January 22 is a date that will go down in New Zealand history as the country bid farewell to arguably our greatest hero - his loss described as "bigger and heavier than Everest".
On this day in 1840 the New Zealand company's first settler ship the Aurora arrived at Petone, in 1901 Queen Victoria died and in 1970 the boeing 747 jumbo jet entered service.
But it will be remembered by New Zealanders as the day we laid Sir Edmund Hillary to rest.
Sir Edmund's family and friends, as well as official guests from
both New Zealand and overseas, gathered at St Mary's Church in the
Auckland suburb of Parnell.
Many others watched proceedings on big screens at the nearby Holy
Trinity Cathedral and at other locations around the country.
There was a steady stream of mourners at the Cathedral where Sir Edmund lay in state for 24 hours before the funeral.
The large number of people who took the opportunity to file past the casket overwhelmed the Dean of Auckland, The Very Reverend Ross Bay.
He was one of three clergy officiating at the funeral. He said
people turned up in the thousands to pay respect to a New Zealander
who towered above most.
Sir Edmund lay in state until 8am Tuesday after which his casket
was moved from the Cathedral to St Mary's Church next door for the
funeral service.
Military personnel carried the casket just a few hundred metres accompanied by Church officials, with a lone drummer beating time.
Sir Ed's widow Lady June Hillary arrived at the Church just before 11am with Sir Ed's children Sarah and Peter and the large extended Hillary family.
The service
Sir Ed's coffin was draped in the New Zealand flag, cream-coloured Nepali prayer scarves and the climbing axe he used when he conquered Everest.
The funeral service began with the tolling of a bell which had particular significance as it came from the ship Endeavour on which Sir Ed sailed to Antarctica in 1956.
Right Reverend Bay began by thanking the Hillary family for sharing the day with all New Zealand in the same way they had shared Sir Ed during his lifetime.
Sarah and Peter Hillary both spoke about their unique experiences of having Sir Edmund as a father.
Peter said growing up with Sir Ed was a great adventure.
"He took us to the most extraordinary places and in many ways it was the most amazing upbringing."
"We always feared where dad was going to take us in the upcoming school holidays," said Peter.
"Going on adventures in Dad's beloved Mini Cooper, with six of us in the car and two - believe it or not - inflatable rafts, one on the roof and one down the back."
"That shared adventure was one of the greatest gifts he gave to his family and friends."
Peter Hillary of course followed in his father's footsteps and became a mountaineer.
Sarah spoke of how despite Sir Ed often being away on expeditions or carrying out his humanitarian work in Nepal, their home was always busy.
"We grew up in a busy household with frequent comings and going. Although Ed was away a lot there was a constant flow of visitors, friends and family," Sarah said.
She also noted that on his return there was much vying for his attention.
Sarah also spoke of how important friends were to Sir Edmund.
"He was a very loyal and generous friend, but expected plenty of you," said Sarah.
She told how those friendships helped Sir Ed through the most difficult time of his life when his first wife, Louise, and their youngest daughter, Belinda, died in a plane crash at a Kathmandu airstrip in 1975.
"When I saw him in Kathmandu after my mother and sister died, it was as if everything had been zapped out of him," she said.
A nation mourns
Prime Minister Helen Clark joined Lady Hillary and the family in the front row of St Mary's and was the first to pay tribute to Sir Ed.
She said what he achieved on Everest cannot be underestimated.
"He went to a height and a place that no man had gone before. He went there with 1950's not 21st Century technology. He went there with well honed climbing skills developed in New Zealand, Europe and Nepal itself. But above all he went their with attitude, with a clear goal, with courage and with a determination to succeed," she said.
Clark said his can do pragmatism and his humility endeared Sir Ed to New Zealand, making him an inspiration and a role model for generations.
"Today we all mourn with lady Hillary, with Peter and Sarah and all Sir Ed's extended family, knowing that their loss is personal and profound ... and valuing their willingness to share this last farewell with us all," said Clark.
His great adventures aside it was Sir Ed's humanitarian work which made him such an important person to the Sherpa people of Nepal.
Norbu Tenzing Norgay, the son of Everest co-conquerer Tenzing Norgay, expressed how much Sir Edmund and the work he carried out in Nepal meant to the Sherpa.
"For Sherpas and those inspired by his work, Sir Ed opened up our eyes to a world of possibilities."
"We will see today not only as his passing, but the opportunity to continue and expand with the work he accomplished," Norbu Tenzing said.
Nepali Sherpa and friend Ang Rita told the service "his loss to us is bigger and heavier than Mount Everest.
"He is our true guardian and our second father, but he has left us behind today."
Governor-General Anand Satanyand and Dame Malvina Major also played a part in the service.
Dame Malvina sang the hymn How Great Thou Art - a personal favourite of Sir Ed's - while Satanyand gave a reading, Ecclesiastes 3 from the Bible.
The service concluded with the singing of the National Anthem in both Maori and English.
After the funeral, a cortege travelled through the Domain, Newmarket and Remuera.
Crowds of mourners gathered along the route of the funeral procession, as it made its way to a crematorium for a private family service.
It is believed Sir Edmund's ashes will be be spread in the waters of the Hauraki Gulf.
