New Zealand bid farewell to Mount Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary today as he was laid to rest in a state funeral.
About 500 New Zealand and international dignitaries joined the Hillary family at a the funeral in St Mary's Anglican Church in Auckland, while thousands gathered at big screen venues in cities nationwide to pay respects to Sir Edmund.
The enormously popular adventurer died of a heart attack on January 11th at the age of 88.
"In reality he was a colossus, he was our hero, he brought fame to our country . . . but above all we loved Sir Ed for what he represented - a determination to succeed against the odds," Prime Minister Helen Clark told mourners.
As the service began, five Sherpas laid traditional prayer scarves on the coffin for Mr Hillary, who had spent more than 40 years working to aid Nepal's development.
The ice axe used by Mr Hillary on his conquest of Mt Everest with mountain guide Tenzing Norgay on May 29th, 1953, also lay atop the flag-draped coffin.
One of the 20th century's greatest adventurers, the former beekeeper later became a humanitarian, building schools, hospitals, health clinics and other facilities in Nepal to aid the Sherpa people of Nepal's mountain region.
His son, mountaineer Peter Hillary, who has twice climbed Everest, said his father "was a real people's hero" and that helping the Nepalese people "really was the great calling of my father's life."
Ang Rita Sherpa, head of Hillary's Himalayan Trust aid group in Nepal, said he was "an idol and inspiration for everybody" who had transformed the lives of two generations of Sherpas.
Norbu Tenzing Norgay, the eldest son of Mr Hillary's climbing partner, said the Sherpa people had "spiralled into mourning only comparable to the loss of a parent" when they heard of his death and had "prayed for his soul and reincarnation".
The four surviving members of the original 14-strong 1953 Mt Everest team attended the funeral service, and New Zealand Alpine Club members formed an honour guard outside the church, holding ice axes aloft as the casket was carried through their lines.
The funeral cortege travelled through the city and past the Hillary family home as thousands of people stood in the streets, some clapping.
Mr Hillary had asked that his ashes be scattered on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour.