A Snow-starved ‘Stralian Soul
Born in 1882 to wealthy parents, Freda Du Faur grew up in Ku-ring-gai, Sydney. There she learned the basics of rock scrambling, but it was her first family visit to the mountains of New Zealand that really set her heart alight. She persuaded her father to allow her to visit The Hermitage, a popular resort hut below Aoraki/Mt Cook, where she was enthralled by the beauty of her surroundings.
Returning the next year, determined to try her hand at mountaineering, she hired renowned guide Peter Graham. Her daring attire and unwillingness to hire a non-climbing chaperone brought gossip from the society ladies, but she was unfazed, and her natural ability and unbridled enthusiasm shone through.
In a time when most women were trapped in
