About ... How we remember Sir Edmund Hillary
I don't quite like the idea of create a new national holiday for him. It is very appropriate that we can have a day every year to remember Sir Ed's achievement and reflect on ourself. But the reality is, in those days every holiday we got will eventually become commercialised ---Sir Ed Day sale on now!
If the holiday is really the way to go, all commercial activities must banned on that day.
Rename Auckland International Airport is a better idea. It is very symbolic - with every departing and landing aeroplane, Sir Ed's name and spirit fly with them, high above Mt Everest and the sky.
Also as Auckland is the gateway for most visitors to New Zealand, rename the Airport could help the country to introduce its best to the world.
We can just follow the New York JFK Airport, rename Auckland report to Edmund Percival Hillary International Airport, airport code EPH.
If rename of Auckland Airport isn't possible, we could look at other things such as a mountain or a river in the country.
By the way, his state funeral will be held tomorrow in Auckland, it will be broadcast live on TV ONE. more details here.
The statue of Sir Edmund Hillary gazes towards Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest Mountain.
(Photo Copyright: Jonathan Keelty, released in Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License)
