Everest treasure up for auction
When Sir Edmund Hillary came to stay at her family home just three months after conquering Everest, 11-year-old Anna Pascoe wasn’t unsettled by the famous guest.
Not even Hillary’s fellow mountaineer George Lowe asking her to cut his toenails unduly bothered the unflappable schoolgirl.
During Hillary and Lowe’s stay with the Pascoe family in August 1953, Lowe gave young Anna a postcard as a gift in appreciation of the break from the public glare and official engagements that followed the conquest of Everest.
The postcard was signed by the entire expedition team, including Nepali Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay as they flew back to London on a BOAC aircraft.
For 64 years, Anna has treasured the remarkable keepsake that has survived moves around New Zealand, the Canterbury earthquakes, and stints living abroad in Germany, Canada and Papua New Guinea.
But now, the rare piece of New Zealand history is for sale, with Anna, whose married name is Gilmour, hoping a new owner will preserve it.
“I’ve been so conscious of the signatures fading over the years, I just thought there might be someone out there who could look after it very well,” she said.
It will be hard for her to part with the postcard that evokes so many memories.
After being feted in London for scaling the world’s highest mountain, Hillary and Lowe had returned to New Zealand for a packed schedule of speaking engagements.
In Wellington, they stayed at the secluded Eastbourne home of John Pascoe, a wellknown figure in mountaineering circles who went on to write many books, including Unclimbed New Zealand.
Before the celebrity guests’ arrival, Anna’s mother, Dorothy Pascoe, sourced an array of exotic food.
But former beekeeper Hillary, already known for his humble nature, instead requested “good, oldfashioned, plain food”, Anna recalls.
Word soon circulated that the Pascoes had some famous visitors.
Local children descended on their home seeking autographs and photographs.
Auckland auction house Cordy’s has placed an estimate of $1200 on the “unique historical piece” ahead of its August 22 antiques and art sale.
“With the entire collection of signatures of the 1953 team, this small piece of paper transports one back over six decades to an incredible feat of mountaineering,” said Cordy’s Ross Millar.“We trust [the postcard] will find a home with a passionate collector.”