Dunedin Synagogue

Last updated

Dunedin Synagogue
OldDunedinSynagogue.jpg
The former 1863 synagogue building, in Moray Place
Religion
Affiliation Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status Synagogue
StatusActive
Location
Location North Dunedin, South Island
Country New Zealand
NZ-SI plain map.png
Disc Plain red.svg
Location of the synagogue on the South Island
AdministrationDunedin Jewish Congregation
Geographic coordinates 45°51′37.44″S170°30′41.57″E / 45.8604000°S 170.5115472°E / -45.8604000; 170.5115472
Architecture
Architect(s)
Type Synagogue architecture
Date established1862 (as a congregation)
Completed
  • 1863 (Moray Place #1)
  • 1881 (Moray Place #2)
  • 1965 (North Dunedin)

The Dunedin Synagogue is a Progressive Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in North Dunedin, on the South Island of New Zealand. It is reputedly the world's southernmost permanent synagogue, although a further synagogue operated briefly in King Edward Street, South Dunedin from late 2017 until 2019.

Contents

The congregation's first synagogue was completed in 1863, enlarged at an adjacent location in 1881, and relocated to a more modest suburban structure, completed in 1965. The term, Dunedin Synagogue, can refer to the historic 1863 building, the old Dunedin 1881 synagogue, the current 1965 synagogue, and to the Dunedin Jewish Congregation. [1]

History

Moray Place, first synagogue

Dunedin's first Jewish congregation assembled in January 1862 in the home of H.E. Nathan in George Street. With 43 members, it was clear that a more permanent base was needed, and a site in Moray Place. A synagogue, designed by W. H. Sumner, was built and opened in September 1863. [2] This building was used until 1881, by which time it was proving too small for the growing congregation. [3] The building was sold to the Freemasons, who occupied it until 1992 as a Masonic Lodge. Since that time it has been a private residence, and was an art gallery (the Temple Gallery) during the 2000s, before reverting to being a private residence. [4] This structure is the southernmost permanent site, past or present, of a synagogue in the world.

Moray Place, second synagogue

Plans to move to a larger synagogue were being made by 1875. By this time the congregation had grown to the point that the new synagogue was to be one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, and one of the largest places of worship of any denomination in Dunedin. [2] The new building, opened in 1881, was built almost directly across Moray Place from the first synagogue, and was designed by Louis Boldini with a facade ornamented by a series of Doric columns. The building was capable of holding a congregation of 600 people. [2] This building served as the city's synagogue until 1965, when the now dwindled congregation moved to a new, smaller building in George Street. The Boldini synagogue was sold to the Y.M.C.A. and was demolished shortly afterwards to make way for that organisation's new building. The site of this structure is now that of a multi-storey car park building.

Dunedin North, third synagogue

The current and third synagogue was erected in 1965 in Dunedin North, not far from the University of Otago. A more modest building than its predecessors, the building is compact and is constructed of concrete block. It was designed by John Goldwater, a Jewish New Zealand architect who also more famously designed the Auckland Jewish community centre. As with its predecessors, it lays claim to being the world's southernmost permanent synagogue. [5]

Congregation

The Dunedin Jewish Congregation is a Progressive Jewish community and a member of the Union for Progressive Judaism (UPJ), the regional division of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Services are held approximately one Friday a month along with most holidays.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selwyn College, Otago</span> Residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand

Selwyn College is a residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill as a theological college training clergy for the Anglican Church and as a hall of residence for students attending the university. It is named after George Augustus Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand and is owned by the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin. It was opened on 15 January 1893. It was Otago's first residential college and on the model of an English university college it included students of all subjects. Women were admitted in 1983. The main building is listed as a Category II Historic Place. Selwyn is one of the most popular colleges in Dunedin, its 214 available places oversubscribed every year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Church of Otago</span>

First Church is a prominent church in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located in the heart of the city on Moray Place, 100 metres to the south of the city centre. The church is the city's primary Presbyterian church. The building is regarded as the most impressive of New Zealand's nineteenth-century churches, and is listed by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princes Street, Dunedin</span> Street in Dunedin, New Zealand

Princes Street is a major street in Dunedin, the second largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs south-southwest for two kilometres from The Octagon in the city centre to the Oval sports ground, close to the city's Southern Cemetery. North of The Octagon, George Street continues the line of Princes Street north-northeast for two and a half kilometres. Princes Street is straight but undulating, skirting the edge of the City Rise to its northwest. The part of the street immediately below The Octagon is the steepest section, as the road traverses an old cutting through Bell Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moray Place, Dunedin</span> Street in Dunedin, Otago Region, New Zealand

