Farewell Sir Ed
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%26bull; Full coverage: Sir Ed Hillary
They came not from a dignitary or a notable, but from within the crowd of ordinary New Zealanders who gathered outside St Marys in Parnell, Auckland, yesterday as the hearse bearing Sir Edmund Hillarys body moved slowly away.
It was a public end to an immensely public farewell, after thousands paid their respects as Sir Eds body lay in state at the adjacent Holy Trinity Cathedral.
Leading the eulogies at the state funeral yesterday morning, Prime Minister Helen Clark called Sir Ed a central part of the New Zealand family. Most New Zealanders might not be able to match his physical accomplishments, but surely we can all strive to match his humanity, she said.
Sir Eds daughter, Sarah Hillary, spoke of the last weeks with her father, when he was happy and alert.
Her brother Peter, himself a mountaineer, spoke fondly of a childhood packed with Himalayan adventures, camp meals and road trips. Adventure was compulsory in the curriculum of the Hillary family.
Sam Mulgrew, Sir Eds grandson through his second wife, June, Lady Hillary, shared childhood memories of his grandfather.
When I was at Kings School, I would walk down to the house at the end of every day and shake his hand and have a Ribena.
Ang Rita Tshering Sherpa spoke for the Sherpa community, whose lives had been changed by Sir Eds humanitarian work.
His loss for us is bigger and heavier than Mt Everest.
Norbu Tenzing Norgay, whose father Tenzing Norgay conquered the top of the world alongside the Kiwi beekeeper, listed the facilities Sir Ed had helped to give to the Sherpas: 63 schools, two hospitals, a dozen clinics and one million trees.
Jim Wilson told of Sir Eds little boy enthusiasm for adventure, his meticulous planning and easy forgiveness. Ed, its been one of the great delights of my life to be your friend.
Mourners included 19 foreign dignitaries, four Sherpa leaders and five Everest expedition members.
Borne by eight military pallbearers, Sir Eds casket left the church to a lone piper and a guard of honour formed by the Alpine Club. Pupils from Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate performed a specially penned haka.
Afterwards, Sir Eds family and guests moved on to a private cremation ceremony.
It has yet to be confirmed whether Sir Eds ashes will be scattered from the Spirit of Adventure.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 6:06 pm under