I was completely gutted when I heard this. Sir Ed can be summarised as an unassuming bloke who conquered a mountain but he was so much more than that. For New Zealand he was the icon of what type of person to be, he was a great man no doubt, but he was still so remarkaby down to earth. For example you'd expect someone as renowned as Sir Ed would keep a fairly private life, but here was a man who kept his name in the phone book and wouldn't begrudge anyone to call up to say they wanted to meet him.
My father while on a buisiness trip in Auckland where the Sir Ed lived plucked up the courage to ring him up and ask simply to meet the great man. He humbly abliged and my Dad had a cup of tea and a chat with the great Sir Edmund Hillary. Sir Ed also offered to sign a book for my dad and when a poster I had of Mount Everest fell out of the book Sir Ed offered to sign that for me too, I have it still and I keep it safe.
He was asked to come along in an expedition to conquer a mountain. He rose to that challenge and was first to the top. He was asked to run supplies for the first land vehicle mission to the south pole. Sir Ed's supply train beat the "real" expedition. He used his fame and the connections he had to help the country of Nepal and various groups around the world, he was an amazing man and an inspiration to people all over the world.
I can't believe I'm donig this but I'm going to finish by quoting our Prime Minister Helen Clark who said of Sir Edmund "Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus. He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity."
There will never be another like him.