RMS Ophir

RMS Ophir was a twin-screw ocean liner of the Orient Steam Navigation Company of London, which worked company's London — Aden — Colombo — Australia route from 1891. In 1901 she served as the Royal yacht HMS Ophir. In 1915 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and was an armed merchant cruiser until 1918, when she was returned to her owners. She was not restored to passenger service, but was scrapped in 1922.

History

One appreciative passenger was "the Welsh Swagman" Joseph Jenkins who embarked at Melbourne on 24 November 1894, bound for Tilbury Docks in a second-class cabin at the fare of £26 15s 6d. When he first saw the vessel, it appeared so huge that he wrote "it is a wonder to me that it would move". Jenkins, a noted diarist, proceeded to record in detail the 103-day voyage passing through the new Suez Canal.

In 1901, as HMS Ophir, she took the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future King George V and Queen Mary) on their tour of the British Empire. The visit was scheduled to open the new Federal Parliament in Melbourne, Australia, but the royal party also visited Gibraltar, Malta, Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. The Admiralty provided crew for the tour, while the engine-room staff came from the Orient Company´s own engineers.

Ophir

Ophir (/ˈfər/;Hebrew: אוֹפִיר, Modern Ofir, Tiberian ʼÔp̄îr) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes and peacocks from Ophir, every three years.

Biblical references

Ophir in Genesis 10 (the Table of Nations) is said to be the name of one of the sons of Joktan. The Books of Kings and Chronicles tell of a joint expedition to Ophir by King Solomon and the Tyrian king Hiram I from Eziongeber, a port on the Red Sea, that brought back large amounts of gold, precious stones and 'algum wood' and of a later failed expedition by king Jehoshaphat of Judah. The famous 'gold of Ophir' is referenced in several other books of the Hebrew Bible.

Early Christian traditions

Details about the three of Joktan's sons, Sheba, Ophir and Havilah, were preserved in a tradition known in divergent forms from three early Christian (pre-Islamic) sources: the Arabic Kitab al-Magall (part of Clementine literature), the Syriac Cave of Treasures, and the Ethiopic Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan.

Ophir railway station

Ophir railway station is located in the community of Ophir, Manitoba. This station is currently in use by Via Rail. Transcontinental Canadian trains stop here.

Footnotes

External links

  • Ophir railway station

  • Ophir (disambiguation)

    Ophir (sometimes spelled Ofir) is a region mentioned in the Bible that was famous for its wealth. It may also refer to:

    People

    Ophir is used as a first and last name among people of Jewish heritage, and others. One of the common Hebrew translations for Goldman and Goldstein:

  • Ophir, one of the sons of Joktan (Genesis 10:29)
  • Ophir Pines-Paz, the Interior Minister of Israel, a Knesset member and one of the prominent members of the Israeli Labour Party
  • Adi Ophir, an Israeli philosopher at Tel Aviv University
  • Shaike Ophir was an Israeli film actor, mime and comedian, considered one of the most important entertainers in Israel from the fifties up to the eighties.
  • Other places

  • Colonia Ofir, a Russian settlement in Uruguay
  • Mount Ophir, a 1276m high mountain in Muar, Malaysia, also known as Gunung Ledang
  • Ophir, New South Wales, a locality where gold was first discovered in Australia in 1851
  • Ophir, New Zealand, a small town in Central Otago
  • Ophir, Ontario, Canada, a small farming community in Northern Ontario's Algoma District
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