Sir Edmund Hillary, the ordinary yet great man who "knocked the bastard off" and climbed Mount Everest first, died this morning in Auckland aged 88. If anybody embodied what it means to be a New Zealander, Sir Edmund certainly did. He was an ordinary man - he often described himself as "mediocre" - who had a keen sense of adventure that drove him to explore and to climb mountains. And that took him from a small country Kiwi town to the very top of the world. His entire life stands as testimony to his good nature, from his philanthropic endeavours in the Himalaya region to never losing his genuine modesty and good humour in the face of becoming the subject of public reverence, an icon - the icon - of New Zealand. He did not even confirm that he, rather than sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was first to step foot on the very peak of Everest until over two decades after the fact. Beyond all rugby players, beyond all politicians, beyond all others - he epitomised being a Kiwi.
We turn away to face the cold, enduring chill
As the day begs the night for mercy, love
The sun's so bright it leaves no shadows, only scars
Carved into stop on the face of earth
The moon is up and over One Tree Hill
We see the sun go down in your eyes
You run like a river runs to the sea
You run like a river to the sea
The world is now truly a lesser place. Goodbye and RIP, Sir Edmund.
20 July 1919 - 11 January 2008
We turn away to face the cold, enduring chill
As the day begs the night for mercy, love
The sun's so bright it leaves no shadows, only scars
Carved into stop on the face of earth
The moon is up and over One Tree Hill
We see the sun go down in your eyes
You run like a river runs to the sea
You run like a river to the sea
The world is now truly a lesser place. Goodbye and RIP, Sir Edmund.
20 July 1919 - 11 January 2008