Alt tag: 'Sir Edmund Hillary - Everest and Beyond' Exhibition curator Alexa Johnston Auckland: As he reached the summit of Mount Everest nearly 50 years ago accompanied by Sherpa Tensing Norgay, Edmund Hillary had no idea how excited the world waiting below had become over his feat and how much a celebrity he would remain for the rest of his life.

Among the wealth of personal items, equipment, photographs and models on display at the Auckland Museum's exhibition celebrating his feat and titled "Sir Edmund Hillary: Everest and Beyond", is a letter penned to his mother two days after he reached the world's highest peak.

His innocence and humility are revealed in the letter, on display for the first time, which reads: "Dear Mother, well, I may not have produced much joy or happiness in the world, but at least I've helped make the Hillary name a bit famous."

"It was a tremendous thrill to me to reach the summit of Everest, especially as I was going particularly well. I'd be interested to see all the cuttings from the Auckland papers if you'd like to keep them for me."

The passionate mountaineer, who never glimpsed snow until he was 16, rose from a hardworking bee-keeper in New Zealand to friend of many world leaders and royal and religious figures including Bill Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II and the Dalai Lama.

The exhibition includes many items such as his Everest ice axe, his Kodak Retina camera which recorded the summit photos, the down-filled and windproof clothing, his high-altitude assault boots, the nylon climbing rope, oxygen frame, pack and mask, and Hillary's famous home-made blue and white sunhat.

Many of the displays also reflect his deep links with the Nepalese people and their culture and his philanthropic work in Nepal over the following decades.

Auckland Museum curator for the show, Alexa Johnston, believes spectators will be both surprised and touched to learn of Hillary's lesser-known, yet awesome achievements.

In 1961, Hillary asked the Sherpas who had helped him scale the roof of the world, what he could do for their community.

Their reply, "We need a school for our children", was the catalyst for the next 40 years of Hillary's life in which he established the Himalayan Trust.

The organisation is devoted to the health and education of the Sherpa people and the protection of the Himalayas. There are now more than 30 schools run by the trust, as well as hospitals and training institutes for teachers and medical staff.

Revealing the huge part Nepal has played in his life is a selection of Sherpa artefacts including inscribed mani stones, ceremonial horns, yak butter tea-churns, gold-lettered Buddhist prayer books, carpets, cooking bowls and paintings from Hillary's collection.

Designers have made a replica of a Sherpa kitchen in Kunde where Hillary planned many of his projects as well as a schoolhouse with messages and drawings from Sherpa school children, and a Buddhist monument and chapel.

Visitors to the show will see an intriguing selection of scrolls, plaques, vestments and medals from all over the world, from the Kathmandu Taxi-drivers Association award, to the Order of the Garter.

The 83-year-old lives in Auckland and continues to travel the world with his second wife, June, giving talks and overseeing the Trust's work in Nepal.

The exhibition is on display from 25 October until 28 February 2003 before travelling to Explorers Hall in Washington.