Sir Ed footage saved from bin

Rare recording of Sir Ed Hillary

SIR EDMUND HILLARY ALPINE CENTRE

HISTORIC: A copy of a photo found with the film shows, from left, Ron Webster of CB Norwood, Sir Edmund Hillary, J H Millerand John Crampton of CB Norwood in front of the Endeavour.

SIR EDMUND HILLARY ALPINE CENTRE

REVVED UP: Sir Ed training on a tractor at Aoraki Mount Cook before his Antarctica expedition.

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Rare film of Sir Ed Hillary

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Squirreled away in a rusty old tin can, the old-fashioned film was destined for the rubbish bin, along with the rest of the junk from a loft clearance.

However, a chance viewing of the black and white movie unearthed some rare footage of Sir Edmund Hillary, about to embark on his historic expedition to Antarctica.

The film, which has not been seen for decades, shows the late adventurer being teased by team members for having a hair cut. He is captured leaving Christchurch aboard the Endeavour bound for Antarctica in 1957.

The black and white 16mm film was discovered in February in the loft of CB Norwood, a farm machinery company in Palmerston North that supplied tractors for the expedition.

A recording of a live ABC Australia radio broadcast with Hillary shortly after he conquered Mt Everest, believed to be the only existing copy, was also discovered.

"It was magic, absolutely magic," said staff member Paul Collins, who found the "rusty old can" and took it home to play on his projector. "We tend to look at Sir Ed now as a hero but back then he was just one of the lads, one of the team. It's wonderful. Sir Ed doesn't feature prominently but in it they laugh about him having a haircut."

"We were clearing out some junk in the loft and they were nearly thrown out," company spokesman Rob Edwards said.

"Thankfully someone thought to check and when we watched the footage we realised we were looking at an amazing piece of history."

Sir Ed led the New Zealand component of the joint Commonwealth trans-Antarctic expedition, which was the first party to reach the South Pole since Robert Falcon Scotts in 1912.

Copies of the footage have now been donated to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre at Aoraki/Mt Cook.

The centre also recently purchased a rare recording of an ABC Australia radio interview with Hillary in early August 1953, shortly after he conquered Mt Everest.

Bough from an estate in Sydney, and then sold by a Dunedin bookshop through Trade Me, it is understood to be the only copy.

"What better way to keep his story alive and inspire future generations?" Mr Edwards said.

Alpine centre general manager Denis Callesen was delighted to add the exhibits to the museums collection.

"In the radio recording you can hear a young Sir Ed, who is obviously shy and unused to media attention, talking about his epic climb of Everest."

He said the film was in perfect condition.

- © Fairfax NZ News