Story: Mountaineering

Edmund Hillary and Harry Ayres

Edmund Hillary and Harry Ayres

Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand’s most famous mountaineer, and Tenzing Norgay were the first to climb Mt Everest. Here Hillary (left) is on the summit of Aoraki/Mt Cook on 30 January 1947, early in his career. His companion, Harry Ayres, was a professional guide in the Aoraki/Mt Cook region, and regarded as the finest climber in New Zealand. Hillary said later that he had learnt a great deal from Ayres.

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Penguin New Zealand
Reference: Alexa Johnston, An extraordinary life. Auckland: Penguin, 2006, p. 32
Photograph by Steve Brockett

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How to cite this page:

John Wilson, 'Mountaineering - The New Zealand scene', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/10474/edmund-hillary-and-harry-ayres (accessed 30 April 2024)

Story by John Wilson, published 24 Sep 2007, updated 1 Feb 2017