Posts Tagged ‘Edmund Hillary’
Sir Edmund Hillary's State Funeral + photos
I watched today's State Funeral on TV ONE. It was quite amazing. Thousands of people, despite of occasional heavy rain pour today, lined up in Auckland Domain, Newmarket, Parnell for hours just to see Sir Ed for one last time. When the hearse finally arrives, people from all walks of life quietly clapped and some throwed flowers.
Despite the absent of royal members in the service, there was an appropriate, and impressive range of people including memebers of the original expedition team, Sherpa people, and Son of Tenzing Norgay attended the service. It was particularly moving to see that with the help of his friend and Sherpas, Sir Ed's achievement on helping people in Himalayan Mountains lived on to today.
And ... did any one notice that, despite the bad weather in Auckland for several days, there were actually sunny periods at the time when the service starts and when Sir Ed's casket leaves the Church.
It was quite sad that I could not be one of the people line up along the road to see him for one last time . However, I did took time to have one last look last night in Holy Trinity's Lying in State.
It was absolutely amazing to see the amount of people gathered there. I arrived about 11 pm, but when I finally get into the cathedral, it was around half past one, and there was still a long line behind me.
There is no doubt that Sir Edmund Hillary is the greatest mind ever lived in our generation, and we won't be able to see another one of his kind, ever again.
He'll be forever remembered.
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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)
Conquerer of Mt. Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary passed away earlier today, aged 88.
Regarded as one of the greatest New Zealanders in country's History, his story and spirit inspired countless fellow New Zealanders to follow their dreams.
He passed away 9 am NZDST today in Auckland Hospital, surrounded by his family members. The news broke out around 11am, flood of tributes from New Zealanders and people around the world soon followed.
This is truely the sad day for the country. A National Day of Mourning should be arranged if possible.
