Today in History

1958 Mormon temple opens in Hamilton

This was the first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the southern hemisphere. It was dedicated by President David O. McKay on 20 April 1958.

Construction work began in December 1955 at Temple View, just outside Hamilton, on a project that included the building of Church College, a private secondary school. Paid construction workers were joined by 500 labour missionaries. Trade union leaders sought meetings with church leaders to insist that the missionaries be paid award rates. They were informed that the missionaries weren’t paid, but received 10s each week ($23.60 in 2010) for personal necessities.

Additional labour was supplied by church members from around New Zealand who visited for one-week assignments. Each of the 16 districts also raised £1000 ($47,000) each year to sustain the labour missionaries.

Church College closed at the end of the 2009 school year.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded in the United States in the 1820s by Joseph Smith Jnr. Today it claims a worldwide membership of more than 13 million, nearly half of them in the US. Mormon missionaries arrived in New Zealand in the 1880s and enjoyed some success in Maori communities. By 2006 there were about 40,000 Mormons in New Zealand.