Editing Edmund Hillary (section)

==Personal life==
[[File:Sir Edmund and Lady Louise Hillary with their son Peter, 1955.jpg|thumb|right|Hillary, with his first wife, Louise, and son, [[Peter Hillary|Peter]], 1955]]
[[File:Sir_Edmund_Hillary_with_Lady_Hillary.jpg|thumb|Hillary, with his second wife, June Mulgrew, 1998]]
Hillary married Louise Mary Rose (1930{{ndash}}1975) on 3 September 1953, soon after the ascent of Everest; he admitted he was terrified of proposing to her and relied on her mother to propose on his behalf.<ref name="Sullivan"/><ref name="natlgeo" /><ref>[http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Kids/FamousNewZealanders/Edmund.asp ''Famous New Zealanders'']. Retrieved 22 January 2007.</ref> They had three children: [[Peter Hillary|Peter]] (born 1954), [[Sarah Hillary (artist)|Sarah]] (born 1956) and Belinda (1959{{ndash}}1975).<ref name="NZ History">{{cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/edmund-hillary/everest-to-south-pole |title=From Everest to the South Pole |author=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |date=20 December 2012 |access-date=17 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Christchurch" /><ref name="nzedge">The New Zealand Edge, [http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/hillary.html "Sir Edmund Hillary—King Of The World"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041127050950/http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/hillary.html |date=27 November 2004 }}. Retrieved 22 January 2007.</ref> On 31 March 1975, while en route to join Hillary in the village of [[Phaphlu]], where he was helping to build a hospital, Louise and Belinda were [[1975 Royal Nepal Airlines Pilatus PC-6 Porter crash|killed in a plane crash]]<ref name="Stuff">{{cite web |last1=Gill |first1=Michael |title='Dishevelled' pilot who caused Hillary tragedy should have been barred |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/96860943/dishevelled-pilot-who-caused-hillary-family-tragedy-should-have-been-barred-from-flying-new-biography-reveals |publisher=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |accessdate=30 May 2020 |date=24 September 2014}}</ref>  near [[Kathmandu]] airport shortly after take-off.<ref name="Sullivan"/>

In 1989 he married June Mulgrew, the widow of his close friend [[Peter Mulgrew]], who died on [[Air New Zealand Flight 901]] in 1979.<ref name="natlgeo">''[[National Geographic]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20061116102132/http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0305/feature1/index.html?fs=www7.nationalgeographic.com "Everest: 50 Years and Counting"]. Retrieved 22 January 2007.</ref><ref>Sailing Source, [http://www.sailingsource.com/newfeatures/article_2002_09_22_3044.php "Sir Edmund Hillary to Start Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103035717/http://www.sailingsource.com/newfeatures/article_2002_09_22_3044.php |date=3 January 2007 }}. Retrieved 22 January 2007.</ref> June, Lady Hillary, died in Auckland on 1 June 2024.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/sir-edmund-hillarys-wife-lady-june-dies-aged-92/326ZUOHE4VHVPPSCJJ3AEBH3VM/ |title=Sir Edmund Hillary's wife Lady June dies, aged 92 |date=1 June 2024 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref>

His son [[Peter Hillary]] also became 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 who had died in 1986) was also part of the expedition.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2003/apr/everest/index.html National Geographic 50th Anniversary Everest Expedition Reaches Summit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930002729/http://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2003/apr/everest/index.html |date=30 September 2013 }}, ''National Geographic News'', 25 May 2002. Retrieved 5 May 2011.</ref>

Hillary's home for most of his life was a property on Remuera Road in Auckland City,<ref name="HOUSE">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/auckland-region/news/article.cfm?l_id=117&objectid=10559206 |title=Sir Ed's haven on the market |author=Sarney, Estelle |date=28 February 2009 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=29 September 2011}}</ref> where he enjoyed reading adventure and science fiction novels in his retirement.<ref name="HOUSE"/>
He also built a [[Bach (New Zealand)|bach]] at [[Whites Beach]],<ref name="HillaryBach">{{cite news |title=Sir Ed's bach a place of solace |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/nor-west-news/219062/Sir-Eds-bach-a-place-of-solace |newspaper=Nor-west News |publisher=[[Fairfax New Zealand]] |location=[[Huapai]], New Zealand |oclc=276732793 |date=January 2008 |access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref> one of Auckland's west coast beaches in [[West Auckland, New Zealand|West Auckland]], between [[Anawhata]] and North [[Piha]]. A friend called it Hillary's place of solace, where he could escape media attention.<ref name="HillaryBach"/>

