©Allied MediaCelebrating a significant bequest from the estate of Murray Jones to support research into respiratory medicine undertaken by the Otago Respiratory Research Unit at the University of Otago are (from left) Prof Suetonia Green, Dr Ben Brockway, Stephen Rodgers, Gerard Jones, Julie Jones and Prof Patrick Manning. Photo: Peter McIntosh One of New Zealand’s leading climbers has bequeathed $1.3 million to a University of Otago research team which gave him an “extra 10 years of life”. Murray Jones, of Bannockburn, who died in December 2025, credited the work of Dr Ben Brockway and the Otago Respiratory Research Unit (ORRU) with adding 10 years to his life. At a special ceremony at the University Clocktower building on Friday, the department celebrated the donation. Executor of Mr Jones’ estate Stephen Rodgers described it as a significant day. “Murray was very keen to help people after his death with what he left behind. “He attributed an extra 10 years of his life to the work that Dr Ben had done and he was so grateful for that, he wanted to make a significant contribution that that work could carry on. “So, to that extent, Murray wanted to leave a lot of money to the university and to respiratory research.” SUPPLIEDMurray Jones during his and Graeme Dingle's 1969 summit of the north face of the Eiger, in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED Mr Jones was a friend of Sir Edmund Hillary, a core member of Hillary’s Himalayan Trust and an accomplished alpinist in his own right. In 1977, he joined Sir Edmund’s Ocean to Sky expedition — jet-boating up the 2500km Ganges River to the foothills of the Himalayas where the party summited a then unnamed peak, which they called Akash Parbat (Sky Peak). “He wanted to find those climbs that were the most difficult and most technical at a time when there wasn’t really very much around,” Mr Rodgers said. Mr Jones never married — his fiancée was killed in an avalanche in the Himalayas in the 1970s. His younger brother Allan lost his life in an avalanche at Aoraki/Mt Cook about the same time. In reporting Mr Jones’ death, the Himalayan Trust said he was a ‘‘mountaineer of rare ability’’ “He was a good bugger,” Mr Rodgers said. “But, as [friend and fellow climber] Sir Graham Dingle said, he could be a difficult bastard at times. “Murray had a lot of tragedies, but he was an amazing guy.” When not climbing, he worked as a surveyor, assisting with the construction of the Clyde Dam and the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. He was a lifelong union man, an orchardist and an early part of a wave of new residents of Bannockburn in Central Otago. It was recently reported he also bequeathed significant donations to CanTeen, Save The Children’s Fund and the Labour Party. SUPPLIEDMurray Jones during the Ocean to Sky expedition in 1977. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED “The bulk of his estate, he gave away. “He was a very generous man, who wanted to help as many people as he could.” Dr Brockway said it was a privilege looking after Mr Jones and he greatly enjoyed chatting with him about climbing, politics, travel and his lifetime of experiences. “The money is going towards a respiratory research fellowship position named after Murray in gratitude. “This will help support up-and-coming respiratory researchers through the university and the research unit.’’ Faculty of Medicine Dunedin dean and head of region Prof Suetonia Green was thrilled the work of Dr Brockway and the whole ORRU team had been recognised with such a significant donation. “The unit is known for its cutting-edge research into respiratory disease and treatment. “Murray’s generous gift ensures that work will not only continue, but broaden in scope, which will be of great benefit to the community through better understanding of how to treat diseases that impact lung health and wellbeing.”
