Sea calls the mountain man

Helen Clark and Lady June Hillary began planning Sir Ed's farewell. Photo / Doug Sherring

The State funeral for Sir Edmund Hillary is likely to be held in Auckland in nine days, with the great mountaineer's own writing revealing he wanted his ashes to be scattered on the waters of the Hauraki Gulf.

Details of Sir Ed's funeral arrangements began to emerge yesterday, a day after he died in Auckland Hospital, aged 88.

Planning began during a two-hour meeting between his widow, Lady Hillary, and Prime Minister Helen Clark, who returned to New Zealand from her holiday in Europe yesterday afternoon, and was driven straight to Lady Hillary's Remuera home.

On meeting Lady Hillary, the Prime Minister exclaimed, "There you are" and the two women embraced for several seconds.

The Vicar of Auckland, Ross Bay, and Department of Internal Affairs officials later joined Clark and Lady Hillary to begin preparations for the public farewell, 11 days after Sir Ed's death.

The delay is intended to give his son Peter Hillary time to return home from Portugal and provide a chance for the public to say farewell.

"We've been going through all the possible arrangements," Clark said after the meeting. "From the outset it was clear that Lady Hillary and the family's wishes must be respected.

"We wanted to do the right thing by the family and the Kiwi public who admired Edmund Hillary so much. We were looking for a way to be inclusive.

"Lady Hillary is an extraordinary woman and a very strong woman. She is surrounded by loving family and she is turning her mind to the exact arrangements for the funeral. It is going to be a very, very appropriate and dignified farewell for Sir Ed."

Sir Ed will lie in state at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell for 24 hours before his funeral. The cathedral is close to the Remuera home he shared with his first wife Louise and then with Lady Hillary.

The funeral will be at St Mary's in Holy Trinity, a small church which neighbours the cathedral.

Bay, dean of the cathedral, said St Mary's was the "family's preference". Seating and a video feed to the cathedral would allow more people to be involved.

Clark said Sir Ed's family "has been overwhelmed by the love and respect shown for Sir Ed".

She said he merited a state funeral because he was an "extraordinary" New Zealander - "probably the best-known ever New Zealander".

"I feel a sense of great sadness. It's the end of an era... of heroic expeditions. Just like Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen. We are saying goodbye to a great New Zealander."

Clark said she had been inspired by Sir Edmund.

"I wish I was as strong as Sir Ed and could have climbed Mt Everest."

Sir Ed's writing shows he was clear in his desire to be cremated - as were his first wife Louise and daughter Belinda after they died in a plane crash in Nepal in 1975.

Sir Ed wrote in 1999's View from the Summit, his most recent autobiography, of his wish to have his ashes scattered at sea.

"When climbers die on a mountain, the understandable reaction of family and friends is to say that they died doing what they enjoyed most and their bodies rest on the mountains they loved," he wrote.

"However, I've never had any desire to end my days at the bottom of a deep crevasse - I've been down too many of them for that to have much appeal. I'm a somewhat fearful person and would prefer to go peacefully if that were possible.

"I should even like my ashes to be spread on the beautiful waters of Auckland's Hauraki Gulf to be washed gently ashore, maybe on the many pleasant beaches near the place where I was born.

"Then the full circle of my life will be complete."

Queen Elizabeth II yesterday bade her farewell to the knight whose ascent of Everest was announced around the world on the day of her coronation.

The Queen hailed Sir Ed as a hero and an inspiration. A royal official said: "The Queen is very saddened to learn of his death and will be sending a personal message of sympathy to his widow and family."

Sir Ed was knighted in July 1953, a month after the ascent.

The official said the monarch met Sir Ed many times afterwards, most recently at a ceremony at Windsor Castle in 2004, and two years earlier at a garden party during a tour of New Zealand.

At the Hillary's modest Remuera home yesterday, there was a constant stream of people visiting to pay their respects to Sir Ed's widow June.

Cartoonist and family friend Tom Scott came bearing a bottle of gin for Lady Hillary.

"I used to turn up with a bottle of red wine for June and Irish whiskey for Ed. It's only a small claim to fame, but I introduced Ed Hillary to Jameson's."

Scott said there was "a lot of grieving and organising" inside the little house, nestled in a much-loved garden with views across the harbour to Mt Victoria and Rangitoto Island.

"They've had gazillions of phone calls from all over the world. It's a sad day... but I think we have to convert the grief into celebration."

Mountaineer and adventurer Graeme Dingle turned up "just to give June a hug".

Dingle said he had been on many adventures with Sir Ed.

"I feel very fortunate. He was very special. His was a big life."

A family of Nepalese Sherpas, now living in Auckland, also arrived to pay their respects.

Nuru Sherpa said he had known Sir Ed since the 1970s. "This is very, very sad for us."

He said his father had been treated in a hospital in Nepal built by Sir Ed.

"We will never forget that. He was like a second father to us."

Nuru said people in Nepal were saddened by the death of Sir Ed, who was made an honorary citizen of the country, and major remembrance would be held there.

"It will be big. One of the biggest ever."

The pensive final chapter in View from the Summit is one of the few places in which Sir Ed publicly pondered his death.

"Nobody can forecast when their life may come to an end. But there is still so much to do.

"With June's help, and the support of my Himalayan Trust members, I am hopeful that our work in the Himalayas will continue for some time yet.

"I have had my sorrows but, on the whole, life has been very good to me. I have enjoyed many adventures, supported many worthwhile causes and benefited from the generosity and love of wonderful companions. I can hardly ask for more than that."

- additional reporting David Fisher