Location
509 Tuhikaramea Road
Temple View
Hamilton 3218
New Zealand
Contact
Telephone: (64) 7-846-2750
Facsimile: (64) 7-846-2766
Patron Housing: (64) 7-846-2757
Distribution Services: (64) 7-846-0820
Details
Announcement: 17 February 1955
Groundbreaking and Site Dedication: 21 December 1955 by Ariel Ballif, Wendell B. Mendenhall, and George R. Biesinger
Public Open House: 28 March–19 April 1958
Dedication: 20–22 April 1958 by David O. McKay
Site: 86 acres (including college grounds).
Exterior Finish: Reinforced concrete block manufactured at site; white painted structural steel.
Ordinance Rooms: One ordinance room and five sealing.
Total Floor Area: 44,212 square feet.
Temple Locale:
Situated atop a stately hill in the rural outskirts of Hamilton, the Hamilton New Zealand Temple overlooks the 86 acres it shares with the former Church College of New Zealand—a Church-operated school for students ages twelve to eighteen that permanently closed in December 2009 after 51 years of operation. At the base of the hill is a popular public visitors' center, surrounded by beautifully manicured gardens. Guides are available to answer questions and direct visitors to the numerous displays on site including a magnificent replica of the Christus statue. At Christmastime, the grounds are filled with a dazzling spectacle of lights and displays.
Temple Facts:
The Hamilton New Zealand Temple was the first temple built in the Southern Hemisphere and second built in Polynesia, following the Laie Hawaii Temple (1919).
The Hamilton New Zealand Temple was originally named the New Zealand Temple.
The Hamilton New Zealand Temple is a sister building to the Bern Switzerland Temple.
The Hamilton New Zealand Temple and adjoining Church College of New Zealand (permanently closed in December 2009) were both built entirely by volunteer missionary labor.
The Hamilton New Zealand Temple features beautiful murals on the walls of its Celestial Room. (Only two other temples feature full Celestial Room murals: the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple and the Los Angeles California Temple. The corner pillars in the Logan Utah Temple Celestial Room portray a heavenly landscape, too.)
Prior to its dedication, some 112,500 visitors toured the Hamilton New Zealand Temple during its public open house.
The Church College of New Zealand was dedicated six days after the dedication of the adjoining Hamilton New Zealand Temple.
The first stake in New Zealand was created the month after the dedication of the Hamilton New Zealand Temple in the city of Auckland, about 80 miles north of Hamilton.
For a time, the Hamilton New Zealand Temple offered overnight endowment sessions from Friday through Saturday to accommodate the many members who came on the weekend.
The Hamilton New Zealand Temple closed in 1993 for two months to replace wall coverings and furnishings. In 1994, the temple closed again for 9 months for a more extensive renovation that included installation of air conditioning and removal of asbestos.