Sir Edmund Hillary's children and his widow are fighting over a collection of Rolex watches owned by the great adventurer and now for sale in an international auction.
Peter and Sarah Hillary are trying to stop June, Lady Hillary, from selling a gold watch worth more than $25,000, and other valuable timepieces owned by Sir Ed.
The siblings have barely spoken to their father's widow since he died in January 2008.
The Oyster Perpetual watch was presented to Sir Ed by Rolex after his ascent of Mt Everest in 1953 and he wore it when he led the New Zealand Antarctic Expedition, which reached the South Pole on January 4, 1958.
Sir Edmund became the advertising face of Rolex and was also given other watches. The collection is to be sold in Switzerland on November 13.
But Peter and Sarah Hillary claim they - not Lady Hillary - own the watches, and have hired lawyers to stop the sale.
Peter Hillary said he was very disappointed to learn the watches were up for sale.
"It's a sad thing to do. As per my father's will, all of these types of items were part of the estate ... left to Sarah and I."
Mr Hillary said "barely had a word" had been spoken with Lady Hillary since his father's death in January 2008.
"It's not an uncommon story with second marriages. That's the reality."
"Frankly, the last thing I want is to be in a situation to dispute it. But it really appears that June has retained a whole lot of things that rightfully belong to the Hillary family. And she's cashing them in."
Lady Hillary declined to comment yesterday, other than to say that she owned the watches.
"I'll wait to get a letter from the lawyers."
Under Sir Ed's will, Lady Hillary was bequeathed the camera, ice-axe, spanner, named enamel mug and silk gloves he took on his Everest expedition. She also received the largest pieces of rock from the summit, which have been donated to the Auckland Museum.
Lady Hillary was the largest benefactor of her husband's estate, receiving $1.2 million and a $450,000 debt wiped from a loan to buy other another home in Remuera.
Personal papers, diaries, maps, colour slides and photographs of Sir Ed's life and adventures were given to the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
But, financial sums to other family members aside, the balance of Sir Ed's estate was to be divided between Peter and Sarah Hillary.
Lawyer Alex Witten-Hannah, who is acting for the Hillary children, said he sent a letter to Lady Hillary yesterday in a bid to stop the sale of the watches.
Any chattels not specifically bequeathed to her in the will belonged to Peter and Sarah Hillary, he said.
"You can imagine if your dad was the first to climb Everest, gets given a Rolex watch, which he wore all the time - he even wore it on his trip to the South Pole. It's got huge emotional and sentimental value to Peter and Sarah and their children."
