A phone pest has been plaguing Lady June Hillary with menacing late-night calls, even though she is still grieving the loss of her husband.
The nuisance calls have been so persistent that Lady June has been forced to change her number after decades of being available in thephone book so wellwishers could call up.
Sir Edmund had insisted on his number being listed, and he used to enjoy chatting to people who called or wanted to donate funds to his charity.
The couple's number and home address were also listed on the Himalayan Trust, the charity Sir Ed set up to raise money for the people of Nepal.
But Lady June has been forced to switch to an unlisted number because of the unsettling calls, which involved a heavy breather.
Lady June, who spends most of her time helping to run the Himalayan Trust, said it was inconvenient having to change her number and admitted it was difficult to understand why someone would be so cowardly.
"I suppose it isn't that much of a surprise that it's happened but it's still difficult to understand," she said.
A police spokesman said they would investigate the nuisance calls if a complaint was made.
Last month, Ollie Bradshaw recalled how, as a 14-year-old, he had phoned Sir Ed for help with a school project. The fourth-form boarder at Wanganui Collegiate capitalised on the fact Sir Ed was living in Auckland, got on the blower to the directory service and was surprised to discover Sir Ed's number was listed.
"Out of all the very important people in the country, the fact that I could call up the greatest New Zealander out of the blue and he had the time to yarn to a 14-year-old pretty much sums the guy up."
