Ophir, New Zealand

Ophir Post and Telegraph Office

Ophir is a small settlement in Central Otago, New Zealand, located between Alexandra and Ranfurly close to the east bank of the Manuherikia River. The settlement of Omakau is located on the opposite bank, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the northwest.

Ophir was originally known as Blacks, when gold was discovered in Central Otago in 1863 Ophir's population grew to over 1000 as it became the commercial and social centre of the district. It was renamed Ophir at this time which was where King Solomon obtained the gold to sheath the Temple in Jerusalem, and is thus the place name of the legendary "King Solomon's Goldmines".

Today, with a current population of only 50, the town is also known for the many original buildings still surviving including the restored Post and Telegraph Office, the 1895 Courthouse, and the 1870s Police Station. The Post Office is a schist and stone masonry structure built in 1886, and registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I Historic Place (List number 341, 22 November 1984).^[1]

New Zealand's second-lowest official temperature of -21.6 °C was recorded at Ophir on 3 July 1995, even though it is not located at a high elevation.^[2]^[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ophir, New Zealand.

↑ "Ophir Post Office". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
↑ "NZ's temperature record hits new low - minus 25.6degC". The New Zealand Herald. 12 July 2011.
↑ "Summary of New Zealand Climate Extremes". National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). January 2004.

Towns and communities in the Central Otago District

Alexandra Ward	Alexandra Bridge Hill Butcher's Gully Conroys Gully Galloway Letts Gully Springvale

Cromwell Ward	Bannockburn Bendigo Cornish Point Cromwell Lindis Pass Lowburn Mount Pisa Northburn Pisa Moorings Queensberry Tarras

Earnscleugh-Manuherikia Ward	Becks Blackmans Blackstone Hill Chatto Creek Clyde Earnscleugh Fruitlands Lauder Little Valley Omakau Ophir Poolburn Saint Bathans

Maniototo Ward	Danseys Pass Idaburn Kyeburn Kyeburn Diggings Naseby Oturehua Paerau Patearoa Ranfurly Waipiata Wedderburn

Roxburgh Ward	Coal Creek Flat Dumbarton Ettrick Lake Roxburgh Millers Flat Raes Junction Roxburgh Teviot

Coordinates: 45°07′S 169°36′E / 45.117°S 169.600°E / -45.117; 169.600

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