, and Order of the British Empire

|other_elements =

|banner =

|badge =

|symbolism =

|previous_versions =

}}

{{reflist|group=note}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• 1975 Royal Nepal Airlines Pilatus PC-6 Porter crash

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last=Hunt |first= John |title= The Ascent of Everest |year= 1953 |publisher= Hodder & Stoughton |location= London }} (The Summit (Chapter 16, pp 197–209) is by Hillary)
• {{cite book |last= Booth |first=Pat |title= Edmund Hillary: The Life of a Legend |year= 1993 |publisher= Moa Beckett |location=Auckland }}
• {{cite book|title=Edmund Hillary: First to the Top|first=Dan|last=Elish|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|year=2007|isbn=978-0-761-42224-2|url=https://archive.org/details/edmundhillaryfir0000elis}}
• {{cite book|title=Edmund Hillary : a biography|first=Michael|last=Gill|publisher=Potton & Burton|year=2017|isbn=9780947503383}}
• {{cite book|title=High Adventure|first=Edmund|last=Hillary|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=1955|isbn=1-932302-02-6}}
• {{cite book|title=Reaching the Summit: Sir Edmund Hillary's Life of Adventure|first1=Alexa|last1=Johnston|first2=David|last2=Larsen|publisher=DK Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-0-756-61527-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/reachingsummitsi0000john}}
• {{cite book|last=Johnston|first=Alexa|title=Sir Edmund Hillary: An Extraordinary Life|year=2013|publisher=Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited|isbn=978-0143006466}}
• {{cite book |last= Little |first= Paul |title= After Everest: Inside the private world of Edmund Hillary |year= 2012 |publisher= Allen & Unwin |location= Sydney, Australia |isbn= 978-1-877505-20-1 |url= https://archive.org/details/aftereverestinsi0000litt }}
• {{cite book |last=McKinnon |first= Lyn |title= Only Two for Everest |year= 2016 |publisher= Otago University Press |location= Dunedin |isbn= 978-1-972322-40-6 }}
• {{cite book|last=Tuckey|first=Harriet|title=Everest: The First Ascent — How a Champion of Science Helped to Conquer the Mountain|year=2013|publisher=Lyons Press|isbn=978-0-762-79192-7|page=424}}

{{refend}}

{{Wikiquote}}

{{Commons and category|Edmund Hillary}}

• {{DNZB|title=Edmund Hillary biography|id=6H1|plainlink=y}} from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
• {{New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame|H/Edmund-Hillary}}
• [https://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/edmund-hillary On top of the world: Ed Hillary] at nzhistory.net.nz
• [http://audiovisual.archives.govt.nz/wiki/index.php/Category:Sir_Edmund_Hillary Videos (10)] at the New Zealand National Film Unit
• [http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Edmund-Hillary/83730831 Obituary of Edmund Hillary] at tributes.com
• [http://www.folkways.si.edu/sir-edmund-hillary/interview-with-mountain-climbing/oral-history-biography/album/smithsonian "Interview with Sir Edmund Hillary: Mountain Climbing"] at Smithsonian Folkways
• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mxk3 Edmund Hillary] on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, 17 April 1979
• [https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/discover/collections-online/search?k=Sir+Edmund+Hillary+Archive Edmund Hillary's collection] at Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
• [http://www.wnyc.org/story/sir-edmund-hillary-scales-heights-literary-society Edmund Hillary addressing The New York Herald Tribune Book and Author Luncheon, February 10, 1954] broadcast by WNYC
• {{cite journal |title= Obituary: Sir Edmund Hillary |journal= The Telegraph |date= 11 January 2008 |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1575208/Sir-Edmund-Hillary.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1575208/Sir-Edmund-Hillary.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date= 19 October 2018}}{{cbignore}}
• {{Internet Archive author |sname= |sopt=w}}

{{Polar exploration|state=collapsed}}

{{Order of New Zealand}}

{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}

{{Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillary, Edmund}}

*

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Category:20th-century memoirists

Category:Ambassadors of New Zealand to Nepal

Category:Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

Category:New Zealand explorers of Antarctica

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Category:High commissioners of New Zealand to India

Category:Members of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, First Class

Category:Members of the Order of New Zealand

Category:New Zealand and the Antarctic

Category:New Zealand autobiographers

Category:New Zealand beekeepers

Category:New Zealand explorers

Category:New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Category:New Zealand Knights of the Garter

Category:20th-century New Zealand male writers

Category:New Zealand memoirists

Category:New Zealand military personnel of World War II

Category:New Zealand people of English descent

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Category:Non-fiction outdoors writers

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Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in sports

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Category:University of Auckland alumni