Personal Life
Hillary married Louise Mary Rose on 3 September 1953, soon after the ascent of Everest. A shy man, he relied on his future mother-in-law to propose on his behalf. They had three children: Peter (*1954), Sarah (*1955) and Belinda (1959–1975). In 1975 while en route to join Hillary in the village of Phaphlu, where he was helping to build a hospital, Louise and Belinda were killed in a plane crash near Kathmandu airport shortly after take-off. In 1989 remarried, to June Mulgrew, the widow of his close friend Peter Mulgrew. His son Peter Hillary has also become a climber, summiting Everest in 1990. In May 2002 Peter climbed Everest as part of a 50th anniversary celebration; Jamling Tenzing Norgay (son of Tenzing; Tenzing himself had died in 1986) was also part of the expedition. Hillary had six grandchildren.
He spent most of his life (when not away on expeditions) living in a property on Remuera Road in Auckland City, where he enjoyed reading adventure and science fiction novels in his retirement.
Hillary also built a bach at Whites Beach, one of Auckland's west coast beaches in the former Waitakere City, between Anawhata and North Piha. Bob Harvey, mayor of Waitakere, and friend of Hillary's from the early 1970s, said that "the West Coast was Sir Ed's second home. Anawhata was his favourite beach; a place he called the most beautiful on the planet." Harvey said that the bach was Hillary's place of solace, where he would go when the media attention became too much — including after his return from conquering Everest. "Building the cottage at Whites Beach – he told me – was one of his greatest pleasures." Aside from the bach, Hillary also co-owned a large piece of land in Karekare Valley in the 1970s with fellow climber Mike Gill. The Hillary family has had a connection with the West Coast of Auckland since 1925, when Hillary's father-in-law, Jim Rose, built a bach at Anawhata. The family donated land at Whites Beach that is now crossed by trampers on the Hillary Trail, named for Edmund (see Tributes, below).
That is the thing that international travel brings home to me - it's always good to be going home.
This is the only place I want to live in; this is the place I want to see out my days.
— Edmund Hillary, speaking about Auckland's West Coast
Read more about this topic: Edmund Hillary
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