OConnell Bridge

Ophir, Central Otago

Code: NZODO

Ophir, located 2Km from Omakau on the Omakau-Ida Valley road and bypassed by the Otago Central Railway, was the Manuherikia Valley’s main population centre.

The town has historic buildings like the village hall and the stone post office built in1886. The main street hosts the policeman’s house and goal (restored by the local community), cottage hospital, bank, dress shop, the bakery and, south of town, spanning Manuherikia River, the Daniel O'Connell Bridge.

One of the last surviving suspension bridges in Central Otago it was built in 1880 and named after a nineteenth century political leader; recognising the many Irish settlers living in and around Ophir.