Tomorrow in the Weekend Herald, a special 8-page liftout on the life of a great New Zealander - Sir Edmund Hillary

Tomorrow in the Weekend Herald, a special 8-page liftout on the life of a great New Zealander - Sir Edmund Hillary

A state funeral is to be held for Sir Edmund Hillary, who died this morning from a heart attack, aged 88.

In a statement, his widow, Lady Hillary, indicated the family thought such a funeral appropriate, "recognising the impact [Sir Edmund] has on all New Zealanders".

She added the family was comforted by messages of support from around the country and the world.

A date for the funeral would probably be fixed over the weekend as some family members were out of New Zealand and would take time to get home.

Among them is Sir Edmund's only son Peter, currently in Portugal.

The funeral will be broadcast on TVNZ.

Lady Hillary said Sir Edmund died peacefully in Auckland Hospital at 9am today after his heart gave out.

He had been in hospital since Monday but was due out and had been looking forward to coming home.

"He remained in good spirits until the end."

At the family's Remuera home this afternoon, step-daughter Susan Hayman also said Sir Edmund was in "high spirits" prior to his death.

The family wanted some time to themselves to come to terms with his passing, she said.

A spokesman for acting Prime Minister Michael Cullen said Prime Minister Helen Clark had been in contact with the family as Sir Edmund's health deteriorated.

"The offer was always to provide whatever assistance they wanted, on any sort of level," he said.

"I have just heard they have accepted the offer of a state funeral."

Documentary maker Tom Scott, a longtime friend, arrived at the Hillarys' home following the news.

Scott said he'd been working with Sir Edmund on a documentary about the mountaineer's work in Nepal and the resulting footage would be shown on the night of the funeral.

"We knew when we were making it (the documentary) that was the purpose of it and we were terribly sad," Mr Scott said.

"Everywhere we went there was this kind of cloud hanging over us because we knew we were making it to be played on the night he was buried - on the state funeral.

"But at the same time it was a tremendous honour and a privilege to be asked to make it.