free hit counter
Church College of New Zealand, Hamilton (New Zealand) - October 2014 | Oblivion State Urban Exploration

Post a thread

Post a thread in one of the forums

Browse the forums

Browse threads and contribute to reports

Contact Staff

Contact the team

Church College of New Zealand, Hamilton (New Zealand) - October 2014

WildBoyz

OS Member
OS Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
664
Reaction score
500
Points
93
History

Church College of New Zealand is a former private secondary school, positioned at Temple View in Hamilton. The site is owned by a Mormon religious and cultural group, and when the school was operational it was run by the Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Officially, construction began in 1952, with the announcement that a temple would be erected in Hamilton, and upon completion – in 1958 – the entire site and its buildings covered approximately 85.5 acres of land; in its entirety the site includes a temple, a housing estate, a secondary school, a library, a medical centre, farm land and a significant number of dormitories for boys, girls and staff. The cost of construction was considerable, given that the surrounding land mainly comprised of soft peat and work on establishing solid foundations began in the early 1950’s. Throughout the construction period the design of the school and the social infrastructure of the local community was heavily influenced by church officials from Utah, until members of the church located across New Zealand also moved into the area. Many of the materials used in the construction of the commune’s buildings were locally sourced and a high number of Mormons from American, who were specialists in plumbing, mechanics, welding, painting, electrics and brick work travelled over to establish a communal way of life. Cultural influences of the immigrants are manifest as many of the buildings are based on typical American design ideals.

Once in operation the secondary school located onsite taught New Zealand children and teenagers aged thirteen (year nine) to eighteen (year thirteen). In total 700 students attended the school and over 100 members of staff were employed in any given year. In 2007, however, the school ceased to accept new students, and by 2009 only 120 students attended the school and its number of staff members had been cut to 50. The school closed later that year. It is reported that a moderate tuition fee was in place, but the school received the majority of its funding from the church. Essentially, closure of the school can be attributed to the church who decided that the public schooling system offers quality education and it was unanimously agreed that a significant amount of money could be saved if the public system was utilised. Although certain parts of the commune still exist, primarily the temple, housing estate and farm lands, the school is set to be demolished, although part of the school is destined to be converted into a community centre. The medical centre and a significant number of the dormitories have already been demolished to the disappointment of many within the community. On an ironic note, the chairman of hearings commissioners pointed out that “it did not help that the motto of the Church College of New Zealand was ‘Built for Eternity’â€.

Our Version of Events

After our little escapade inside Hamilton Central Station, we travelled outside the city centre towards the Mormon community, unsure of the progress of demolition. A couple of the members of Urbex Central NZ had attempted this particular location earlier in the year, however, they were met by a large angry mob of Mormon followers who decided to hunt them down. Luckily, escape, albeit a rather wet one, was made possible through the old peat bogs behind the site. This time though, we caught them off guard and approached the site whilst they gathered inside their church for prayer time. Access was simply enough, and myself and Nillskill managed to step inside relatively silently. Zort, on the other hand… … As I had my back to him while he entered, I thought he’d jumped through the solid glass window next to our entry point. The sound was unbelievable; something like a thousand glass bottles all shattering at the same time. Quickly deducing that we’d most likely been heard we raced on inside to gather as many photographs as possible. As it turned out, however, it seems our incredibly loud entrance fell on deaf ears; perhaps they’d reached the singing bit of their service? We were lucky in this respect too, because the site was huge. We spent hours navigating the many corridors and the various rooms and facilities Church College of New Zealand had to offer. Our last close encounter with the Mormons occurred as we wandered through the ground floor of library, and a car drove past the window as we were all stood staring back. Somehow, we weren’t noticed…? As we left the commune we decided, for one last venture, to drive through their housing estate and past the church; where the service was still in full swing. This time they noticed us and, as we drove past extremely slowly, every one of them stared out at us from inside. Cultic activity, it would seem, is a bit disconcerting.

Explored with Nillskill and the ninja-like Zort.

Apologies for the pic-heavy report. As I stated previously, the site was incredibly big…

