Woman climber modelled

Press, 5 September 1987, Page 3

Woman climber modelled

By

MARIA VERONESE

If Freda du Faur were alive today, she might not approve of Garry Sutton’s creation. “She was camera-shy and probably would not approve, but I think she deserves a memorial,” Mr Sutton said. Freda du Faur, an Australian, was the first woman to climb Mount Cook when the Graham brothers, Peter and Alex, guided her up Earle’s route from the Hooker Glacier in December, 1910.

The disapproval of those who frowned on a

young woman out in the mountains with only men for company did not daunt her. She was a practical woman and refused to wear a veiled hat and ankle-length skirt while climbing. Instead she wore a knee-length skirt and if it hindered her, she climbed in her undergarments. Mr Sutton began modelling Freda du Faur five years ago part-time. He has developed a chemical skin cover which is soft to touch and has a flesh-tone colour. “There is a lot of work

involved in making a model. We had to make a three-dimensional colour model from a black-and-white photograph,” he said. The life-like model of Freda du Faur will be on display at the Canterbury Museum until September 16. It will then be displayed at the Mount Cook National Park.