Grace Joel Village resident Jim Espie was with Sir Edmund Hillary when he saw the photos of his and Tenzing Norgay’s Everest summit projected on a big screen for the first time.
The experience of seeing these incredible historic images with the newly-famous Sir Ed made for an ‘unforgettable’ occasion, Jim said.
He told the story to almost 100 family members and friends who gathered last week to celebrate Jim’s 100th birthday, including former Grace Joel Village Sales Advisor Chrissie Baker, who flew from Australia for the event.
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Jim shared that he and his wife Thelma were great friends with Sir Ed and his wife Louise, having met through Auckland’s Halcyon Club, which was a club for young men and women interested in tennis, tramping and other social activities.
Jim spent 10 years based in Sydney during his long career working for Fletcher Construction and when Ed and George Lowe passed through Sydney on their return journey back to New Zealand after the summit, they called in on Jim.
“I was able to arrange with a neighbour of ours who had suitable projection gear for them to view their photos, including the famous one of Tenzing standing on the summit.
“They had picked up their transparencies on the way out of Nepal but they had not seen them projected. It was an unforgettable occasion,” Jim said.
When Ed Hillary married Louise on returning to Auckland, they then went to England on honeymoon, where Ed was knighted by the Queen. On the way back, Jim and Thelma were on hand to help yet again!
“They overnighted in Sydney where they deliberately chose to not stay in a hotel so they could avoid the press,” Jim said. “They spent the night at our home in Collaroy instead!”
Jim still has photos of Sir Ed holding his young son Graham and a stylish shot of young Ed and Louise standing in the garden of their Sydney home as well as an older shot of the pair on Mt Ruapehu in 1948 (top pic).
Jim reckons the many sports and activities that kept him busy and active over the years have helped with his overall good fitness, including football for Eastern Suburbs Football Club and representing Auckland 13 times, tennis, squash and then his beloved bowls, an interest which he has continued over his last 22 years living at Grace Joel Village.
Now, having just swapped his townhouse for a serviced apartment, he is delighted to retain his east-facing aspect for the morning sun – and a view of the bowling green!
“I still play bowls here at Grace Joel,” said Jim, adding that it’s his job to muster up the available players on a Thursday night and organise the teams.
Jim said moving into Grace Joel was a very obvious choice for him and Thelma at the time.
He loved the fact that the village was just down the road from his former home a few hundred metres down St Heliers Bay Road, and a short distance from St Heliers Primary School, where he was a student from 1930-37.
The village was formerly the Auckland Adventist Hospital which, with Jim having headed up Fletcher Construction from 1963-73, was one of the company’s construction projects, further strengthening Jim’s connection to the building.
While Jim’s wife Thelma sadly died in 2015, Jim said he felt lucky to have a loving family with four generations living in the Eastern Suburbs, and many friends which resulted in him feeling ‘well looked after.’
He said life in the retirement village had been rewarding: “I have no regrets with our choice of Grace Joel Village.
“Warm thanks to the Grace Joel team for their service over the past 22 years.”