Thousands of mourners gathered in Auckland today to bid farewell to New Zealand’s national hero Edmund Hillary, the first man to stand atop Mount Everest.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark was among about 600 guests at the rare state funeral in St Mary’s church, along with Hillary’s widow Lady June and other family members.

High-level representatives from Australia, Britain, Canada, India, Ireland and the United States were also present.

Hundreds more gathered in the adjacent Holy Trinity Cathedral, where Sir Ed’s body lay in state yesterday, while thousands watched on huge screens across the city.

Sir Ed, who died on January 11 of a heart attack aged 88, reached the 8848m summit with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953.

Norbu Tenzing Norgay, the eldest son of Sir Ed’s companion on Everest, was to speak to mourners. Four surviving members of the British-led expedition were also at the funeral.

As the service began five Sherpas laid traditional Tibetan prayer scarves on the coffin for “burra sahib” – “the big man” – who had spent more than 40 years working to aid their region’s development.

The ice axe used by Sir Ed on his Everest conquest also lay atop the flag-draped coffin.

Miss Clark told the mourners that Sir Ed, who was knighted in 1953, was “the most famous New Zealander of our times”.

“Sir Ed described himself as a person of modest abilities. In reality he was a colossus, he was our hero,” Miss Clark said.

“How privileged we were to have that living legend with us for 88 years.”

Miss Clark described Hillary’s work with his Himalayan Foundation in Nepal as his living legacy.

She said the lanky former beekeeper was admired for his achievements and the respect he was held in around the world.

“But above all we loved Sir Ed for what he represented, a determination to succeed against the odds, humility and an innate sense of fair play and a tremendous sense of service to the community at home and abroad.”

After scaling Everest, Sir Ed led a number of expeditions.

In 1958, he and four companions travelled overland in three modified tractors to become the first to reach the South Pole by vehicle.

“Adventure was compulsory in the Hillary family,” Sir Ed’s son Peter told the service.

“We always feared where dad was going to take us in the upcoming school holidays.”

“That shared adventure was one of the greatest gifts he gave to his family and friends,” he said.

Peter Hillary followed in his father’s footsteps and became a mountaineer.

Ang Rita Sherpa, chief administrative officer of the Himalayan Trust, said he had travelled to New Zealand from Nepal to pay his last respects to “a man with a big heart”.

“He is our true guardian and our second father, but he has left us behind today,” he said.

“His loss to us is bigger and heavier than Mt Everest.”

Norbu Tenzing Norgay, the elder son of Tenzing Norgay, who climbed Everest with Sir Ed, said he would be dearly missed.

While he felt there could not have been two better people to have conquered Everest, their work for the Sherpas after that great day had left as big a mark.

Students from schools set up by Sir Ed, had gone on to be airline pilots and eminent conservationists, he said.

“When Sherpas heard of his death their grief spiralled to a level only matched by the loss of a parent.

“Among Sherpas he was revered.”

Norbu Tenzing Norgay said the mountaineer’s transformation of the lives of two generations of Sherpas was “absolutely staggering”.

He said: “While we mourn his loss, his spirit forever will live and protect the great mountains he loved so much.”

After the service Sir Ed was to be cremated in a private family ceremony.

He had asked that his ashes be scattered on Auckland’s harbour.