Remembering Sir Edmund in high style

Ready for the Queenstown Hill climb are Queenstown Lakes Mayor Clive Geddes and Queenstown residents (from left)Jeanet Witteman, Jane Turner, Susan Mawhinney, Jo Finnigan and Colleen Thompson with Queenstown Primary School pupils (front from left) Jake Finnigan (6), Maggie Hill (7), Jacquie Lattimore 6) and Skye Thompson (6) and (from rear left) William Troon (10), Trudy Brown (10), Samantha Perry (10), Alfie Duffy (7), Mitchell Mawhinney (7) Anthony Lock (8) and Jack Turner (8). Photo by Felicity Wolfe

Organised by the Ed Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, helped in Dunedin by the Lions Club of Mosgiel District, the tribute was the fourth of 39 events around New Zealand, and had the biggest turn-out so far.

Centre instructor Kate Conaghan said tributes in Bluff, Gore and Queenstown in the past two days had attracted between 40 and 60 people.

The aim of the event was to remember the popular climber, who died on January 11, and to collect rocks to build a memorial cairn at Tongariro.

People could take rocks and stones from along the walks, or gather them from places special to the walkers.

They would be taken to Tongariro to build the cairn, and for a $100 donation, engraved stones would be placed on the outside of the memorial.

Gathered at the top of Flagstaff, the 200 people listened to speeches from centre events manager Darren Ashmore and Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin, who said Sir Edmund was someone everybody looked up to, and of whom none spoke ill.

Walker Jean Paulin said she wanted to join the tribute to remember ``such a good person'' who had done so much for New Zealand.

Kiriana Hunter (6) said she had gone because Sir Edmund was 'cool''.

Adding a topical note, Mr Chin joked people could orientate themselves on Flagstaff by looking towards the site of new stadium, and pointing towards the harbour said ``it will be right down here''.

In Queenstown yesterday morning, a memory of a chance encounter and skimming stones inspired Queenstown Lakes Mayor Clive Geddes to bring a pebble from the beach at Walter Peak Station to the top of Queenstown Hill.

Mr Geddes was one of about 60 people who climbed to the summit to pay tribute to Sir Edmund.
Mr Geddes shared his experience of a chance encounter with Sir Edmund at Walter Peak Station "some years ago''.

Sir Edmund and Mr Geddes had wandered down to the lake edge after the former had addressed a Mainfreight conference. Sir Edmund challenged Mr Geddes to a stone skimming contest, "which [Sir Edmund] won'', Mr Geddes said.

When he learned of the walk to Queenstown Hill's summit and the invitation to bring a stone for the cairn, Mr Geddes returned to Walter Peak and selected a skimming stone from the beach.

Many of the others who made the 45-minute climb also carried a range of different-sized stones for the cairn.