BLACKS HOTEL
Blacks is a 1920’s Art Deco Hotel with bar, restaurant and accommodation. With...
01 October, 2019
ON MAY 7, 1875 OUR WEE TOWN BECAME KNOWN AS OPHIR. THIS WEBSITE IS THE STORY AND REPOSITORY OF OUR TOWN PAST AND PRESENT.
IT WASN’T ALWAYS CALLED OPHIR. GOLD WAS DISCOVERED HERE ON THE SHEEP STATION OWNED BY CHARLES BLACK IN 1863, AT THE FOOT OF BLACKS HILL AND THE EDGE OF THE MANUHERIKEA RIVER. THE SETTLEMENT THAT POPPED BY QUICKLY WAS FIRST KNOWN AS BLACKS DIGGINGS, THEN SHORTENED TO SIMPLY BLACKS.
UPCOMING EVENTS
31 January 2026
Matt Joe Gow returns to the Ophir Hall with support from Mellisa Partridge.
13 February 2026
Folk, pop, jazz, arabic and eastern music by talented duo Seel & Sanders. Playing at the Ophir Hall.
Swimming Pool
Open through summer. Adults $5, kids $2.
21 February 2026
James Gray, all the way from Canada, plays the Ophir Hall as part of his NZ tour.
OPHIR AWESOME
Morning Coffee, Lunch and Dinner
Pitches Store is the perfect place to stop for a bite, a drink, or stay in a bou...
02 October, 2019
Take it to the bridge
During the early days of the Ophir gold rush, the Manuherikia River was a danger...
03 October, 2019
Ophir Old
Ophir is a village which ranks alongside St Bathans and Clyde as one of the coun...
04 October, 2019
News & Events
head to our dedicated events page here for our current events For a small hamlet...
05 October, 2019
Chinese History
In 1864, just as Otago’s easy deposits of alluvial gold had been picked over, ...
06 October, 2019
Meet the locals
No, not Sam, local legend, but the dogs of Ophir. If you’ve heard the expr...
07 October, 2019
Discoveries
There’s still gold to be unearthed in Ophir, but its mainly remnants of th...
08 October, 2019
Happy trails
Surrounded by hills and old gold mining tacks, Ophir is ideally suited as a base...
01 November, 2019
The Bangers of Ophir
One of the benefits of life in a dry climate is that it is very kind to old meta...
02 November, 2019
The pointy end
Tucked away in a small lean-to in Omakau is the workshop of Ophir resident Peter...
03 November, 2019
Schist it’s cold
OK, there’s no denying it, and we we might as well embrace it. It gets col...
13 November, 2019