President McAleese yesterday paid tribute to Irish explorers Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean at a charity lunch held in their honour in New Zealand.
The function was organised to pay respect to two Irish members of the 1914 traverse of the continent via the South Pole - Shackleton, from Kildare, and Crean, from Dingle. Their ship, the Endurance, was crushed by heavy ice, leaving 28 men stranded.
Paying tribute to their valour, the President said their curiosity and bravery "left an enduring challenge for all of us to take responsibility in our time and for times to come. I'm delighted to lend my support, and that of the Irish Government, to restore the huts of their exploration."
Poor health prevented the first man to climb Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, attending the Ireland Fund of New Zealand charity lunch at which President McAleese was guest of honour during her State visit. Sir Edmund was also an Antarctic explorer.
The presidential visit ends today with a visit to one of Auckland's first landmarks - St Patrick's Cathedral.
