Hamilton New Zealand Temple

The Hamilton New Zealand Temple (formerly known 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 17 February 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 and 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. It is one of two temples currently operating in New Zealand, along with the one in Auckland. The temple has modernist geometry and kōwhaiwhai patterning with design elements specific to Māori 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 21 December 1955, with the president of the New Zealand Mission, Ariel S. Ballif, conducting.

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