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 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; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

for eleven years, including service on a frigate in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. On 20 September 1952, in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, 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 mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reache ...

: the 1956–1958

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) of 1955–1958 was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole. It was the first expedition to reach the South ...

to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

on which he served as radio operator; the

1960–61 Silver Hut expedition The 1960–61 Silver Hut expedition or formally 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 encyclopaedia). The ...

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

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema, also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive liquid accumulation in the tissue and air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause hypoxemia and respiratory failure. It is due t ...

at on

Makalu Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...

. 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 Hospitlal in Khatmandu. Hillary was horrified when he saw him and got his wife June to fly to Nepal. In New Zealand both frostbitten feet were amputated. Later he went on a 1964 Himalayan schoolhouse expedition, and a 1966 Himalayan hospital expedition. He also climbed in the Swiss Alps, ascending the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

. In the 1958 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was awarded the British Empire Medal. He represented New Zealand in the world One Ton yachting championships in Sydney in 1972 and sailed around

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) 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 are the Diego Ramí ...

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 The Mount Erebus disaster occurred on 28 November 1979 when Air New Zealand Flight 901 (TE-901) flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. Air New Zealand had been operating scheduled A ...

Mount Erebus Mount Erebus () is the second-highest volcano in Antarctica (after Mount Sidley), the highest active volcano in Antarctica, and the southernmost active volcano on Earth. It is the sixth-highest ultra mountain on the continent. With a summ ...

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, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

, 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