Hamilton New Zealand Temple

Hamilton New Zealand Temple
Number	11
Dedication	April 20, 1958, by David O. McKay
Site	86 acres (35 ha)
Floor area	45,251 sq ft (4,204.0 m2)
Height	157 ft (48 m)
Official website • News & images
Church chronology
← Los Angeles California Temple Hamilton New Zealand Temple → London England Temple
Additional information
Announced	February 17, 1955, by David O. McKay
Groundbreaking	December 21, 1955, by Ariel Ballif, Wendell B. Mendenhall, and George R. Biesinger
Open house	March 28 – April 19, 1958 August 26-September 17, 2022
Rededicated	16 October 2022, by Dieter F. Uchtdorf[1]
Designed by	Edward O. Anderson
Location	Hamilton, New Zealand
Geographic coordinates	37°49′34.62599″S 175°13′28.64280″E / 37.8262849972°S 175.2246230000°E / -37.8262849972; 175.2246230000
Exterior finish	concrete block and white-painted structural steel
Temple design	Modern contemporary, single spire
Baptistries	1
Ordinance rooms	2 (Movie, stationary)
Sealing rooms	8
Clothing rental	Yes
Visitors' center	Yes
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The Hamilton New Zealand Temple (also known as the Hamilton Waikato Temple and formerly as the New Zealand Temple) is the 13th constructed and 11th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The intent to build the temple was announced on February 17, 1955, by church president David O. McKay during a meeting of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. With its completion in 1958, it was the church's first temple in the Southern Hemisphere, the second built both in Polynesia and outside the United States and Canada, after the Laie Hawaii Temple. Located just outside Temple View in Hamilton, it was built with a modern single-spire design similar to the Bern Switzerland Temple. As of May 2024, this is the only temple currently operating in New Zealand, with one in Auckland under construction, and another in Wellington in the planning phase.^[2]

The temple has modernist geometry and kōwhaiwhai patterning with design elements specific to Maori and other Polynesian cultures. This temple’s construction was overseen by George R. Beisinger, who supervised the church’s building program throughout the South Pacific, including the Church College of New Zealand (CCNZ), and other buildings in Temple View. A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication were held on December 21, 1955, with the president of the New Zealand Mission, Ariel S. Ballif, conducting.