All the posts Ive seen re Sir Edmund Hillary (in the Famous Beekeepers
thread) have referred to him in the past tense. He is still alive, was
recently the NZ Ambassador to India, and is pictured on the NZ $5 note.
(Probably the most famous New Zealander.)
Along with Sherpa Tensing, he was the first man to reach the summit of Mt
Everest, in 1952 from memory, co-inciding with the coronation of QE II.
Frank Bates
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