1950–1953 The construction of the school and the
temple commenced in the 1950s, overseen by George R. Beisinger, the general supervisor of Church building in the South Pacific. Because of stringent economic conditions in
New Zealand, no subcontractors could be engaged, no skilled labour was available, and there were no domestic sources of supply for the bulk of needed materials. He would have to import his own cement, hardware, structural and other materials mostly from the US. As for labour he would have to leave that to providence. The labour for the construction was performed by volunteer workers known as
labour missionaries. The workers were given a small allowance of 10
shillings per week for basic necessities, and initially were called to serve for two years. Many however extended their time upwards to between 8 and 10 years. When they arrived, the missionaries converged on a home called the "Green House" that had been moved from one part of the project to its new location for meetings, meals at times and as a general place to socialise. There was a movie night once a week. It also served as temporary accommodation for some of the missionaries. The winter at this particular time was harsh (by
New Zealand standards) and the land surrounding the green house was mud. The only available form of transportation at the time happened to be a jeep which was put to good use by Elder Beisinger to get around the project.
Church services were conducted for a time in a building in the former Garden Place in Hamilton, which competed with another church on the street below. Later early morning
seminary type meetings were held on the building site for the missionaries before going to work. The first house was completed in 1952 and occupied by George Beisinger. A large part of the farmland of the project was
peat, and it was transformed slowly into
arable land with the help of an agricultural expert called from the U.S. Often the peat would burn, and it wasn't unusual to see peat fires off in the distance. There was often a dusty reddish atmosphere about parts of the project because of the peat. The farmland itself became a source of vegetables for the missionaries. Wheat was also grown, and there were also cattle and sheep. The bricks used for construction were manufactured at an onsite plant that was put into operation in 1951. Many of the bricks were sent abroad for use in buildings in
Tonga and
Samoa. A new plant was built in 1956, and it was noted that the quality of the bricks manufactured improved greatly.
1954–1955 Church activities started to be held at Temple View in 1954, and these were called "Hui Tau". The activities, which usually lasted for a week, included dancing, singing, sports, and church services. They were attended by LDS members and missionaries from across New Zealand. The proselyting missionaries were billeted out with various families in Temple View. The members who had traveled far usually stayed in makeshift accommodations. Initially many stayed in improvised sleeping quarters in the
joinery building which was one of the first of the bigger buildings constructed and the school classroom buildings. The various musical items, skits and other stage activities were held in the joinery building in the evenings. For the next "Hui Taus" accommodations were in tents which at the time were located on farmland below the schools tennis courts, next to what was called "Mara Park". Accommodation was built for single men and for families. The single men were accommodated in a
dormitory which was nicknamed "the
bunkhouse". The men's showers were located across from their accommodation. Small cottages were built for the families in the area behind where the George R. Biesinger (GRB) Hall is today.Concrete pathways were built to connect the buildings. There was a small canteen to serve the basic daily needs of the missionaries. Food was sent in from members throughout the country, and some was grown or made locally. It was also standard procedure for golden queen peaches to be sent from
Hawkes Bay to be made into
preserves during the summer months. Butter was also manufactured on site. A makeshift
abattoir was built to provide the meat for consumption. At times younger children (both local and American) would wait for the slaughter of the sheep to retrieve
knucklebones for a school time game. The construction of amenities, general purpose buildings, and school buildings occupied the lives of the building missionaries during their working hours. Concrete was poured by hand via a portable
concrete mixer that was loaded by hand with the correct mix of sand and concrete, mixed with the right amount of water and then poured into
wheelbarrows which the building missionaries wheeled to wherever it was needed. The whole of the project was usually mobilized for a cement pour, and the sisters always provided refreshments for the workers throughout the night. "Kai Hall" became the church service building on Sunday while construction on site was in progress. The building was also used for social activities as well. Movies were shown on Friday night. In the evenings a section of the building was used as a gymnasium for the building missionaries during their after hours. The labour missionaries held many joint social activities with the public from Hamilton in this building. These activities such as formal dances and concerts did much for local public relations. There was also a
big band scene. A band was formed from the building missionaries who were instrumentalists, which performed at concerts and for any major ball that was held. At about this same time a big band ensemble from the US was touring New Zealand, and as part of their tour they visited Temple View and performed. In time the music of choice for local dances came from the younger missionary groups that comprised 3 guitarists and a drummer. Several concerts were also performed by the building missionaries in the Embassy theatre in Hamilton.
1955–1958 David O. McKay visited New Zealand in 1955, and was duly impressed with the project. He initially came to curtail the building programme, but on visiting with the members, feeling their enthusiasm and goodwill and inspecting the construction sites he decided to expand it. He authorised the construction of two more buildings: the David O. McKay Auditorium and the Matthew Cowley administration building. The classrooms and the dormitories under construction were initially to be the extent of the school. A little later on looking up at the hill of the farm adjacent to the project he pointed and said a "there we shall build a temple". The building programme took on added emphasis with the announcement of the construction of the Temple and the two additional school buildings. The ground for the temple was broken on 21 December by President
Wendell B. Mendenhall. President McKay had given everyone two years to build the temple. Elder Rosenvall who was previously working on the motel was set apart to supervise the building of the temple. As the project grew it became a centre of attraction for the people in the area, and tours were conducted for the general public around the project on the weekends. ==Education==