The Memorial

A lasting memorial, one that Sir Ed would have approved of, is to be created at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre of New Zealand at Tongariro in the shadow of Mt Ruapehu.

Sir Ed was the OPC Hillary Centre's founding patron from its start 35 years ago. He provided advice and guidance on programmes that introduced thousands of young teenagers to outdoor challenges in the mountains.

Rocks of New Zealand will form the basis of a memorial cairn as a tangible tribute to those who share Sir Ed's love of the mountains. Award-winning Wellington architects Studio Pacific Architecture are assisting the project team with the design of the memorial and have provided some ideas of what might be achieved.

Studio Pacific Architecture was commissioned for the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Wellington, the New Zealand ANZAC memorial in Canberra and the Waititi Landing at Parliament.

Schools are welcome to donate a named rock free of charge. However we encourage you to plan a fund-raising activity to help the "Summits for Ed" and donate those funds to The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation.

The final design of the memorial will be decided in consultation with Lady Hillary.

There are a number of ways you can be part of creating the memorial

1. You can contribute by bringing your own rock, engraved with your name and locality or a loved one's name and locality, along to a summit climb and donating $100 to the Hillary Foundation.
2. You can bring along a bare rock (with a smooth side), donate $100 to the Hillary Foundation plus $50 for the cost of engraving, and we will arrange for the rock to be engraved for you. See Donations for details.
3. You can donate $100 to the Hillary Foundation plus $50 for engraving and we will source a rock and arrange for it to be engraved with your details or those of a loved one.
4. You can contribute a stone from a favourite place. These unmarked stones can be delivered to the meeting place for your local summit climb. A gold coin donation would be welcomed.

All rocks and stones will be transported to Tongariro and placed at the memorial site.

Rocks should be no larger than an A4 sheet of paper and should have the engraving on a flat, smooth face so that it can be read by visitors to the memorial.