Sir Ed Hillary has died

One of New Zealand’s greats has died.

At a time when our Prime Minister is hell bent on destroying the country to retain power, it is a timely reminder that she is the absolute antithesis of what New Zealand is really about - good honest blokes (and lasses) just quietly getting the job done, usually with little more than a bit of number 8 wire.

From the BBC:

“He was an utterly sensible person. He enjoyed spending time amongst New Zealanders because for him it was being back in the environment that he had worked his way up through.”

For Dr Wilkins, a retired scientist, who is still an active climber at the age of 82, his down-to-earth qualities will be remembered as key to one of New Zealand’s most famous sons.

“His face appears on one of our banknotes, he was given the highest honours in New Zealand, he was the high commissioner to India, but I think the thing that New Zealanders admired in him most was his utter common sense.”

DPF points out that putting a living person on a banknote is almost unheard of, it’s a testament to the character of the man.

The story has been first on CNN international’s front page since I looked at about 2pm, and is featured on the BBC too with two stories, both with photos on the front page. Funny it hasn’t yet made it onto Wikipedia’s “In the News” section yet.

Finally, because this is a political blog…

Michelle Malkin points out the liar who also shares the a name. Perhaps this event will help bring her down? (And yes, it was tempting to go with a headline “Hillary dies after New Hampshire Primary”.