Thousands of admirers turned out on Monday at the cathedral in Auckland to pay their respects to Sir Edmund Hillary, Mount Everest conqueror.

New Zealanders passed the casket of Hillary before his state funeral due tomorrow.

His body was placed in a coffin at the Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral in Auckland on a catafalque. Four soldiers with rifles were standing guards near the casket as ordinary New Zealanders paid their respects to a man they’ve called “hero.”

On January 11 Hillary, 88, died of a heart attack.

The decision of the royal family to not attend the funeral of Hillary was received with anger in New Zealand.

According to a palace spokesman, the Queen will be represented by the New Zealand Governor General Anand Satyanand and that in April a memorial service will be held for Hillary at Windsor Castle, the Guardian Unlimited reports.

Satyanand laid a wreath on behalf of the Queen Elizabeth II.

Hillary reached the highest peak in the world on the same day of Queen’s coronation- June 2, 1953.

Hillary along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first men to climb the Mount Everest of 29,035 ft in 1953, thus gaining international fame.

Later on he made a motorized trip to the South Pole, the first of its kind, was the head of a jet boat expedition from “sea to sky” up on the Ganges River in India and did charity work for 40 years for the Sherpa people of Nepal's Solu Khumbu mountain region.

Hillary’s casket, draped in the national flag, was welcomed in to the cathedral with a traditional haka (war dance) by the local Ngati Whatua Maori tribe, CNN informs.

Maori women, wearing traditional black dresses and green willow wreaths on their heads, sang.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said: "We are celebrating a very great life."

Members of Hillary’s family along with his widow, June, attended the service.

Many gathered under umbrellas outside the cathedral in lines to honor Hillary and his achievements.

One of the mourners standing in line said: “He’s done so much for New Zealand, it was just good to pay our respects. It will be a moment to keep, that we will pass down."

On Tuesday the casket will be taken to the smaller St. Mary's Church for the state funeral that will begin at 11 a.m.

About 500 mourners are expected to attend.