Gurdwaras in Oceania
The first Sikhs to come to Oceania arrived in Australia and Fiji in the mid to late 19th and early 20th centuries. They came to both nations as labourers to work on the cane fields, although some came to Australia as cameleers, with some going to Fiji to work in the police forces. Despite their early arrival it was only in 1922 that the first Sikh gurdwara (place of worship) was built in region. The Gurdwara Sahib Samabula was located at Samabula part of the greater Suva metropolitan area in Fiji. In Australia the first gurdwara, the First Sikh Temple in Woolgoolga would be built only in 1968, the time lag due mainly to the enactment of the restrictive White Australia Policy which came into effect in 1901.
As Sikhs make up only a small minority of the population of Oceania, the term 'temple' is often used in place of 'gurdwara' especially by those not in the Sikh community. The names of the gurdwaras are usually used only for official purposes, with the Sikh congregation usually differentiating between gurdwaras using location. Oceania contains the most southern gurdwara, the Wellington Gurdwara in Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand.
The architecture of gurdwaras in the region varies from magnificent domed buildings, like the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Woolgoolga to utilising former churches, like that of the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar in Allenby Gardens, South Australia or simple rectangular buildings like the Sikh Gurdwara Newcastle in Shortland, New South Wales.
Australia
Victoria
New South Wales
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
| Name |
Street |
Suburb, City |
| Sikh Association of Western Australia Inc. |
123 Saddleback Grove |
Canning Vale, Perth |
| Sikh Gurdwara Perth |
13 Murray Street |
Bayswater, Perth |
Fiji
| Name |
Street |
City |
| Gurdwara Sahib Samabula |
Ratu Mara Road |
Suva |
| Gurdwara Lautoka |
|
Nadi, Lautoka |
| Lautoka Sikh Temple |
Vitogo Parade |
Lautoka |
| Tagi Tagi Sikh Temple |
|
Tagi Tagi, Tavua |
| Khalsa College |
|
Ba |
| Nasinu Ravidas Gurdwara |
|
Nasinu, Suva |
| Labasa Gurdwara |
|
Labasa |
New Guinea
New Zealand
| Name [1] |
Street |
Suburb, City, Region |
| Gurudwara Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib Ji [2] |
4/3034 Great North Road (Veronica Court) |
New Lynn, Auckland |
| Sri Guru Nanak Dev Sikh Sangat Gurudwara Sahib Ji |
120 Princess Street |
Otahuhu, Auckland |
| Gurudwara Sri Kalgidhar Sahib |
70 Takanini School Road |
Takanini, Auckland |
| Shri Guru Singh Sabha |
127 Shirely Road |
Papatoetoe, Auckland |
| Shri Dashmesh Darbar |
158 Kolmar Road |
Papatoetoe, Auckland |
| Nanaksar Thath Isher Darbar (Gursikh Temple) |
100-106 Great South Road |
Manurewa, Auckland |
| Shri Guru Ravidas Temple |
|
Bombay Hills |
| Tauranga Gurdwara |
R-41 Cheyne Road East |
Oropi, Tauranga, Bay of Plenty |
| Bay of Plenty Gurdwara |
26 No. 3 Road |
Te Puke, Bay of Plenty |
| New Zealand Sikh Society |
402 Eastbourne St East |
Hastings, Hawke's Bay |
| Sikh Temple Palmerston North |
7 Amesbury Street |
Palmerston North, Manawatu-Wanganui |
| Hamilton Gurdwara |
6391 State Highway 1 |
Te Rapa, Hamilton, Waikato |
| Wellington Gurdwara |
8 Button Lane |
Waitangirua, Porirua, Wellington |
| Gurdwara Singh Sabha |
|
Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Gurudwara Ravidass Sabha |
|
Nelson, Hastings |
See also
References