AUCKLAND (AFP) - Hundreds of New Zealanders paid their last respects to Edmund Hillary on Monday, ahead of a state funeral for the first man to stand atop Mount Everest.
The body of Hillary, who died on January 11 of a heart attack aged 88, was brought Monday to Aucklands Holy Trinity Cathedral to lie in state and to give people a chance to say a personal farewell.
Mourners huddled under umbrellas in wet and windy conditions outside the cathedral, waiting for a chance to say goodbye to the unassuming former beekeeper who leapt to world prominence after conquering the worlds highest mountain with Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953.
Besides further expeditions to the Himalayas and Antarctica, Hillary devoted much of his time in later life to raising funds to build schools and medical facilities in impoverished Nepal.
About 100 members of the local Nepalese community were among the first to pay their respects, before the doors of the cathedral were opened to the public.
Hillarys body was taken into the cathedral after a local Maori tribe performed a welcoming ceremony.
His family, including wife June and mountaineer son Peter, attended the ceremony, along with political leaders, among them Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Defence force staff carried the coffin into the cathedral, where it was draped with the national flag over which was laid a large wreath and mountaineering pickaxe.
Hillarys medals and honours from around the world were displayed on cushions next to the casket.
Prayers were read every hour and some of Hillarys favourite classical music played in the background.
Clark said Mondays ceremony was to pay respect to Hillary and had brought home the contribution he had made.
"People have been stopped in their tracks since they learned of Sir Eds passing," she said of Hillary, who was knighted by Britains Queen Elizabeth soon after his history-making feat.
"New Zealand has lost its greatest hero."
A state funeral will be held for Hillary on Tuesday at St Marys Church, next to the cathedral.
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