By BERNARD ORSMAN
The tiny camera that captured Sir Edmund Hillary's breathtaking images on the summit of Mt Everest is going on show at an exhibition in Auckland this month.
The Kodak Retina 2 35mm camera is being unpacked to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the mountaineer and humanitarian at Sir
Edmund Hillary: Everest and Beyond, opening in Auckland Museum at Labour Weekend.
It is among personal effects Sir Edmund has loaned for the exhibition, leading up to the 50th anniversary of the Mt Everest ascent.
The French-made ice axe that he climbed the mountain with and took on many other adventures is another treasured possession to go on public show.
Other objects on display include one of three Massey Ferguson tractors Sir Edmund drove 2000km to the South Pole and a replica Sherpa kitchen in Kunde, where many of the 39 schools, 14 health clinics, two hospitals and two airstrips he helped to build were planned.
May 29, 1953, was clear and beautiful when the 33-year-old Aucklander and his companion, the Sherpa climber Tenzing Norgay, reached the summit of the world's highest mountain.
Sir Edmund took out the camera, and removed his padded mittens and another layer of woollen gloves.
Holding the camera in a third layer of silk gloves, he took seven of the most famous photographic images of the 20th century.
Three were of Tenzing Norgay and four others looked north, south, east and west.
Says exhibition curator Alexa Johnston: "He knew it was a doubting world. He had to take the photos."
The exhibition, which runs until February 28, is the culmination of the museum's 150th anniversary year and will travel to National Geographic's Explorers Hall in Washington for the 50th anniversary of the climb on May 29.
Sir Edmund plans to spend the anniversary with the Nepalese people in Kathmandu before travelling to London to commemorate the event.
