KEY POINTS:
New Zealand weekend papers are usually full of stories about icons that turn out to be sports stars from failing sports teams, or divas who are nothing more than unknown pop singers.
Or heroes who have rescued cats from in front of buses and celebrities who have nothing
more to do than to move from trough to trough convincing each other that they are celebrities.
But this last weekend was different. Sir Edmund Hillary had died.
I was 7 when we heard Prime Minister Keith Holyoake announce over the radio that "the New Zealander Hillary has conquered Mt Everest". Exploration of the physical world was very much part of history as we had it told to us and this was one of the last frontiers - to get to the top of the world's highest mountain.
The news was all that a young boy could wish for. Getting to the top of Everest was to our generation what putting a man on the moon was to the next.
And a New Zealander had done it. Up to that moment we had never heard much of Hillary and after that moment we were never not to hear a lot about him.
He was an instant celebrity knighted by the young Queen at the height of the coronation hoopla and all the glamour of that time, returning home to recognition and receptions. It was a huge impact in the world of a small boy in a small country still subdued after the war.
Subsequent adventures were to cement his place as a genuine hero. The Weetbix card of Robert Falcon Scott, Hero of the Antarctic, was replaced by pictures of Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealander, Hero of Everest, Hero of the Antarctic, Hero of the Ganges.
In time, as we grew up, we started to understand the contributions being made by this remarkable man to philanthropic work in Nepal. We started to understand some of his values, held firmly and stated clearly through his writing, his speeches and his actions (not least of which was the Citizens for Rowling stance).
We started to understand that this man had a notion of service to something other than personal ego. He became an icon in New Zealand, perhaps the only New Zealand icon of the 20th century.
This mix of the physical, the principled and the practical marked him out.
Even in company such as Mendana, Flinders, Cook, Kupe, Burke, Curtin and de Bougainville - all heroes of the Pacific who showed tremendous courage and physical acumen - Hillary stands out.
Much has been written over the past week or so about all this and how New Zealand should commemorate Hillary.
The physical memorials are easy. Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park should be renamed Sir Edmund Hillary National Park. It is the home to our highest mountain, our longest glaciers and significant permanent snowfields. Renaming it is appropriate, symbolic and international.
Te Papa/Our Place the National Museum of New Zealand should be named the Sir Edmund Hillary National Museum of New Zealand. Te Papa was never more than a clever brand and it can continue to be used.
Finally we should declare a national public holiday (January 11, the day of his death and a good time of the year) the Hillary Holiday just to show that we care, share his jolly good humour and lightness of spirit.
Perhaps a special flavour for the day could be physical activity (other than shopping!). By the time this piece is read I would expect these suggestions to have gained support and momentum from many directions.
We need a memorial that can capture in an ongoing way the values and principles that Hillary embodied and which we have, at the time of Hillary's death, been quick to claim as ones to which our country aspires.
I have long thought Anzac Day calls out for a rethink about its continuing strength in an ongoing way. The power of commemorating those killed in action is dulled as time elapses and the day becomes distorted by inappropriate events - the tube of rugby field dirt claiming a connection to the deathly mud of Passchendaele. Or Anzac Day parades with just about anyone joining in, the dilution of the solemnity of the day, and so on. It needs something that encapsulates the key values that mark us as a nation and which become a focus for reflection on and around this day each year.
I have previously suggested a charter that sets out the major values we would wish to reinforce. I am not sure exactly what they would be but I have previously suggested that they include:
* Duty: As in Hillary's contribution to the nation.
* Service: His service to the Sherpa people of Nepal.
* Modesty: No trace of inflated opinions of self.
* Humility: "I don't think we conquered Everest, I think the mountain relented."
* Inclusiveness: The schools named after Hillary are in disadvantaged areas.
* Partnership: The team work required on Everest, in Antarctica, in the Himalayan Trust.
* Land: A concern for the land - conservation, relation to the land, the values of whenua.
* Selflessness: A life of service.
* Respect for innovation: The Antarctic Massey Ferguson tractors.
* Respect for education rather than a delight in schooling ... and so on.
Not for one minute do I suggest Hillary had a monopoly on these values. Of course he didn't. They are values widely shared which are at the heart of Anzac.
That they are also clearly reflected in the life of this great man might be good reason to call this document The Hillary Charter. It could have wide use in schools and become the set of principles that drive our Anzac Day commemorations.
In an increasingly secular world, the power of values that can be explained both in terms of the actions of great New Zealanders and in the lives of ordinary New Zealanders would allow them to become influences in the lives of young people.
Above all, they would give meaning to the proud connection we felt with being part of this blessed country at a time of national loss such as the death of this hero, icon and celebrity.
Ko hinga te totara o te wao nui o Tane.
* Stuart Middleton is executive director, external relations and student affairs, at Manukau Institute of Technology. He wrote this piece for the NZ Education Review.
