Hamilton New Zealand Temple

The Hamilton New Zealand Temple, originally known as the New Zealand Temple, is a temple for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to perform sacred religious rituals, known as "ordinances". A temple is thought of as a "holy house of the Lord" in which members can perform ordinances, endowments, and ceremonies. Work began on the temple on 21 December 1955, and was finished and dedicated by the church president David O. McKay in April 1958. The temple was the first to have been built in New Zealand, and was the only one in New Zealand until the Auckland temple was dedicated in 2025. The temple is located in the Hamilton suburb of Temple View, which was founded in the 1950s while the temple was being built. History Temples are believed by members of the LDS Church to be sacred, holy houses of the Lord. They are private to the public, and access is only given to members who have special permission called "temple recommends". When the construction of a temple is complete, it is open to public tours for a limited time. The New Zealand Temple was announced by the president of the church, David O. McKay, on 17 February 1955. The building work was done by paid contractors and over 500 labour missionaries, members of the church who volunteer to build the temple. The missionaries received gifts from local members of the church, such as food and drink, money, and temporary housing. During its construction, trade union leaders fought with the local church government to pay the missionaries a wage for their work; the missionaries received a weekly 10 shilling allowance (NZ$31.48 in 2025) for essentials. Construction was complete in March 1958, with the temple being open to the public from 28 March until its dedication. Over 112,000 members of the public visited and toured the building. It was dedicated on 20 April 1958 by David O. McKay. Temple details The temple is made from concrete and steel, and has a land area of 86 acres (0.3 km2). The temple is 48 m (157.5 ft) tall. The temple was the first LDS temple built in New Zealand, the 13th temple built in the world, and the first temple built in the Southern Hemisphere. The temple has eight rooms for religious ordinances and rituals: five rooms are called "sealing rooms", where members of the church are married eternally; two "instruction rooms", where members learn about God and make covenants with him; and one baptistery, a room for performing baptisms for those who have died. References