Heavenly Queen Temple, Chinese temple in Footscray, Melbourne, Australia
Heavenly Queen Temple is a Chinese temple in Footscray, a suburb west of Melbourne, situated along the Maribyrnong River. It consists of several prayer halls, a Chinese garden, and a large gilded statue at its center.
The temple's first stage was completed in 2013 after five years of construction, costing $5 million. The main hall opened to the public in 2015, and two additional halls were finished in 2020. Its 15-metre gold-painted stainless steel statue of Mazu was imported from Nanjing and installed in 2008, the second of its kind in Australia.
The temple is dedicated to Mazu, a sea goddess widely revered among Chinese communities around the world. Visitors can watch people burning incense and leaving offerings at the shrines, especially during festivals tied to the lunar calendar.
The temple is easy to reach by public transport from central Melbourne, as Footscray has a train station and several bus lines. Visitors should wear modest clothing and remove their shoes before entering the inner areas.
The 15-metre gilded statue of Mazu was made in Nanjing and installed in 2008, before any hall opened; it was the second statue of its kind in Australia. The figure stands on a lotus pedestal above a grey stone base with plaques inscribed in Chinese, facing the Maribyrnong River.
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