Sir Edmund Hillary

1. Sir Edmund Hillary The first man to climb Mount Everest

2. He build the Sherpas a school. • Between expeditions, Hillary became more and more involved in work to help the Sherpa people, and improving services such as schools and hospitals in the mountains. • The Himalayan Trust was set up in 1964 to help this work. • This was to help people who didn’t have money or food to help their family. • Over thirty years Hillary helped build 20 schools, two hospitals, several medical clinics, and two airfields. • What he did made the Sherpas really happy. • He became known as "Burra Sahib" or "great man". • This influenced New Zealand’s relationship with the people of Nepal. • In 1984 Sir Edmund Hillary took up the position of High Commissioner to India, a post he held until 1989. • Now 86 years old, Hillary is no longer an active mountaineer, but is still a tireless fundraiser and worker for education and health projects in Nepal. Hillary has been widely honoured in New Zealand, England and around the world, and is the only living New Zealander to be featured on a bank note.

3. How did his accomplishment influence our relationship with Nepal? *New Zealand's relationship with Nepal are warm and friendly but not substantive. *The New Zealand government makes an annual contribution to the Himalayan Trust, and has also established a Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship, to facilitate visits to New Zealand by people from India or Nepal who have the potential to become leaders or people of influence in parliamentary, academic, business, cultural, or other fields. *In addition, the New Zealand Government has contributed $6.6 million since 2004 to humanitarian and development agencies working in Nepal, including $1.5 million to the Himalayan Trust Fund. *There are currently eleven postgraduate students from Nepal studying in New Zealand under the New Zealand Development Scholarship Scheme. *A previous High Commissioner, Sir Edmund Hillary, had a long-standing involvement in Nepal through the development work carried out by his Himalayan Trust organisation. Sir Edmund’s efforts were regarded highly in Nepal, and his legacy remains a very positive element in the bilateral relationship. Evidence of this special relationship could be seen in the celebrations hosted by the Nepalese in May 2003 for Sir Ed to mark the 50th anniversary of his ascent of Mount Everest, and in the high level representation from Nepal for Sir Ed’s funeral in January 2008.

4. They both helped with building the Himalayan Trust. • In 1987 Tenzing Norgay died. Just before his death he had written a biography in which he told for the first time that it was Hillary who had reached the top of Everest first. • Tenzing Norgay helped with the building of the Himalayan Trust • Sir Edmund Hillary wouldn’t have reached the top without Tenzing Norgay’s help. • Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Hillary were part of the British Everest Expedition, 1953, led by Colonel John Hunt. Hunt had selected a team of people who were experienced climbers from all around the British Empire. Among the eleven chosen climbers, Edmund Hillary was selected as a climber from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, though born a Sherpa, was recruited from his home in India