John O'Keefe

John "Johno" O'Keefe (d. c.1980?) was an Irish-born Australian, well-known in the Northern Territory as the husband of Sister Olive O'Keefe.

Olive married O'Keefe in 1938. He was the cousin of Tim O’Shea, a local Katherine publican.  John was a pastry cook by trade.  While visiting his cousin in Katherine in 1929, he commenced working for the railway.  He later took a government contract to supply meat to the local butcher.  He also worked at the Sportsman’s Arms Hotel and Store. 

After the bombing of Darwin, the O'Keefes travelled to Alice Springs with a convoy of Catholic nuns and about 35 small children. The couple remained in Alice Springs for quite some time; after the war they became Superintendent and Matron at the "Bungalow" - now the Telegraph Station - which is where all Aboriginal people in Alice lived. Olive oversaw the Native Ward, which she ran with great pride. The Indigenous community came to have great respect for her. 

Returning to Katherine in 1963, the couple purchased 'Stray Leaves', which would become known as O’Keeffe House. Johno turned out to be an excellent handyman, making furniture from all sorts of scrap and territory timbers, while Olive returned to work at Katherine hospital.

They lived there until their deaths - first Johno, and then Olive on 10 November 1988.

(via Katherine Museum)

O'Keefe House - A Hidden Gem And A Legendary Territorian. (n.d.). Katherine Museum. https://www.katherinemuseum.com/component/content/article/8-blog/8-okeeffe-house

Olive O'Keefe. (n.d.) Womens' Museum of Australia. https://wmoa.com.au/herstory-archive/okeefe-olive