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Upon their return to Alice Springs, the O’Keeffes undertook similar roles at the Aboriginal community of
Jay Creek. A further move was made in much the same roles to the Bungalow near Alice Springs, the former
telegraph station that had become a home for part Aboriginal people. John’s job was to order and distribute rations
to the Aborigines and Olive O’Keeffe not only nursed in the traditional sense but also attended to a range of human
care activities. After some years work at the Bungalow, O’Keeffe was offered a job at the Alice Springs Hospital.
Her task was to start a ‘Native Ward’, which she ran for many years.
The ‘Native Ward’ was a large corrugated iron and flywire (with canvas blinds) structure that held up to
70 patients. It was a recycled Army building. ‘Keeffie ran it with great aplomb’, according to Win Snodgrass who
first worked with O’Keeffe in Alice Springs. ‘She virtually decided on admittance and the Aboriginal people had
great respect for Keeffie. It was not unusual for patients, possibly with a broken arm or leg, to come to the back
door and ask for Keeffie.
There were people from all over Central Australia in the ward. During the day, they would mix but at night they
separated into tribal groups.
There was a great need to care for kids. Sometimes we would receive a plane load of small children suffering
from pneumonia or diarrhoea. We could lose three to five during the night. In the late 1950s there was a severe
drought which had a dreadful effect on Aboriginal people. TB was also a problem and these patients were placed
on the verandahs.’
Snodgrass also commented that O’Keeffe was very independent and would fight with the Matron. ‘One day
Keeffie packed her basket and left and all the patients went too!’
By the early 1960s, O’Keeffe and Johnno had a yen to return to the warmer climate of Katherine. They
essentially decided to retire. In O’Keeffe’s words, ‘We intended to just settle here and do anything we could to
help the old place along.’ Not long after they returned to Katherine they purchased what is now known as the
O’Keeffe Residence, a mainly corrugated iron structure in Riverside Drive. A National Trust property after 1988,
it was originally built during the Second World War as an officers’ mess. Johnno set about building some more
furniture, repairing the house and doing all the handyman tasks he enjoyed so much. There were no furniture shops
in Katherine then and a good day out was finding some relic that could be made into something for the house.
Johnno also painted everything once a year—he hated cleaning so would paint instead.
The O’Keeffes were very hospitable people. The numerous visitors were fed on the cakes and bread that
Johnno made. Pies were Olive O’Keeffe’s specialty.
O’Keeffe had a great love of her garden and she devoted a lot of time to its development. Numerous plants,
including bulbs, were ordered from Brisbane. There was a great array of ‘pots’ for the delicate plants. From kerosene
tins to old bedpans.
O’Keeffe also went back to work. Win Snodgrass, who was then the Matron at the Katherine Hospital, came
to visit one day. A life long friendship had been formed between them at Alice Springs and Snodgrass had a
staff shortage at the Katherine Hospital. For many years thereafter O’Keeffe was in charge of the Outpatients’
Department. In 1976, Johnno became ill and O’Keeffe resigned from her position to nurse him. When he had
recovered, there were pleas for her to return to her work at the hospital. She gave in to these pleas and reapplied for
her old position. It was at this time that the authorities discovered her true age and thus ended her formal working
life.
O’Keeffe was not just a nurse. She was also an extremely compassionate, caring person who gave an enormous
amount of help to many people in the Katherine area. She died in Katherine on 16 November 1988, several years
after her husband passed away.
O’Keeffe was honoured with Membership of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her contribution to
nursing, particularly in Alice Springs for her work in caring for Aborigines with tuberculosis.
P Cook (Compiler), O’Keeffe Residence Katherine, 1992; information from P Dermoudy, W Snodgrass and Katherine Branch, National Trust
of Australia (Northern Territory).
PENNY COOK, Vol 2.
O’LEARY, KEVIN FREDERICK (1920– ), lawyer, educator, author, Judge and second Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of the Northern Territory was born in Sydney on 19 February 1920. His father, Frederick James
O’Leary, was an engine driver with the New South Wales Government Railways. His mother, Louisa Maria,
nee Leader, cared for the family.
After attending Christian Brothers School, Lewisham, New South Wales, O’Leary commenced his legal studies
at University of Sydney in 1941. Between 1940 and 1942, he served in the Army but managed to complete the first
year of his law degree in 1941. In October 1942, he was discharged from the Army to enable him to join the Royal
Australian Air Force, in which he served until 1945. He reached the rank of Flying Officer. Thereafter he resumed
his law studies and graduated Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Sydney in 1948. After
completing articles, he was admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of New South Wales on 29 May 1949.
Between 1949 and 1957, O’Leary practised as a partner in the firm of Colreavy and O’Leary in Sydney.
On 15 April 1950, he married Patricia Mercedes Burt. There are eight children of the marriage (Catherine Anne,
born 1951; Brendan Joseph, 1953; Elizabeth Mary, 1955; Cecily Margaret, 1957; Anne Patricia, 1959;
Clare Frances, 1962; John Kevin, 1962; and Jane Louise, 1965). In 1957, he left the firm and was admitted as
a barrister, practising mainly in country District Courts (New South Wales) and in the Supreme Court of the
Australian Capital Territory. In May 1963, he moved from Sydney to Canberra and joined the firm of Martin,
Crossin, O’Leary and Barker. He practised as an ‘in-house counsel’ in the Australian Capital Territory and as a