KEY POINTS:
Norbu Tenzing Norgay, vice-president of the American Himalayan Foundation and son of Tenzing Norgay:
"I think they say there couldn't have been two better people to be the first people to climb Everest and it's the work that they completed afterwards that really they were both proud of.
"Because of Sir Edmund Hillary, people go back to the Himalayas, especially to the Everest region and they connect with the people, they connect with the cultures and genuinely want to come back and give back to a part of the world that has meant so much to them, so that is where we intersect."
Manohar Shreftha, president of the New Zealand Nepal Society:
"We've lost a true friend. We see him as a Nepali."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown:
"He was a truly great hero who captured the imagination of the world, a towering figure who will always be remembered as a pioneer, explorer and leader."
Ang Rita Sherpa, chief administrator of the Himalaya Trust in Nepal:
"There is so much grief here today on the news of his death and all I can say is that we wouldn't be what we are today without all that he has done for us. The big challenge now is for us all to continue what he started."
Adventurer and mountaineer Graeme Dingle:
"The country has never lost someone like Sir Ed who epitomises the nation's psyche."
Documentary maker Tom Scott:
"You can't sum up that life in a single sentence - he was an extraordinary man."
Actor and adventurer Brian Blessed (has attempted Everest three times):
"Hillary was a kind of titan, a man of extraordinary strength, great constitution, and brilliant that it should be a Sherpa alongside him, Tenzing, much loved by people. Incredibly sad ... one always thought he was indestructible."
Governor-General Anand Satyanand:
"The loss of Sir Edmund is a loss for all those who sought to improve our world."
Sport and Recreation chairman John Wells:
"While we mourn his loss, we also celebrate his unfailing drive to accomplish a goal - conquering Mt Everest - that at the time seemed unattainable."
Norm McPherson, president of the Antarctic Society:
"We will all share the loss of a man of great courage, iron will and quiet strength of character."
Alpine Club president Phil Doole:
"Sir Ed wasn't just a once-in-a-lifetime figure, he was a once-in-history figure.
"By definition no one else was able to repeat his first ascent of the world's highest mountain, yet that achievement pales into insignificance compared with his humanitarian achievements, his values and his determined expression of them."
Maori King Tuheitia:
"I wasn't born on that eventful day he and his Sherpa friend Tenzing conquered Mt Everest but I grew up like so many young people, in the wake of the event learning to admire his generosity and aroha, not just to his beloved people in the Himalayas but to mankind."
Elizabeth Hawley, Nepal's honorary consul to New Zealand:
"Sir Ed was a great friend ... the finest man I ever met. Of course it's a very great loss for New Zealand and the world and a particularly great loss for the Sherpa people."
Mountaineer Guy Cotter:
"The efforts that he went to, to go around the world, talking and using his Everest summits - not to help himself but to help other people - is amazing."
Antarctica New Zealand chief executive Lou Sanson:
"Ed was a towering legend in New Zealand's identity with Antarctica."
Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard:
"We will all feel the loss of a truly remarkable man whose achievements and humility have inspired New Zealanders for so long."
National Party leader John Key:
"His legendary story as both a humanitarian and adventurer has been, and will continue to be, inspirational to generations."
British adventurer and environmentalist Pen Hadow:
"Sir Edmund's death closes one of the great chapters of planetary exploration. He was physically and metaphorically at the pinnacle of high adventure."
Auckland Mayor John Banks:
"He will be sadly missed as a truly inspiring role model for everything good about New Zealand."
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples:
"Sir Ed has played a pivotal role in shaping the New Zealand identity on the world stage."
Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons:
"I, like so many other New Zealanders, looked up to him as an inspiration. He embodied the things that we are proud of."
Australian Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard:
"Sir Edmund's name is synonymous with adventure, with achievement, with dreaming and then making those dreams come true."
United Future leader Peter Dunne:
"With his life and achievements he lived the life of two men, not just one."
Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton:
"He saw a need on the part of the Sherpa mountain people of Nepal and devoted his long life to doing something practical about it."
Act leader Rodney Hide:
"Sir Edmund was a perfect example of the country's indomitable spirit."
VSA chief executive Debbie Snelson:
"Through his tireless work with the Sherpas in Nepal, Sir Edmund led the way for New Zealanders to be recognised as practical hands-on volunteers who work side by side with people in developing nations."
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey:
"He was humble, generous and the epitome of that old-fashioned term 'gentleman'. We have lost a truly great New Zealander."
Rae Julian, executive director, Council for International Development:
"He used his fame to make a difference for the Sherpa people who had helped him to achieve it, the Nepalese."
Auckland Museum chairman David Hill:
"An extraordinary New Zealander, and a great friend of the museum."
Photographer Greg Gregory:
"When he wasn't rushing up and down the icefall [on Everest] he liked to lie in what we called the Everest position, which was just lying flat out, relaxing on your bed."
