Auckland Hebrew Congregation

Auckland Hebrew Congregation is a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Remuera, a suburb of Auckland. The congregation previously occupied University House (Princes Street Synagogue) from 1885, before relocating to a larger building on Greys Avenue in 1968. The congregation moved again in 2022, having purchased the campus of Saint Kentigern Girls' School in Remuera. The synagogue serves around 500 local families.

Princes Street
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. The foundation stone was laid by David Nathan (1816–1886), an early Jewish settler and founder of the L.D. Nathan chain of stores, and the synagogue opened on 9 November 1885. The building could seat 375 people. It was built on the site of an earlier military guardhouse 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. The building has a Category I listing with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

In 1968, the congregation moved to a new synagogue on Greys Avenue. Ownership of the property reverted to Auckland City Council as part of the Albert Park Reserve following the deconsecration. 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. The building currently serves as the University of Auckland's Alumni Relations and Development office.

Greys Avenue
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. The Princes Street synagogue was deconsecrated in 1969. The new inner-city synagogue was consecrated on 8 September 1968. 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. The synagogue and complex underwent a US$6.63 million refurbishment in 2008 and future Jewish prime minister, John Key, attended the reopening. In 2010, the congregation led a successful challenge against the New Zealand government, allowing shechita, after a ban had been put in place. 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. The buildings and sanctuary were used for filming by Simone Nathan in her 2022 TV series, Kid Sister. The Greys Avenue complex was also home to Kadimah, the Jewish primary school, Auckland Jewish Immigration and the city's only kosher café.

Remuera Road
In 2019, with the assistance of the Woolf Fisher Trust, the congregation purchased the campus of Saint Kentigern Girls' School in Remuera. Kadimah relocated from Grey's Avenue to the Remuera campus in 2023. 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. The city's Reform congregation, Beth Shalom has also been invited to relocate to the campus. The Auckland Hebrew Congregation plans to build a new sanctuary and synagogue in the future on the grounds of the campus. 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. The property and campus later formed part of Corran School, a private girls school, before becoming Saint Kentigern's Girls' School following a 2009 merger. There are also plans for a mikvah on the site, a cultural centre and provision for Jewish youth groups. 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.