By Roselyn Fauth
From left to right, Jack Clarke, George Graham, and Tom Fyfe, The Plumber Who First Climbed Aoraki, the day after their successful climb of Aoraki/Mt Cook on Christmas Day 1894 - George Mannering via Teara.govt.nz / The-Dominion-Post
On Christmas Day 1894, while families across New Zealand gathered for roast dinners and hymns, a young plumber from Timaru stood on the summit of Aoraki/Mt Cook.
Tom Fyfe wasn’t born into privilege, nor did he chase fame. From a bluestone schoolhouse in Gleniti to the roof of New Zealand, he carved a path that would inspire generations of climbers — including Sir Edmund Hillary....
Photographs showing the plaque for a tree planted in 1994 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first ascent of Aoraki/Mt Cook Located at the Timaru Botanic Gardens.
From Plumber to Peak: Tom Fyfe, Timaru’s Mountaineering Pioneer
Across from a little bluestone schoolhouse in Gleniti, a young boy named Tom Fyfe sat at his desk. Outside, the volcanic stone quarries glistened in the sun, the Southern Alps etched faintly against the horizon. Perhaps he dreamed, even then, of bigger heights — though no one could have guessed he would one day carve his name into history as the first to stand on the summit of Aoraki/Mt Cook.
This is the story of the Timaru plumber who became New Zealand’s first mountain guide, who traded pipes for peaks, and who, on Christmas Day 1894, achieved what others had only dreamed of.
Tom was born in Timaru in 1870, the eldest son of Thomas Webster Fyfe, a Scottish-born painter, and his second wife, Jean “Jane” Craigie. His father’s first wife — Jane’s younger sister Margaret — died tragically young in Timaru in 1863, leaving behind a baby girl. Thomas later married Jane, and together they raised a large family in Gleniti.
Tom’s upbringing was marked by resilience. His sister Isabella Fyfe Corbet would later sign the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition, placing the Fyfes firmly in the national story of women’s rights. Loss and determination ran through the family’s veins, shaping Tom’s endurance.
At Gleniti School, Tom proved himself strong and athletic. The school, built of bluestone across from what is now 10 Claremont Road, was born of community ambition. It gave him the foundations — discipline, grit, and teamwork — that later translated into mountaineering.
He was introduced to climbing by Jack Adamson, another Timaru local whose encouragement and teaching lit the spark. Soon Tom was scaling ridges that others thought impossible.
In 1894, Tom made his first major success: the ascent of Mt Malte Brun, a 3000-metre peak in the Aoraki range. That triumph gave him the confidence — and the credibility — to lead the most daring climb of his generation.
On Christmas Day 1894, while families across New Zealand gathered for festive meals, Tom and his companions George Graham and Jack Clarke were clinging to ice and rock high on Aoraki. After fifteen gruelling hours, they stepped onto the summit.
A telegram sent by Tom made headlines: “Messrs Graham, Clarke, and Fyfe topped Mount Cook from Hooker side on Christmas Day.” The newspapers celebrated not only the achievement, but the fact that it was “colonials” who had beaten the Swiss guides who had tried and failed before. It was framed as a triumph of New Zealand grit over Old World prestige.
Life Beyond Glory
Unlike Edmund Hillary a half-century later, Tom did not pursue fame. He became the first Chief Guide at the Hermitage, training others and leading expeditions, but he never wrote books or courted publicity. Eventually, he returned to his trade as a plumber, working for the Public Works Department in Timaru and later in Auckland.
His humility is part of his legacy: a man who touched the summit, then came back to live like everyone else.
Love, Family, and Loss
In 1896, Tom married Mary Ann (Annie) Peake in Wellington. They had four children:
Aorangi Lilly (Lila), born in 1897 (her name a tribute to the mountain itself),
Constance Clyde, born in 1900, who tragically died at just 19,
Kenneth Camperdown, born in 1903,
Thomas Malcolm, born in 1906.
Tom knew both the joy of fatherhood and the grief of loss. His daughter Clyde’s early death would remain one of the deepest sorrows of his life.
A Soldier’s Service
When war broke out, Tom was already 46 years old — far older than most enlistees. Yet in 1916, leaving his plumbing work and family behind, he enlisted in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade.
He served in France, enduring the trenches with the same endurance that had carried him across ice fields. Unlike Hillary, whose generation was too young for WWI, Tom’s life bridged both the mountain and the battlefield. He returned in 1917, decorated with the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
I thought it would be interesting to investigate, that while Tom was breaking records, who the women were, who were carving their own paths into alpine history...
In 1873, Emily Harper became the first European woman recorded in the Aoraki glacier region, writing vivid accounts of the peaks and flora.
In 1910, Freda Du Faur defied Edwardian convention to become the first woman to reach the summit of Aoraki, climbing in a skirt over knickerbockers, faster than many men before her.
Souvenir of Timaru. Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 03/10/2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/3697
Tom vs. Hillary
Tom Fyfe and Sir Edmund Hillary were separated by just fifty years, but their stories echo each other. Both came from ordinary trades — a plumber and a beekeeper. Both trained in New Zealand’s mountains before facing the world’s highest peaks.
Tom led the way on Aoraki in 1894. Hillary trained there in the 1940s, then went on to Everest in 1953. Both I think embodied the Kiwi spirit: endurance, humility, and must a strong sense to not give up.
Comparing the two, I think Hillary’s fame went global, while Tom’s remained local. And I think, that without Fyfe’s footsteps, the path for Hillary could have been different.
The Final Years
After the war, Tom settled in Hastings, working again as a plumber. He lived a quieter life until his death in 1947, aged 77. He was buried with a serviceman’s plaque at Hastings Cemetery, far from the icy peaks where he had first made history.
Legacy
Tom Fyfe’s story is one of contrasts:
From a Timaru schoolhouse to the roof of New Zealand.
From carrying plumbing tools to carrying an ice axe.
From celebrating Christmas at the summit while the rest of the country feasted below.
From colonial pride to a humble grave.
He never wrote his own book, but his life reads like one: chapters of endurance, courage, and humility. And like the mountain he first climbed, his legacy continues to stand tall.
Mt Cook Lillies at the Hooker Valley - Buttercup - Geoff Cloake
Aoraki/Mt Cook is Aotearoa New Zealand's tallest peak and is a sacred ancestor of KāiTahu. It is located in the KāTiritiri o te Moana/Southern Alps and is part of the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.