"Tenzing Norgay — the second man atop Everest and Hillary’s Nepali climbing partner" - I'm surprised the author missed this important fact, that Hillary and Tenzing made a pact to not say who reached the summit first. This is illustrative of why Hillary and Tenzing are so beloved: they truly believed in teamwork, not in self-promotion.
People seem to fetishise New Zealand like it's some quaint rural paradise, where everybody is really polite and friendly to each other. This article really paints the country like a bunch of country bumpkins.
It's a developed country like any other. We have the same problems as other developed countries. Auckland is a city just like any other.
That's not to say New Zealand is not amazing, because it is, but it's not perfect.
I think that the author did do a very good job at summarising up the national ethos though. It really is about having a go and doing the best with what you've got, it doesn't matter where you're from or who your parents are. Unfortunately, I think this ethos is slowly dying, as people become more sedentary, and a nouveau riche is beginning to emerge, while a generation of kiwis are doomed to a life of renting from them.
And I do firmly believe that if it all goes to shit, the rich Americans in Queenstown won't last a week, it will be the cockies (farmers) in their stations that will prevail, having spent a lifetime on the land, fighting nature, all to raise a few sheep.
Somewhat naff and parochial attitude. Conquering Everest was a massive expedition, involved many mountaineers from across the British Empire, over 400 people in total [1]. The article makes no mention of this; seems to think Everest was conquered thanks to the spirit and mountains of NZ.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/hillary-and-tenzing-s-everest-...