Peter

Peter the kea, banded at Sealy tarns Aoraki/Mt Cook, is named after one of the most famous and influential early mountain guides in the Aoraki/Mt Cook area – Peter Graham (1881 – 1957). In 1903 the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts employed Peter Graham as assistant guide at the Hermitage Hotel, Mt Cook, and from 1906 to 1922 he was chief guide. Stressing enjoyment as well as safety, he made 13 ascents of the high peak of Mt Cook, including six of the first eight ascents, the first traverse, a new route, and the first grand traverse of all three peaks. On this last climb and many others, often with brother Alec, he guided Australian-born Freda Du Faur (the first woman to climb Mt Cook). In 1924 Peter led the first ascent of Fiordland's Mt Tutoko and in 1931, with Alec, he climbed Mt Sefton from the west. Peter Graham was not only one of New Zealand's finest-ever climbers; he also built and maintained huts and tracks, advised hotel guests on outdoor activities, and informed them about mountain plants (Ranunculus grahamii is one of three species named after him). Early in his career with the Tourist Department, during winter closures of the Hermitage Hotel, he gained administrative experience at head office, Wellington, and worked as a ranger at Rotorua. Although from the late 1930s Peter Graham was increasingly hampered by a painful hip, he continued to act as administrator and host. In 1947 the Graham brothers sold the family hotel to the government but spent their retirement at Franz Josef Glacier. Peter was appointed MBE for services to mountaineering in 1956.