Sir Edmund Hillary: 1919-2008

[Nordly]

ouch. My 500th post was supposed to be more glamourous than this, but I can't wait.

Sir Edmund:

You were an amazing person. You did what everyone seemed to find impossible. Now I hope that I shall do the same (but not in rock climbing) It's nice knowing that you're from NZ. I hope that when I visit it next, I will have a feeling of being in the same country as the most famous mountain climber ever.

Rest in peace.

A newly Canadian by descision but not geographic rules,
Nordly

[grant]

Hi Northern Lights

Congratulations on becoming HWI's newest maestrina!!

Best wishes
Grant

[Nordly]

Thank you Grant!

[Jeff]

A hero in every sense and so modest too. (Modesty must be a Kiwi trait). He wouldn't admit to stepping onto the summit first until after Tenzing's death in 1986. It's strange how we thought of him as British at the time. (Some people will claim there is circumstantial evidence that George Mallory might have made it to the top before falling to his death nearly 30 years earlier in 1924 and even though an American team found his body high on the peak in1999, we'll never really know.)

Personally I have always been captivated by Hillary's story ever since reading John Hunt's book at school and then climbing Snowdon at the age of 12. (We all have our own Everests of one sort or another, however modest in scale.) It was a daunting challenge with the equipment they had in those days and even now, one in six people who go to Everest do not return. It was a personal tragedy for him that in 1975 his wife and daughter were killed in a plane crash while visiting the region. But it was his charity work in Nepal which won him lasting affection in his second home.

After watching the old newsreel on TV I ended last night with a CD of a work which epitomises the sense of unbridled joy and glorious achievement felt by anyone who has ever stood on a mountain top: An Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss, a fitting tribute to a mountain of a man.

[thomas]

I heard the sad news on the radio yesterday. He reached very much in his life but still was a down-to-earth person all time, a kiwi.
I doubt he would like the idea of a state funeral.

Hopefully his work with the Himalyan Trust will continue.

Thomas

[Dori]

Hello all,
Sir Ed is going to have a state funeral on the 22nd Jan 2008 in Auckland. Plans are still being negotiated. Do you think Hayley would perform at his funeral? I can see her singing Abide with Me, or Pokarakara Ana, or something similar.
What do you guys think?

Dori

[stevemacdonald]

Yeah, Hayley should definitely sing at his funeral if at all possible, but I don't know how it would affect her emotionally to go through with it. After all, he was NZ's most famous global citizen and it's gotta hurt to lose him as a fellow Kiwi. I think someone older -- like Dame Kiri Ti Kanawa -- might have more of a feel for something this poignant.

[grant]

Hi Dori and Steve

Personally, I think Hayley would handle such an event with her usual sincerity and understanding. She has already performed at several very important ceremonies and demonstrated her ability and humility on such occassions.

In the end, however, it will be what the family want that is important and I'm sure that will be handled very carefully by the New Zealand government.

Whatever happens, I'm sure it will be very special for kiwis everywhere.

Best wishes
Grant

[Nordly]

I think she should preform at his funeral with a piece written just for that even that would end up as a bonus track for her new album

[Joe]

hayleylynnfan said:

I think she should preform at his funeral with a piece written just for that even that would end up as a bonus track for her new album

Perhaps even a charity single in aid of Sir Hillary's Trusts.

[stevemacdonald]

I guess a part of me see this as a grand opportunity for Hayley to support the achievement of a legendary countryman by performing a touching number at his funeral, but I wonder if any involvement might be seen by some as opportunistic. She and Sir Edmund were two of the best known Kiwis to walk or climb this planet and it would seem a natural fit for her to help in the final send-off. Yet there are so many other singers in the world who could also do it justice, and why must it be another New Zealander since Hillary himself was a citizen of the world. I'd be slightly more comfortable with an American or British singer, maybe even All Angels. Tough call, for sure.

[milewalker]

If Hayley were actually to perform here, my guess is that someone would probably bring this issue up - as they did to some extent when she performed at ANZAC last year. Having said this, she already owns the New Zealand market, so I wonder how much weight the concern would really have. If the performance were held elsewhere, I suspect that your "oppurtunistic" concern might be a more serious problem.

In any event, were it to become public knowledge that she was offered a chance to sing there and turned it down, there would likely be complaints about that as well.

Jon

[dazza]

Hi Everyone,

I can't say that I know that much about him but I do know of some of his achievements. This is a very sad loss.

If Hayley were to be involved in any sort of tribute I am sure that it would be one which is very fitting.

Dazza

[Nordly]

joe said:

hayleylynnfan said:

I think she should preform at his funeral with a piece written just for that even that would end up as a bonus track for her new album

Perhaps even a charity single in aid of Sir Hillary's Trusts.

yeah, that would be good

one problem- he spells Hilary wrong. I know it can be spelled with up to two ls, but a girl in my classes is named Hilary with one l, and Lynn Hilary of Celtic Woman has one l in her last name

no offense Sir Edmund

[postscript]

Hi All.

Looking at this thread so far I would comment as follows.

• Superb tribute Jeff, very well written.
  
  
• It is a personal/family bereavement first and foremost and the State has offered a formality out of respect for a great citizen but it is for the family to determine and one must think of the stress and strain any funeral of a closely loved one causes. To add world publicity to it is an even greater strain. Think how Wills and Harry must have felt at Princess Diana's funeral--and they are 'accustomed' to such public exposure. Perhaps a Thanksgiving for the life a few months later might be easier on the family?
  
  
• Were the family to accept a state funeral, they would be guided by those accustomed to such matters but presumably would have the 'final' say. Therefore appropriate invitations would be made. In other words if it were Hayley it would be because she was invited and wanted.
  
  There is an argument that the nation is paying tribte to its greatest citizen ever and either combination would be right: a Dame, being of the same age/peer group (nearly) and it being a Dame being of nearly equal recognition for a career well achieved; or for the youngest and latest national trailblazer--Hayley.
  
  The key is that it will be by INVITATION, immediately removing any 'opportunism' criticism. Were there to become a commercial opportunity out of it and it were Hayely I would imagine she would either want all proceeds to go to Sir Edmund's trusts or be split between his and her charitable interests, such as the NZ music school she supports or may be even UNICEF indicating the world interest.
  

Peter S.