Peter David Mulgrew (21 November 1927 – 28 November 1979) was a New Zealand mountaineer, yachtsman and businessman.

Life and career

Mulgrew was born in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

to boilermaker William John Mulgrew and woollen industry worker Edith Mulgrew (née Matthews). He attended the Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College. He served in the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

for eleven years, including service on a frigate in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. On 20 September 1952, in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, he married June Martha Anderson. They had two daughters, Robyn and Susan. He embarked on several expeditions with

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...

: the 1956–1958 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

on which he served as radio operator; the

1960–61 Silver Hut expedition The 1960–61 Silver Hut expedition, formally known as the Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition, was initiated by Edmund Hillary and Griffith Pugh with John Dienhart of World Books in America (producers of a children’s encyclopedia). ...

, a scientific and mountaineering expedition (plus Yeti hunt) to the Himalayas, on which he suffered

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...

at on

Makalu Makalu (; ) is the fifth-highest mountain on Earth, with a summit at an elevation of AMSL. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, on the China–Nepal border. One of the eight-thousanders, Makalu is an isolat ...

. Mulgrew had to be carried part-way by a Sherpa (Urkien). He was an "appalling sight" and "it was a miracle he was still alive". A helicopter took him from the Barun Valley () to Shanta Bhawan Hospital in Kathmandu. Hillary was horrified when he saw him and got his wife June to fly to Nepal. As a result of the pulmonary edema Mulgrew suffered frostbite to both his feet which after his repatriation to New Zealand had to be amputated. Later he went on a 1964 Himalayan schoolhouse expedition, and a 1966 Himalayan hospital expedition. He also climbed in the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

, ascending the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

. In the 1958 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

. He represented New Zealand in the world One Ton yachting championships in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1972 and sailed around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

the next year. He was group general manager of Alex Harvey Industries, Auckland and served on the boards of AHI Aluminium and elsewhere. Outside of commerce, he was a member of the Himalayan Trust Board and the Spirit of Adventure Trust Board.

Death

Mulgrew was killed in the crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 at Mount Erebus on a sightseeing flight to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, in which all 257 on board died. He was a commentator on the flight, having replaced his close friend Sir

, who was on a scheduled speaking tour of the United States. In 1989 his widow, June, married Hillary.

Honorific eponym

The Mulgrew Nunatak in Antarctica is named in Mulgrew's honour.

Works

*''No Place for Men'' (Reed, Wellington, 1964, also 1965, 1975) *''I Hold the Heights'' (Doubleday, New York, 1965) *''Gentleman’s Magellan: A voyage of re-discovery around Cape Horn'' from notes by Peter Mulgrew, Ken Mulgrew's log and Wally Romanes' diary; edited by Bruce Harvey (Morris-Cobb, Auckland, 1974)

Life and career

Death

Honorific eponym

Works

References

Further reading