Sir Edmund Hillary.
I consider this guy to be New Zealand's greatest citizen. He epitomizes the New Zealand 'can-do' attitude, and was never arrogant about his achievements.
He's most recognised for being the first person (along with his Sherpa Tenzing Norgay) to climb to the summit of the world's tallest mountain, Mt Everest. "We knocked the bastard off," is his famous quote associated with this amazing event. This casual attitude towards all that he is done is what makes him so popular in our nation.
After climbing to the summit, Ed continued to make his mark on the world - and put little old New Zealand on the map, leading an expedition to the South Pole, driving overland and attempting to climb Mt Makalu without oxygen.
What I believe Sir Ed is most respected for, however, is his huge contributions to the mountain people of Tibet. He built schools and hospitals for them. He never went on about his charity work like modern celebrities seem to (Angelina, I'm talking to you!), but just got on to the job. He changed their lives, and inspired ours.
This great man (who passed away in January of last year) inspires me to aim for my goals. He never claimed to be anything he wasn't, but he never let other people's doubt get in his way.
Most importantly, Ed has taught me that just because you're from a tiny country at the bottom of the world, it doesn't mean you can't make it on the world stage - no matter what your aspiration may be.
I'm going to try and think of other people that inspire me and write about them at some point. Or maybe not.
3 comments:
So your first environmental post turned out to be about a guy who inspired thousands to fly half way around the world, leave 200,000 tones of garbage (yes his organization has removed 300 tones so far) to attempt to climb Everest. A Canadian climber recently commented that it is devastating to see Tibet being destroyed by climate change caused by air travel which has annihilated their water supply - glaciers. Thanks Sir Ed!
I didn't say it was about the environment. I said that it wasn't about the environment because that was too depressing. I was talking about his achievements - he never claimed to inspire others to follow his lead.
Anon - What a ridiculous post. I am fairly certain that flights for Everest expeditions are negligible in the grand scheme of greenhouse gas emissions. Might as well blame Marco Polo for the concept of world travel and then mock anyone who dares admire his explorations. Or blame Christopher Columbus for the plight of native peoples everywhere.
Geez. Sir Edmund Hillary was a great man, and certainly worthy of respect. And I have little doubt that were he still alive, he'd be at the forefront of environmental issues, especially as they pertain to Nepal and Tibet. I'd suggest looking up the Himalayan Trust, an organization he founded which was dedicated to the cause of improving the life of the Himalayan people.
Sixteen - Good post, its nice to see more about you than your thoughts on boys. More serious subject matter would be greatly enjoyed.
Post a Comment