Honouring Sir Edmund Hillary

The New Zealand Government has announced that it will introduce a series of recreation and sport initiatives to honour the late Sir Edmund Hillary.

The initiatives are:

• ‘The Hillary Shield’, a new rugby trophy to be contested by the All Blacks and the England rugby team with the inaugural game to be played at Twickenham on 29th November,

• The establishment of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Recreation Council by SPARC, the New Zealand Government’s sport and recreation agency,

• The Young New Zealanders’ Challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award will in the future incorporate Sir Ed’s name, and

• A $60,000 funding boost for the Himalayan Trust, increasing the annual grant from the government to $350,000.

Making the announcement, Prime Minister Helen Clark advised that in consultation with the family of the late Sir Edmund Hillary agreement has been reached on initiatives to commemorate the great New Zealander’s extraordinary life, stating, “the Government received many ideas from New Zealanders on how best to commemorate Sir Ed’s life. All ideas received have been considered, and the wishes of Sir Ed’s family have been paramount in that consideration.

“Sir Ed himself was a humble man. He wanted his legacy to live on through initiatives which related to his charitable work and to outdoor recreation, sport and fitness.

“With these factors in mind, five initiatives have been developed as fitting commemorations of Sir Ed’s life."

(The fifth initiative, the Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship, which provides for a citizen of India or Nepal to visit New Zealand each year, was announced in September).

Prime Miniser Clark added “Sir Ed was our greatest explorer and a great proponent of outdoor activity overall. It is fitting that SPARC’s new outdoor recreation council will be named after him. The council will provide leadership and advice on promoting outdoor recreation and making the opportunities in the great outdoors of our country more widely known to and accessed by New Zealanders.

“Sir Ed was always willing to support initiatives to promote the development of young people. In renaming the Young New Zealanders’ Challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to incorporate Sir Ed’s name, we recognise his work with young people during his life and the inspiration his life and memory will be to future generations.

“The Himalayan Trust was founded by Sir Ed in 1956 to support education and health services for people of the Solu Khumbu region of Nepal. The increased annual grant to the Trust, provided through New Zealand's International Aid and Development Agency (NZAID), ensures that there continues to be a New Zealand link to the region and ongoing support for the Trust’s humanitarian work.

“Sir Ed was our greatest New Zealander. His achievements, attitudes, strength, bravery, and humility meant that he was looked up to by us all, and respected by people around the world. These initiatives being announced today ensure that his life will continue to be commemorated in ways which remind us all of the inspiration he gave to many.”

The New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) is fully supporting the establishment of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Recreation Council,

NZRA Chief Executive Brendon Ward heralding the decision as both appropriate and timely.

As Ward explained, “the announcement comes at a time when the outdoor recreation sector is calling for leadership and direction. This has been highlighted in SPARC’s recent Outdoor Recreation Review and is evidenced by the number and diversity of organisations involved in the sector.

"New Zealand has some of the best outdoor recreation opportunities in the world. The facilities available to New Zealanders are many and varied. Making people aware of what is available and encouraging them to actively participate are key outcomes. So too is appropriate resourcing of the sector and facilities." 

Lower image: Sir Edmund Hillary [seated] opening the No 1 Chair Lift at Mt Ruapehu in 1954. Credit: Ruapehu Skifields Stakeholders Association website.