PM offers to help in clash over Sir Ed's bequest

Edmund Hillary on the 1953 British Everest expedition.

Prime Minister John Key has offered to mediate in the dispute between Sir Edmund Hillary's children and Auckland Museum over control of Sir Ed's papers.

Peter and Sarah Hillary are going to the High Court in a bid to to keep control of writings, diaries and family photographs their father left to the museum in his will.

Their legal action, to be heard on June 24, names the executors of their father's estate as defendants, but the dispute is with the museum over the interpretation of a clause in the will.

Yesterday, Mr Key said it would be good if the dispute could be resolved before it got to court.

"If my office can play a role in mediation, we would be happy to do that."

The disputed clause states the museum can have the material "with the proviso that [Sarah and Peter] shall have ready access to and the right to publish such material if they think fit".

It says no other person or corporate body may publish any of the material without the consent of the Hillary children for 20 years after Sir Ed's death.

The museum is opposing the Hillary siblings' view that they have ownership rights to Sir Ed's possessions, as the term "publish" would mean the material could not be emailed or posted on the internet.

Museum director Vanda Vitali said in a statement yesterday that the museum had had numerous conversations and correspondence with Peter and Sarah Hillary, who had full access to the family records.

"We're very surprised about this situation, particularly to hear that Peter and Sarah are unhappy," the statement said.

"Our only desire has been to honour Sir Edmund's request to allow the Hillary family access to his documents, alongside all of New Zealand. Peter and Sarah Hillary are now seeking exclusivity in terms of access."

But Dr Rodney Wilson, the museum's director between 1994 and 2007, said his successor needed to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of Sir Ed's children.

And Peter Hillary told the Herald on Thursday that the museum's stance was "extremely hurtful, especially when our family has always been and is very museum oriented," he said.

"Boy, I've got to say Vanda Vitali has been very difficult to deal with.

"I have asked and asked and asked basically for a cup of coffee to talk things over. She just won't have it."

Asked on TV3 last night whether she was embarrassed by the breakdown in relations between the museum and family, Dr Vitali said: "The museum is caught, it's kind of a victim. So it's more than just embarrassing, it's actually being caught in the middle, it's distressful."

She said that as Sir Ed left his papers to the museum, he presumably meant them to be available to "the citizens of Auckland and New Zealand".

Auckland Museum Trust Board chairman Dr William Randall and his deputy, Dale Bailey, could not be contacted yesterday, but it is believed Dr Vitali has the board's backing.