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As a shy Kelston schoolboy on a field trip, Va'aiga Tuigamala met his hero, mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, and later on in a career as an international football player, he often recalled Sir Ed's advice - to climb the mountains and challenges in life.
On Tuesday, at an 11.45am gathering in the Henderson civic square, Tuigamala - or "Inga the winger" in his All Black days - will pay a personal tribute to the man whom he calls "a real gentleman".
His tribute will be to release 88 white doves - one for each year of Sir Ed's life.
Tuigamala, now a Henderson funeral director, said the dove was a significant symbol of peace and the human spirit.
"It represents the spirits of your loved ones and it takes people's focus from the grave to the sky."
Sir Ed had a long link with west Auckland, having owned a holiday house for many years at Anawhata on Waitakere City's west coast. He described the area's isolated White's Beach as the "the most beautiful place on the planet"
The doves Tuigamala are releasing have been trained to return to the west, to the home of their owner Stuart Wight, of Titirangi.
