Auckland Hebrew Congregation

The original synagogue building on Princes Street was designed and built by Edward Bartley in 1884–1885 in a Romanesque style, incorporating Gothic and Moorish design elements.^[3][4] The foundation stone was laid by David Nathan (1816–1886), an early Jewish settler and founder of the L.D. Nathan chain of stores,^[5] and the synagogue opened on 9 November 1885.^[6] The building could seat 375 people.^[7] It was built on the site of an earlier military guardhouse^[8] associated with Albert Barracks. The construction of the synagogue was a statement by the Jewish community in Auckland of not only status, but of their acceptance in the local community.^[4] The building has a Category I listing with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.^[8]

In 1968, the congregation moved to a new synagogue on Greys Avenue.^[4] Ownership of the property reverted to Auckland City Council as part of the Albert Park Reserve following the deconsecration.^[9] It has since served as a branch of the National Bank of New Zealand. The bank restored the building in 1989, preserving the stained glass windows as well as the Romanesque and Eastern decorative motifs.^[10] The building currently serves as the University of Auckland's Alumni Relations and Development office.^[10]

As the congregation grew in size, a larger building was needed to meet it needs and a plot was purchased on Greys Avenue, overlooking Myers Park.^[11] The Princes Street synagogue was deconsecrated in 1969.^[7] The new inner-city synagogue was consecrated on 8 September 1968.^[12] It was designed by New Zealand Jewish architect, John Goldwater in a modernist style. The synagogue was the recipient of an architectural award in 1970.^[13] The synagogue and complex underwent a US$6.63 million refurbishment in 2008 and future Jewish prime minister, John Key, attended the reopening.^[14] In 2010, the congregation led a successful challenge against the New Zealand government, allowing shechita, after a ban had been put in place.^[15] In 2011, Israel's Speaker of the Knesset, Reuven Rivlin addressed the congregation. It marked the first official Israeli state visit to the country in a quarter of a century, since President Chaim Herzog's visit in 1986.^[16] The buildings and sanctuary were used for filming by Simone Nathan in her 2022 TV series, Kid Sister.^[17] The Greys Avenue complex was also home to Kadimah, the Jewish primary school, Auckland Jewish Immigration and the city's only kosher café.^[18]

In 2019, with the assistance of the Woolf Fisher Trust, the congregation purchased the campus of Saint Kentigern Girls' School in Remuera.^[19] Kadimah relocated from Grey's Avenue to the Remuera campus in 2023.^[20] Other Jewish organisations and the Kosher café/deli are also in the process of relocating to the site, creating the main hub for Jewish life in Auckland.^[1] The city's Reform congregation, Beth Shalom has also been invited to relocate to the campus.^[21] The Auckland Hebrew Congregation plans to build a new sanctuary and synagogue in the future on the grounds of the campus.^[22] It currently holds services in the original homestead on the property. The house had been built in 1918 for the Louisson family who, later downsized to a smaller property and sold the home to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[23] The property and campus later formed part of Corran School, a private girls school, before becoming Saint Kentigern's Girl's School following a 2009 merger.^[23] There are also plans for a mikvah on the site, a cultural centre and provision for Jewish youth groups.^[22] In recent decades, the congregation has stepped up efforts to encourage Jewish immigration to New Zealand, mostly focusing on Jewry in South Africa, Argentina and Israel.^[24]

• 
  Princes Street synagogue in early 1900s
• 
  Princes Street synagogue, now University House
• 
  Former Kadimah School and Auckland Hebrew Congregation on Grey's Avenue

• List of synagogues in Australia and New Zealand
• History of the Jews in New Zealand

• AHC official website