Introduction to the Pacific Church History Library

Our Facility

The Matthew Cowley Pacific Church History Centre, which includes the Pacific Church History Library and Pacific Church History Museum, opened in 2017. The state-of-the-art library preserves and provides access to thousands of journals, photographs, books, and audio and video recordings that chronicle the history of the Church in the South Pacific. Materials stored in the library’s secure, environmentally controlled archive can be used by visitors in a public reading room equipped with computer, printer, and scanner stations. Patrons may also bring personal laptops to the reading room.

Our Collection

The Pacific Church History Centre collects materials by or about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the majority of the collection relates to New Zealand, there are also records from Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia (Tahiti), Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Missionary journals and oral and video histories from these countries offer rich firsthand accounts of how the Church was established and has grown in the South Pacific. Historic photographs provide a window into the lives of early missionaries and converts. The collection also includes records from the Church College of New Zealand, documenting academics, sports, and student life at the school.

Our Staff

Our library is staffed by missionaries and volunteers trained to help everyone—from family historians to professional researchers—find records that make Church history come alive. Email the staff before you arrive to help them prepare for your visit.

The Story Lives Here

Since its organisation in 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has followed the divine mandate to collect “all things which shall be for the good of the church, and for the rising generations that shall grow up on the land” (D&C 69:8). This short video called 'The Story Lives Here' gives a brief overview of the mission and purpose of the Church History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Pacific Church History Library in Temple View, New Zealand.