The public will be able to pay their respects at the church, which is adjacent to the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell - most likely in the 24 hours before the service. It is not known if Sir Ed will be in an open coffin.

Officials are in talks with overseas governments about who will attend the state funeral, but world leaders, mountaineers and dignitaries, including a senior member of the Royal Family, are expected. Representatives from his much-loved Nepal and India will attend, and details will be finalised in the next few days.

State funerals are a rare honour seldom bestowed on anyone other than prime ministers and governors- general, but Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday said a state funeral was appropriate because Sir Ed was an extraordinary New Zealander.

Clark said Lady June was keen to "do the right thing" by Sir Ed's family and the public who had admired him so much, and was also "very conscious" of the local Sherpa and Indian communities. Lady June had been overwhelmed by the attention since Sir Ed's death, and Clark described her as a remarkable person.

"I have great admiration with how she is dealing with this," she said.

Clark revealed there had been discussions about funeral arrangements between the government and the Hillary family for several months. She said she felt a "great sadness" and as if the country had come to the end of an era.

The funeral details were announced as thousands of New Zealanders yesterday celebrated Sir Ed's life by signing condolence books around the country and laying flowers at a bronze statute of the mountaineer in Orewa, north of Auckland. Flags on government buildings flew at half mast and the Black Caps wore black arm bands and had a minute's silence at the start of the New Zealand v Bangladesh cricket test in Wellington.

"The Queen is very saddened to learn of his death and will be sending a personal message of sympathy to his widow and family," a royal official said yesterday.

Sir Ed was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in July 1953, and the pair met again several times, most recently at a ceremony at her Windsor Castle home in 2004.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described Sir Ed as a "truly great hero who captured the imagination of the world" and a "towering figure who will always be remembered as a pioneer explorer and leader".

The first of the public memorials to Sir Ed begin today, with a service in Antarctica. Scott Base co- ordinator Yvonne Boesterling said it would be held at the Chapel of the Snows, McMurdo Station, at 12.30pm. The church, which seats about 60, is expected to be overflowing.

"I think it is a very reflective time. There are a lot of people here who have met Ed at one time or another. They are thinking about the times they were sitting next to him at the table, listening to his stories."

The Sherpa community in Nepal has advised the Hillary family that a memorial service will be held in the Himalayas.