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Sir Edmund dies
Sir Edmund Hillary who died today was a patron of Te Araroa Trust. He opened two of the first tracks built by the trust - Meremere to Rangiriri in the year 2000, and Te Hikoi o Te Kiri over the Tamahunga summit behind Leigh, in 2001.
"Ten years back, when our group revived the notion of a foot trail the length of New Zealand, Ed was enthusiastic about the idea and agreed to be a patron," said Te Araroa CEO Geoff Chapple. "That was my first face-to-face encounter with the man who climbed Everest. He hauled me back from the dream to consider entirely practical things so that - in fact rather than fancy - the dream could be achieved. I was briefing him on the concept, panting along with a fast description of where the trail could go -
"A lot of the trail is there right now," I said. "Ninety Mile Beach that's over 100 kilometres - already done. Then we want to get from Ahipara on the west coast to Kerikeri on the east. There's four DOC forests in there. It's public land, it's crossable, and -"
"Whoa," said Ed. "Coming down Ninety Mile Beach - where are the water stops?"
Ed was a practical man, and his advice to us was always to build from a firm footing and to cover things off. I can't think of a better picture of Ed at work than the great bucket steps he hacked out of the ice to bring the British expedition of 1953 up to the South Col. Well into his 80s, on Te Araroa's behalf, he sat down and signed without complaint over 100 booklets seeking funds for the Trust. He also read the manuscript and gave a cover endorsement to the book 'Te Araroa - The New Zealand Trail.'
He had his own charitable Himalayan Trust and so had a great appreciation of the work involved in running a big project. He said of Te Araroa in 2007. "It's a matter of encouraging people to support it, getting funds, getting a lot of voluntary work so the job is completed. Some day that walk from Cape Reinga to Bluff will be one of the great features of New Zealand."
Rest in Peace Ed - you remain a great man, and your support for Te Araroa is lodged in the sinews of the project. We treasure your memory. Our condolences to Lady June Hillary and to Peter and Sarah.
