Coss Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Sir Edmund Hilary's funeral was held today, his body was in state in the Cathedral in Parnell, just up from where I work. In the Auckland Domain nearby some 5,000 gathered to view the proceedings on a large screen. More were present in the Viaduct Basin on the water front. Many lined the streets for the procession to the crematorium. Sir Edmund Hilary defined what it was to be a New Zealander. He was self effacing, modest and approachable. Modesty was his main attribute. When he and Tenzing Norgay conquered Mt Everest, his comment was "We knocked the bastard off!" Subsequently Hilary was responsible for the building of many schools, hospitals and clinics in Nepal. He was the last of the true adventurers, that is to say, the adventurer that was in it for the adventure, not the publicity. RIP Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Yes a great man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I heard a contingement of Nepalese attended. Great man who continued through life quietly even after his historic achievement... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Thanks for posting that Coss. I can add nothing else that has already been said, except that the world is a lesser place with his loss. Regards, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted January 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 He did have a sense of humour. When asked why he was always so modest, he replied, "It's because I have so much to be modest about..." Cheers Coss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 He was possibly the first of the new breed of adventurers rather than the last of the old. He certainly used the publicity he obtained to help the Nepalese people and later went on some highly publicized trips to the Poles. I mean nothing derogatory here, but I assume he made a living off his fame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I thought he was a bee keeper, no idea why, sticks in my head from school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 According to Wiki it was just a summer job when he was younger. Other than his WW2 service there's no mention of any sort of career other than "adventuring". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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