The Hillary family has had a connection with the west coast of Auckland since 1925, when Louise's father built a bach at Anawhata.<ref name="HillaryTrailConnection">{{cite web |url=http://www.arc.govt.nz/parks/whats-on-in-parks/hillary-trail/the-hillary-connection.cfm |title=Hillary Trail: The Hillary connection |work=Parks: Things to do |publisher=[[Auckland Regional Council]] |location=Auckland, New Zealand |access-date=29 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624224908/http://www.arc.govt.nz/parks/whats-on-in-parks/hillary-trail/the-hillary-connection.cfm |archive-date=24 June 2012}}</ref> The family donated land at Whites Beach that is now crossed by trampers on the Hillary Trail, named for Edmund.<ref name="HillaryTrailPressRelease">{{cite press release|title=Multi-day Waitakere trail named after Sir Edmund Hillary|publisher=[[Auckland Regional Council]]|date=29 September 2009|url=http://www.arc.govt.nz/index.cfm?58A620FD-14C2-3D2D-B9CA-EA5858882785&objUUID=076AA3FF-145E-173C-980E-04B483C1511F |access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref>
Hillary said of the area: "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."<ref name="Dye2008">{{cite news |title=Lonely site legend's special place |first=Stuart |last=Dye |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10486683 |newspaper=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |publisher=Wilson and Horton |location=Auckland, New Zealand |issn=1170-0777 |oclc=55942740 |date=14 January 2008 |access-date=30 June 2012}}</ref>

===Philanthropy===

Following his ascent of Everest he devoted himself to assisting the [[Sherpa people]] of Nepal through the [[Himalayan Trust]], which he established in 1960<ref>{{cite web|title=About us|url=http://himalayantrust.org/about-us/|website=himalayantrust.org|publisher=Himalayan Trust New Zealand|access-date=14 December 2017}}</ref> and led until his death in 2008. His efforts are credited with the construction of many schools and hospitals in this remote region of the [[Himalayas]]. He was the Honorary President of the [[American Himalayan Foundation]], a United States non-profit body that helps improve the ecology and living conditions in the Himalayas. He was also the Honorary President of [[Mountain Wilderness]], an international NGO dedicated to the worldwide protection of mountains.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historical faces|url=http://www.mountainwilderness.org/faces-voices-of-mw/faces-of-mw/|website=Mountain Wilderness|access-date=17 November 2016|date=31 December 2010}}</ref>

===Political involvement===

Hillary supported the [[New Zealand Labour Party|Labour Party]] in the [[1975 New Zealand general election]], as a member of the "[[Citizens for Rowling]]" campaign. His involvement in this campaign was seen as precluding his nomination as [[Governor-General of New Zealand|governor-general]];<ref>''Rowling: The Man and the Myth'' by John Henderson, Australia New Zealand Press, 1980.<!-- publishing info; ISSN/ISBN, page(s) needed --></ref> the position was offered to [[Keith Holyoake]] in 1977. In 1985, Hillary was appointed New Zealand [[List of High Commissioners from New Zealand to India|High Commissioner to India]] (concurrently High Commissioner to [[Bangladesh]] and Ambassador to [[Nepal]]) and spent four and a half years based in [[New Delhi]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Sir Edmund Hillary: Mountaineer who conquered Everest and devoted his|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-edmund-hillary-mountaineer-who-conquered-everest-and-devoted-his-later-life-to-the-sherpa-people-769765.html|website=The Independent|access-date=17 November 2016|date=12 January 2008}}</ref>

In 1975, Hillary served as a vice president for the [[Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand]],<ref name="ALRANZ">{{cite journal |url=http://abortionwiki.org/archive/alranz.org/NewsletterFebruary2008.htm |date=November 2008 |journal=ALRANZ Newsletter |title=Obituaries |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605213518/http://abortionwiki.org/archive/alranz.org/NewsletterFebruary2008.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref> a national [[pro-choice]] advocacy group.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alranz.org/aboutus/history.html |title=Our History |work=ALRANZ.org |access-date=5 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113054730/http://www.alranz.org/aboutus/history.html |archive-date=13 January 2015}}</ref> He was also a patron of REPEAL, an organisation seeking repeal of the restrictive [[Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977]].<ref name="ALRANZ"/>