Freda du Faur

Freda du Faur was an Australian mountaineer, born in Croydon, Sydney, on 16 September 1882, credited as the first woman to climb Aoraki Mount Cook, the tallest mountain of New Zealand. She was a leading amateur climber of her day and the first female high mountaineer known to be active in New Zealand, although she never lived there. After seeing photographs of Mount Cook in 1906 she travelled to the Hermitage hotel, became determined to reach its summit and managed to do so four years later. She learned rope work and snow and ice climbing from the New Zealand guide Peter Graham, having taught herself rock climbing near Sydney.