SS Ophir
Encyclopedia
The SS Ophir was a British steel twin-screw ocean liner
owned by the Orient Steamship Co. of London, which was employed on the company's London/Aden/Colombo/Australia service from the 1890s until 1915 when she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and saw three years' service as an armed merchant cruiser. She was returned to the owners in 1918 but was never refitted, being broken up in 1922.
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, the restyled HMS
Ophir conveyed the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future King George V
, and Queen Mary
) to Australia to open the new Federal Parliament in Melbourne A petty officer
named Harry Price
was with the tour from February to November 1901, and made a careful record, later published as The Royal Tour 1901, or the Cruise of H.M.S. Ophir; Being a Lower Deck Account of their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York's Voyage Around the British Empire.
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
owned by the Orient Steamship Co. of London, which was employed on the company's London/Aden/Colombo/Australia service from the 1890s until 1915 when she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and saw three years' service as an armed merchant cruiser. She was returned to the owners in 1918 but was never refitted, being broken up in 1922.
One appreciative passenger was "the Welsh Swagman" Joseph Jenkins
Joseph Jenkins
Joseph Jenkins , was an educated tenant farmer from Tregaron, Ceredigion, mid-Wales who, when aged over 50, suddenly deserted his home and large family to seek his fortune in Australia...
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
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
.
In 1901, the restyled HMS
Her Majesty's Ship
Her or His Majesty's Ship is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies, either formally or informally.-HMS:* In the British Royal Navy, it refers to the king or queen of the United Kingdom as appropriate at the time...
Ophir conveyed the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
) to Australia to open the new Federal Parliament in Melbourne A petty officer
Petty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
named Harry Price
Harry Price (Royal Navy)
Harry Price DSM was an ordinary seaman of the Royal Navy. He became a well travelled figure, producing accounts and drawings of his travels, and publishing his account of the Royal cruise he was part of aboard the temporarily commissioned HMS Ophir in 1901...
was with the tour from February to November 1901, and made a careful record, later published as The Royal Tour 1901, or the Cruise of H.M.S. Ophir; Being a Lower Deck Account of their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York's Voyage Around the British Empire.
External links
- Shipping News monograph with photo
- Interior gallery and saloon at English Heritage Images
- Cinematographic presentation of the Ophir voyage at Sandringham
- 'Our Navy' film of the Ophir Cruise shown by Alfred J West by Royal Command at Sandringham