Although Freda Du Faur was born in Australia, she is a significant figure in New Zealand’s alpine history.
3 December 2010 marks the hundred year anniversary of Freda Du Faur’s historic ascent of Aoraki Mount Cook, with guides Peter Graham and David Thomson. Te Ara has a photo of Freda with Peter and Alec Graham here.
As a woman, Freda du Faur initially received a fair amount of criticism of her chosen sport. As she writes,
I was the first unmarried woman … to climb in New Zealand, and in consequence I received all the hard knocks until one day when I awoke more or less famous in the mountaineering world, after which I could and did do exactly as seemed to me best.
Having made successful climbs, many of them first ascents, of a myriad of mountains, including Mt Cook, Mt Dampier, Mt Sefton and Mt Tasman, she was soon recognised as a capable amateur climber and continued to climb in New Zealand until March 1913, before heading to England in 1914.
- The NZ Alpine Club is organising a day of celebrations at Aoraki.
- Find out about Freda du Faur in The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.
- Search for books by and/or about Freda du Faur in our collection, including her 1915 record of the conquest of Mt Cook.