Moray Place is an octagonal street which surrounds the city centre of Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. The street is intersected by Stuart Street, Princes Street and George Street. Like many streets in Dunedin, it is named for a street in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Lawson (architect)</span> NZ architect

Robert Arthur Lawson was one of New Zealand's pre-eminent 19th century architects. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography states that he did more than any other designer to shape the face of the Victorian era architecture of the city of Dunedin. He is the architect of over forty churches, including Dunedin's First Church for which he is best remembered, but also other buildings, such as Larnach Castle, a country house, with which he is also associated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarajevo Synagogue</span> Orthodox synagogue in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Sarajevo Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on the south bank of the river Miljacka, in Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The synagogue was constructed in 1902 and is the only functioning synagogue in Sarajevo today. The congregation worships in the Ashkenazi rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in New Zealand</span> Ethnic group

New Zealand Jews, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion, form with Hawaii (8,000–10,000), the joint-second largest (7,500–10,000) Jewish community in Oceania, behind Australia (118,000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caversham, New Zealand</span> Suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand

Caversham is one of the older suburbs (neighbourhoods) of the city of Dunedin, in New Zealand's South Island. It is sited at the western edge of the city's central plain at the mouth of the steep Caversham Valley, which rises to the saddle of Lookout Point. Major road and rail routes south lie nearby; the South Island Main Trunk railway runs through the suburb, and a bypass skirts its main retail area, connecting Dunedin's one-way street system with the Dunedin Southern Motorway. The suburb is linked by several bus routes to its neighbouring suburbs and central Dunedin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gardens Shul</span> Modern Orthodox synagogue in Cape Town, South Africa

The Gardens Shul, formally the Cape Town Hebrew Congregation (CTHC), also called the Great Synagogue, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Company Gardens, in the Gardens neighborhood of Cape Town, South Africa. The congregation was established in 1841, making it the oldest Jewish congregation in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knox Church, Dunedin</span>

Knox Church is a notable building in Dunedin, New Zealand. It houses the city's second Presbyterian congregation and is the city's largest church of any denomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom</span> Reform synagogue in Louisville, Kentucky, US

Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 5101 US Hwy 42, in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Ahavath Achim</span> Modern Orthodox synagogue and historic former synagogue in Connecticut, US

Congregation Ahavath Achim is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayswater Synagogue</span> Former synagogue in London, England

Bayswater Synagogue was an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located in Chichester Place, Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, England, in the United Kingdom. The congregation worshipped in the Ashkenazi rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool Reform Synagogue</span> Reform synagogue in Liverpool, England

Liverpool Reform Synagogue is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue in Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism.

The Temple Israel is a Progressive Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Hillbrow, a suburb of Johannesburg, in the district of Gauteng, South Africa. Designed by Hermann Kallenbach in the Art Deco style, the synagogue was completed in 1936 and is the oldest of eleven Progressive synagogues in South Africa. The synagogue is classified as a provincial heritage site. The congregation is affiliated with the South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ), which is part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ).

Beit Emanuel, formally the Temple Emamuel, is a Progressive Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Parktown, a suburb of Johannesburg, in the district of Gauteng, South Africa. The synagogue was established in 1954 and is one of the largest Progressive Jewish congregations in South Africa. It is an affiliate of the South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ), which is part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ).

Louis Boldini was an Italian-born architect who made considerable contributions to the architecture of Dunedin, New Zealand and Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Dunedin</span> Church in Dunedin, New Zealand

St Andrew's Presbyterian Church was a prominent church in Dunedin, New Zealand. Designed by pre-eminent Dunedin Robert Lawson it was constructed in 1870 to serve a rapidly developing area of the city which became notorious for its slum housing, poverty and crime which led to it being referred to as the "Devil's Half-Acre" from 1873 onwards. The church is best known for its long time crusading minister the Reverend Rutherford Waddell. Waddell's 'Sin of Cheapness' sermon which was a landmark in New Zealand's social and labour history was delivered from its pulpit. It eventually closed as a place of Presbyterian worship in 1978 and after briefly serving as a place of worship for the Word of Life Pentecostal Church it was purchased by the Coptic Orthodox Church in 2000, who renamed it the Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church.

References

  1. "Home page". Dunedin Jewish Congregation. Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.[ self-published source? ]
  2. 1 2 3 Croot, Charles (1999). Dunedin churches: Past and present. Dunedin: Otago Settlers Association. pp. 63–64. ISBN   0-473-03979-6
  3. Knight, Hardwicke (1993) Church Building in Otago. Dunedin: Hardwicke Knight. ISBN   0-9597857-9-5. pp.85–87
  4. Dunedin arts directory Archived 26 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  5. Croot, Charles (1999). Dunedin churches: Past and present. Dunedin: Otago Settlers Association. p. 115. ISBN   0-473-03979-6