Ugly brawl brewing over Sir Edmund's house

Graeme Dingle wants Sir Ed's house to stay. Photo / Chris Skelton

Mountaineer Graeme Dingle has renewed his bid to help save Sir Edmund Hillary's home, amid revelations it's being eyed up by Australians.

The problems came as Buddhist leaders thwarted Sir Ed's wish to have his ashes scattered atop Everest, the mountain he conquered.

Plans for sherpas to carry his ashes to the peak this week have been cancelled.

And plans to move the Hillary home from Remuera are up in the air. Last year, businessman Terry Jarvis bought Sir Ed's house, which neighbours his property, with the initial intention of demolishing it.

He reconsidered his plans after a public outcry, and arranged to move it to the South Auckland school that bears Sir Ed's name with financial assistance from the Government.

Last week Jarvis accused the Government of reneging on its commitment and revealed he was being courted by Australians keen to buy the house.

Dingle, who spent a lot of time at the house and said it held "many great memories," said he wouldn't allow it to move across the Tasman.

"I think Terry needs to understand it's not just a house. Even though he owns it, he has some responsibility to the public and the Government to make sure the house is preserved here."

He said he would be happy to help with moving the house to the Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate, Manukau, or shift it to his land in the Kaipara.

"If the alternative is sending it to Australia or knocking it over we would grab it."

He believed it would cost $150,000 to remove and restore the house, significantly lower than the $660,000 figure quoted by the Education Ministry.

Jarvis said this week he had not been back in contact with the Australians and did not have permission to name them.

He brushed off criticism from Dingle and said he would much rather see the house go to the school.

Prime Minister John Key this week defended the Government's role in the saga.

He told TVNZ's Breakfast they were expecting the cost to be significantly lower than the figure quoted by the Education Ministry but were still prepared to put in a "modest amount".

In Nepal, Buddhist leaders thwarted Sir Ed's wish to have his ashes scattered on Mt Everest, saying it would bring bad luck and could set a precedent.

In his will, Sir Ed requested that his ashes were spread on Auckland's harbour and on top of the mountain he conquered in 1953.