1: Outside view of Church College of New Zealand

DSC_0614za2-2_zps02cfcf0b.jpg


2: Sports stands

DSC_0617za-2_zps4c1dfc47.jpg


3: PE Department male toilets

DSC_0624za-2_zpsaffcc2ba.jpg


4: PE Department male changing room

DSC_0626za-2_zps6fa27750.jpg


5: Pectoral machine in the former gym

DSC_0634zb-2_zps829ca9ad.jpg


6: More gym machines

DSC_0651za-2_zps9dd65d49.jpg


7: Leg machine

DSC_0652za-2_zps69dea649.jpg


8: Gas lanterns for outdoor education

DSC_0640za-2_zpsbc88f14c.jpg


9: Sports equipment and dreaded spare kit

DSC_0641za-2_zps308f0b90.jpg


10: Swimming pool

DSC_0654za-2_zps3ffc7799.jpg


11: Swimming pool viewing area and offices

DSC_0656za-2_zps6abb7fde.jpg


12: A view of the pool from the viewing stands

DSC_0669za-2_zps4deddaa4.jpg


13: The main sports hall

DSC_0663zb-2_zps8c72f411.jpg


14: The main sports hall rear view

DSC_0719zb-2_zps8a4a1fe8.jpg


15: Scoreboard

DSC_0732za-2_zps9f117f66.jpg


16: Main stage in assembly hall

DSC_0685za-2_zps2bf80957.jpg


17: Large piano in assembly hall

DSC_0699zb-2_zpsdd206383.jpg


18: From the rear of the assembly hall

DSC_0707zb-2_zps23cb4cf2.jpg


19: The projection room above the assembly hall

DSC_0832za-2_zpsfa33cb50.jpg


20: The upper stands in the assembly hall

DSC_0845za-2_zpsf0757a93.jpg


21: The scaffolding and ropes for the stage

DSC_0857zb-2_zps47bdd206.jpg


22: Inside the large organ in the assembly hall

DSC_0863za-2_zpsb28763c0.jpg


23: The costume and props room (backstage)

DSC_0879za-3_zpsf013529e.jpg


24: Ping pong tables in entrance area

DSC_0734za-2_zps021172cf.jpg


25: Cleaning Device

DSC_0741za-2_zps0f00710c.jpg


26: Service Posters

DSC_0742za-2_zps0f0e5af2.jpg


27: Traditional school projector

DSC_0749za-2_zps8ca43880.jpg


28: The board of awards

DSC_0755zb-3_zps3ea05f98.jpg


29: The counsellors office

DSC_0759za-2_zps402808ea.jpg


30: The TV room

DSC_0766za-2_zps07c16767.jpg


 

WildBoyz

OS Member
OS Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
664
Reaction score
500
Points
93
31: Main corridor study desks (outside lunch hall)

DSC_0781za-2_zps877eb4bc.jpg


32: Inside the kitchen

DSC_0806zb-2_zpse158e187.jpg


33: Providing good nutrients to the children

DSC_0794za-2_zps61ae30fa.jpg


34: An interesting kitchen appliance

DSC_0797za-2_zps15e5bef7.jpg


35: Cello in the music corridor

DSC_0886za-2_zpsbc225047.jpg


36: Song sheet stand

DSC_0761za-2_zps8ab441a0.jpg


37: Keyboard number one

DSC_0903za-2_zps9db89574.jpg


38: Keyboard number two

DSC_0904za-2_zpsc1de8224.jpg


39: Amplifier

DSC_0905za-2_zps414dd176.jpg


40: Sports/PE classroom

DSC_0890za-2_zps8ea3cc56.jpg


41: Posters on the wall in the PE classroom

DSC_0892za-2_zps838c7adc.jpg


42: Swimming float outside PE classroom

DSC_0896za-2_zps5e971d3d.jpg


43: The library

DSC_0950zb-2_zps4161eada.jpg


44: The book of Mormon

DSC_0969za-2_zpsa6825306.jpg


45: Outside of the library (dormitories in the distance)

DSC_0984za-2_zps2fa6d74c.jpg


 

DirtyJigsaw

Full Member
OS Full member
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
676
Reaction score
409
Points
63
Location
London
WOW! A lot to see there. I like the mixture of colour and black and white shots too. Very nice indeed, thanks for putting this up

 

WildBoyz

OS Member
OS Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
664
Reaction score
500
Points
93
WOW! A lot to see there. I like the mixture of colour and black and white shots too. Very nice indeed, thanks for putting this up
Cheers (y) The site was massive. So much to get around! Thanks for looking!

 

Urbexbandoned

Full Member
OS Full member
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Messages
2,218
Reaction score
855
Points
113
Location
Lincoln
This looks great, loads to see. I'm really liking that pool, (y)

:comp

 

WildBoyz

OS Member
OS Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
664
Reaction score
500
Points
93
This looks great, loads to see. I'm really liking that pool, (y) :comp
Thanks (y) One of the largest abandoned pools I've ever seen.

 

skeleton key

Full Member
OS Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
4,213
Reaction score
31
Points
48
That does look a fair size place with loads left behind and good to see :D

I now have a image in my head with the place surrounded by a load f Mormons with pitchforks :eek:

With the School closed and set for demo I wonder what they thought they were protecting (y)

 

WildBoyz

OS Member
OS Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
664
Reaction score
500
Points
93
That does look a fair size place with loads left behind and good to see :D I now have a image in my head with the place surrounded by a load f Mormons with pitchforks :eek:

With the School closed and set for demo I wonder what they thought they were protecting (y)
 

hamtagger

OS Full member
OS Full member
Joined
Jan 30, 2014
Messages
3,517
Reaction score
1,062
Points
113
Location
Lincoln
What a massive place and lots to see. Another belter of a post mate (y)

 

WildBoyz

OS Member
OS Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
664
Reaction score
500
Points
93
What a massive place and lots to see. Another belter of a post mate (y)
We spent absolutely ages here and still didn't manage to explore some of the dorm buildings. Cheers (y)

 
Top