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Friday January 11, 3:59 PMTributes pour in for Everest conqueror Hillary
Prime Minister Helen Clark said the passing of Hillary, who was knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II shortly after his historic feat on May 29, 1953, was a profound loss for New Zealand. "Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus," she said in a statement. "He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity," she said. "But most of all he was a quintessential Kiwi. He was ours -- from his craggy appearance and laconic style to his directness and honesty." Hillary died of a heart attack in Auckland Hospital following a period of bad health. Australia's acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said "the very name, Edmund Hillary, has become synonymous with daring and achievement. "He was a man with a big dream and he made that dream come true," she said in a statement. "Today as a nation we honour the contributions that this great man made in the modern world." Nepal's Sherpas went into mourning and pledged to ensure his legacy lives on in the community he has helped with his Himalayan Trust since his Everest ascent. They were planning a memorial and considering putting a statue in the mountaineering park, said Zimba Zangbu Sherpa, vice president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. "We consider him as a second father," said Sherpa, who attended one of the first schools set up by Hillary in the Solokhumbu region in Everest's foothills. "His work changed the life of the whole Sherpa community. Without his work, especially the schools, the Sherpas would be nowhere. I am sure it (his work) will continue." The New Zealander conquered the 8,848-metre (29,028-foot) mountain with the aid of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. He returned the following year to launch community projects in the impoverished region around the base of the world's tallest mountain where Sherpas live. Hillary's trust, set up in the 1960s, built schools and hospitals, and trained health workers in the harsh, mountainous region. He also helped build an airstrip to promote tourism. "We have lost a dear friend of Nepal and a worldwide hero," Prithvi Subba Gurung, Nepal's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation, told AFP. Australian mountaineer Lincoln Hall, who survived after being left for dead on Everest two years ago, told national radio: "Edmund Hillary is immortal, really. "The legacy left behind is not just achieving one of those great feats of exploration and human endeavour, but the contribution he's made to altruistic work in developing countries sets an example that no one, I think, can better anywhere." The president of the 30,000-strong Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines said Hillary was "an inspiration to all of us. "We idolised him especially over his exemplary deeds after scaling Mount Everest," said Regie Pablo, who became the seventh Filipino to reach the Everest summit last year. New Zealand's cricket team will wear black arm bands and observe a minute's silence in Hillary's honour along with the crowd before play starts on day one of the second test against Bangladesh in Wellington on Saturday. burs-lb/msl |
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