Sir Ed defied orders to reach the Pole on January 4, 1958, snatching glory from a British expedition, led by Vivian Fuchs, that the New Zealand crew was supposed to be supporting.
Sir Ed later described his actions as those of a youthful and impulsive man.
However, in Climbing the Pole, Lower Hutt author John Thomson said Sir Ed's actions were premeditated and a personal failure, The Press reported today.
"There was a taint of secrecy about Hillary's operation, the level to which he kept it from influential people who were working in the field with him," Thomson said.
"They were the men who creates the circumstances that made it possible for him to have his private agenda -- and that's what it was, a private agenda. And I think that's a smear."
Thomson said he admired Sir Ed but that the South Pole incident was "dark smear" and "a carefully planned detour laced with deception".
