Sir Edmund Hillary started his final journey in Auckland, New Zealand today.
His casket was welcomed into the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell at 10am, marking the start of the lying in state period. His state funeral will start at 8.45 Tuesday morning.
Members of Ngati Whatua performed a heartfelt haka to welcome his casket into the cathedral.
A portrait of Sir Edmund in his heyday, with a climbing rope coiled over his shoulder and with a snowy mountain range in the background, sat to the right of his casket, capturing the nation's collective memory of their icon.
Ten medals sat in front of his coffin on three blue cushions, showing the respect he earned during his 88 years.
A vigil of guard members from the Defence Force carrying muskets, and with daggers hanging from their belts, will continue throughout the lying in state period.
Prime Minister Clark said it was important to respect the wishes of the family at this time. They have still not spoken publicly about Sir Edmund's death.
"Lady Hillary is a very, very strong woman. I have enormous respect and admiration for how she is leading all of us through this."'
She said generations of New Zealanders have grown up with Sir Edmund Hillary's fame and followed his adventures in the Antarctic, Africa, and perhaps his favourite place - Nepal.
"We lost our greatest hero – it's as simple as that."
"It's been an extreme outpouring of public feeling and respect for Sir Ed because he has been part of our lives for so long. And the legend has really built through the whole 88 years of his life."
"It is not the mountains that we conquer, but ourselves."
- Sir Edmund Hillary.
"I take advice from our cabinet office which traditionally interacts with Buckingham Palace. It is totally understood that the Queen at her age is not in a position to travel," she said.
The Queen will host a large memorial service for Sir Edmund Hillary, she said.
"The fact that we [in NZ] are affluent is a blessing, and with it comes responsibilities."
- Sir Edmund Hillary.
At 11.30am the public were allowed to enter the cathedral and pay their respects.
Thousands of people are expected to visit the cathedral as the lying in state period continues through the night.
Papatoetoe man Jeff Haimonatukua is from Tuakau, where Sir Edmund grew up.
"He was a man who was good towards people, towards children, towards all walks of life."
"We will never get another man like Sir Ed in New Zealand."
"It is impossible not to see that they lack all the things that we regard as essential in life. They don't have schools and they don't have any medical care or anything of this nature. And I suddenly decided that instead of just talking about it - why didn't I try and do something about it."
- Sir Edmund Hillary on his reasons for establishing his humanitarian project, the Himalayan Trust, to assist the impoverished in Nepal.
Mr Haimonatukua first met Sir Ed and his late wife in the 1960s.
"The loss of his eldest daughter broke his heart, but the people in Nepal, the sherpas, they took his pain away.
"His real family was in Nepal."
Baburaja Maharjan president of the Non-resident Nepalese Association in New Zealand said the Nepalese people felt very grateful to Sir Edmund for all his hard work in Nepal and in New Zealand.
"He is a very simple man, I like his simple nature, his thinking and helpful nature, his kindness."
Family friend Mark Sainsbury travelled to Nepal with Sir Edmund seven times, the last time almost two years ago.
He said being in Nepal made him realise the scale of Sir Edmund's work, and the respect the Nepalese people had for him.
"He had a love for other people which transcended his fame," he said.
Mr Sainsbury said he felt very emotional when he heard of Sir Edmund's death almost a fortnight ago.
"He was a very human person. He was a very good person."
Sir Edmund Hillary - A Look at His Life
1919 - Edmund Hillary was born to Percival Augustus Hillary and Gertrude Hillary in Auckland on 20 July
1925 At age16 his interest in climbing was sparked during a school trip to Mount Ruapehu.
1939 He completed his first major climb, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier, near Mt. Cook in the Southern Alps.
He and his brother Rex then became beekeepers.
World War II 1939-45
Hillary applied to join the air force, but was "harassed by my religious conscience" and quickly withdrew his application.
1943 Conscription was introduced as the war entered the Pacific so Hillary joined the RNZAF as a navigator and served on Catalina flying boats.
1945 He was badly burned in a boating accident after he was sent to Fiji and the Solomon Islands. He was then sent back to New Zealand. Expeditions
1951 Hillary was part of a British reconnaissance expedition to Everest led by Eric Shipton.
1952 Hillary and George Lowe were part of the British team led by Eric Shipton that attempted Cho Oyu.
1953 Hillary and Tenzing became the first men known to have climbed the 29,035 feet to the top of Everest and safely return on May 29. They spent 15-30 minutes at the summit. Hillary left a crucifix at the summit and Tenzing, a Buddhist left an offering of food.
1953 News of Hillary's success reached Britain on 2 June, the day of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth Hillary was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on 6 June.
1953 Hillary married Louise Mary Rose on 3 September. They had three children: Peter (1954), Sarah (1955) and Belinda (1959).
Hillary climbed ten other peaks in the Himalayas on further visits in 1956, 1960–61 and 1963–65.
"Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain...I think the whole attitude toward climbing Mt. Everest has become rather horrifying -- the people just want to get to the top."
- Sir Edmund Hillary said of a group who left a climber to die on Mt Everest in 2007.
1958 He reached the South Pole by tractor as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition
1962 Hillary founded his Himalayan Trust. About $250,000 a year was raised for projects in Nepal. The trust funded hospitals, health clinics, airfields and schools.
1967 He was part of the first group to climb Antarctica's Mt. Herschel
1975 Hillary's first wife, Louise, and 16-year-old daughter, Belinda, died in a plane crash during a visit to Nepal in 1975.
1977 He led a jetboat expedition, titled "Ocean to Sky", from the mouth of the Ganges River to its source.
1979 Hillary's close friend Peter Mulgrew died in the Mount Erebus crash killing all 257 on board. Mulgrew had replaced Hillary on the flight because Hillary had to work somewhere else.
1985 Hillary was appointed New Zealand High Commissioner to India.
1985 He accompanied Neil Armstrong on a flight to the North Pole.
1986 Hillary's Sherpa climbing mate Tenzing Norgay died.
1987 Hillary was awarded a member of the Order of New Zealand.
1987 He was named one of the UN's 500 conservationists.
1989 Hillary married June Mulgrew, the widow of his close friend Peter Mulgrew, on 21 December.
1998 He received the Smithsonian Institution's James Smithson Bicentennial Medal for his "monumental explorations and humanitarian achievements."
1990 Hillary's son Peter reached the summit of Everest making them the first father and son to reach the top.
1992 Hillary became the first living New Zealander to appear on a banknote.
1995 Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG) He was also awarded the Polar Medal for his part in the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
2003 Hillary was made an honorary citizen of Nepal on the 50th anniversary of his historic climb.
2003 A 2.3m bronze statue of Sir Ed was installed outside The Hermitage hotel at Mt Cook Village.
2006 He criticized a group of about 40 climbers that left Englishman David Sharp, 34, to die as they kept climbing to the top of Everest.
11 January 2008 Sir Edmund Hillary died at Auckland Hospital at 9 am on Friday (0130 IST), of a heart attack, the Auckland District Health Board said in a statement. He had been ailing for several years.
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