Aquinas College is one of the

Residential Colleges A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship ...

of the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, named after St.

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

, located in the suburb of Dalmore. Formerly a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

institution in the care of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

from the 1950s, between the early 1980s and 1988, the college was owned by the

Elim Pentecostal Church The Elim Pentecostal Church is a UK-based Pentecostal Christian denomination. It was founded in Ireland in 1915 by George Jeffreys and is the second-largest Pentecostal denomination in the UK. History George Jeffreys (1889–1962), a Welshm ...

, where it was used primarily by parishioners, but also by backpackers and students. The college was bought by the university in 1988 and was run for a time under the name Dalmore House, with the original name later restored. Aquinas College maintains much of the 1950s architecture, but recently there have been major facility upgrades. The college currently houses 152 university students, making it one of the smaller University of Otago residential colleges. Notable among its facilities is its gymnasium, being the only college to have an indoor basketball court. Aquinas was originally an all-male facility, with nearby Dominican Hall serving as a

sister college A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

for female students.Clarke, Al
"The Park St residences"
2 October 2017, retrieved 29 march 2025

Notable residents

References

External links

Official website
Buildings and structures of the University of Otago 1950s architecture in New Zealand Ted McCoy buildings {{NewZealand-university-stub